Cohen Gallery

Between the Surface is a photographic exchange in response to the use of beauty within contemporary image making.  Among other participating Los Angeles photographers, Calvin Lee both reveals and dismantles constructs present within imagery found in daily life, resulting in photographs that are not so readily consumable.  In her piece from the series Nami, Kelly Kleinschrodt re-photographs images of waves, engaging with the photographic surface while simultaneously denying the viewers' ability to dismiss its status as a reproduction.  Also joining this conversation: Alison J Carr, Gilda Davidian, Elyse Graham, Greg J Hayes, Alexis Hudgins, Ivan Iannoli, Ian James, Laura Kim, Sidonie Loiseleux, Lakshmi Luthra, Joanne Mitchell, Job Piston, Maria Schriber, Katie Shapiro, April Totten, Lindsay Tunkl, and Katrina Umber.

Inherent in the foundation of the non-profit organization voices for umoja is the assumption that image-making is both beneficial for the maker and that different types of images can be produced when the maker is an actor within and not an observer of something.  What benefits are available through the production of images besides the cathartic nature of artistic making?  A practice that assumes a receiver is based on communication.  What potential lies within this conversation?   What role does aesthetics play in this communication within visual image making?  Beauty has been criticized to not only be defined through power, dominance and oppression, but has also been accused of making the indigestible digestible.  While these concerns deserve consideration, is it neccesary to turn our backs on the idea of pleasurable viewing?  Is it possible to make something beautiful that is conscious of its own construction?  How do new media and technology affect our perception of looking within both visual art and our surroundings?

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Have a fun Saturday evening out in Los Angeles and at the same time, you can party with and purpose and support education, nutrition and empowerment for marginalized populations in Africa.

On November 14, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles will host Art Harvest LA, a one-night-only convergence of works by local artists to benefit Voices for Umoja and The Niapele Project, two nonprofit organizations which are making a difference in the lives of some of Africa’s most vulnerable people.

Guided by the belief that communication leads to social change, LA-based Voices for Umoja is providing training and resources that empower young people in Kisumu District—one of Kenya’s most impoverished regions—to make their voices heard through film and other media. Voices for Umoja and its partner, Abila Creative Arts, are now raising funds to make possible the 2010 Voices for Umoja Film and Music Festival in Kisumu. The international festival will spotlight projects by local youth to celebrate their talent and raise awareness of the hardships they face each day.

The Niapele Project is focused on improving the lives of war-affected children and marginalized children in West Africa. In Liberia, this international nonprofit is implementing its School Nutrition Initiative, which provides a daily meal to hundreds of children who attend one of the few tuition-free schools in the capital Monrovia. The Niapele Project is also working with parents of disabled children to establish the Happy Family Center for Children with Disabilities, which will give these under-served children an opportunity to receive an education, to socialize, and to develop their intellectual and physical potential.

Art Harvest LA

Enjoy appetizers and drinks, music, prize giveaways, a curated exhibit of art and photography by emerging local standouts titled Between the Surface, work by Chris Leombruno and Pierre Letulzo, alongside works by young Kenyan artists, and a fair trade sale featuring items by Opuk Jakinda, a cooperative which builds the economic capacity of women in Kisumu through craft training and life skills planning and batik fabric items and jewelry made by women from the Buduburam refugee settlement in Ghana.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

4pm – 10pm

Stephen Cohen Gallery

7358 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90036

All proceeds will benefit Voices for Umoja and The Niapele Project’s grassroots work with vulnerable populations in Kenya and Liberia.

Voices for Umoja www.voicesforumoja.org

The Niapele Project www.theniapeleproject.org

At the door:

$20 donation includes open bar, appetizers and 5 raffle tickets

$10 donation includes open bar and appetizers

Food by “A” Catering Company &  Sweet treats by Whipped, Beat and Battered

Silent auction and raffle items from MAC Cosmetics, BLD Restaurant, Cobras & Matadors, Urth Caffe, Smashbox, Aveda, Anti-Body, D Man Designs, Third Eye Tattoo, DW Drums, Spork Foods, Mary Kay, Artasan Jewelry, Lisa Robinson Photography, Bikram Yoga of Silverlake, photographer Nick Brandt, and more.

Fair trade sale items from Ghana and Kenya

For more information and presale tickets, contact Celina Guich at Celina@theniapeleproject.org