It is due to people like Phyllis Stein that Downtown LA is on it’s way to becoming a hip, modern, exciting new community. Or at least it is due to the dedicated foursome she has put in place to make her vision of a new type of art gallery a reality. The fantastic four are Bil McMillian: entertainment marketing guru, Cynthia Nibler: interior/set design expert, Peggy Pabustan: performance artist extraordinaire, and Amy Smith: Music environment maven. Taking from Phyllis’s unyielding inspiration-as well as from their shared experience of early 90’s Olympia, Washington DIY cultural explosion-the team is proud to be taking the LA art gallery into the future of cross industry fusion and community development that breaks the cycle of “Los Angeles Disenfranchisement.”
Their first order of business: supporting the raw un-perfected talented that LA has to offer. This means that, unlike the stuffy attitude mostly associated with the art gallery biz, these guys are welcoming new talents that are searching for that extra push into greatness. No MFA? No problem. Peggy explains, “At a lot of galleries I feel like there is this unspoken pre-requisite that [artists] must have a masters degree in fine arts. We’re not looking for that.” In addition to their schedule of art shows, the gallery directors hope to set up a graduate school level mentoring program. Through in house talks, studio visits and seminars, newer artists can hone their abilities with more of an understanding of what is happening in the art world around them. For those interested in the business side of the art gallery, the team is setting up an intensive internship program as well. Their goal in all of this? “We’re trying to start a new kind of art world with people by educating them, and also by teaching the next generation of people who are going to be working in galleries. Hopefully we’ll give a more positive experience than other galleries have done so far. We also want things to be fun!”
The gallery will also be operating as a rental house for local film productions. Through her experience as a Prop Master in the biz, Cynthia took notice of a need for “cleared artwork”. When you’re watching a movie and you see a painting hanging on a wall out of focus in the background…well that particular piece of art is there because the artist allowed it. Cynthia goes on to clarify: “Getting cleared artwork can be frustrating. Some major rental houses will tell you artwork is cleared when it isn’t and the stuff that’s out there is rarely character motivated. Its [also] in sad shape and not very contemporary.” All the artists showing at Phyllis Stein will sign clearances that allow their artwork to be rented out. Not only will this boost gallery revenue thus increasing the percent of sale the artist earns, it will give the artist the opportunity to have their work potentially seen by millions. Cynthia goes on to say “I saw a need for an artist community that goes beyond the classic Los Angeles disenfranchisement and use the industry to support this community.”
Perhaps what makes this gallery unique is a penchant for creating a tight knit neighborhood amid the diverse downtown community. And what better way to bring the neighborhood closer together than through shared culture and art experiences? Bil elaborates, “We want to draw in some of the other people downtown. Mix up the community more. We’ll have events, performance art and happenings. We want to take it to the streets. We want this neighborhood to be happy and have something fun or weird that happens to make their day different. I want to be friends with all these people.” In a diverse place like LA, community can be hard to come by. Cynthia remarks, “[There are] places like The Grove and The Americana where people go for that [community] feeling and it’s here, it’s metropolitan, and has a history.”
Perhaps the Phyllis Stein philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: “Our goal is to be the cause for artists to be able to continue making art.”-Bil McMillian.
The Phyllis Stein Art Gallery will have their grand opening during artwalk on July 10th. Expect surprises and something interactive for the community and clientele to participate in. The opening show will feature the works of Jesse Chapolito and Eric Smail. The gallery is located in the Spring Arts Building at 207 W. 5th St. at the corner of Spring St. If you can’t wait for the opening to find out more about the gallery, you can go to the web and visit www.phyllissteinart.com.