Ordinary People at Long Beach Museum of Art

Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Yes on R! Yes on J! Shut Down MCJ! A Decade in Abolitionist Aesthetics (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Ordinary People at the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA), brings together six artist-run organizations: QUA – LGBTQ Ukrainians in America, Crenshaw Dairy Mart (CDM), People’s Pottery Project, Tlaloc Studios, Slanguage Studio, and AMBOS Project. Though the aims of these collectives are different, they all work at the intersection of cultural exchange, activism, and community building in Los Angeles and beyond. Featuring a diverse range of art, objects, and ephemera installed across both floors of LBMA’s Hartman Pavilion, Ordinary People hones in on socially-minded art spaces, emphasizing the boundless possibilities that emerge when artistic expression intertwines with the everyday realities of a community.

On the ground floor, Inglewood-based artist collective and gallery CDM transform their space into a labyrinth of images, videos, sculptures, and texts that highlight the enduring mobilization led by artists and grassroots organizations to halt the development of prisons in L.A. county, which culminated in the passage of Measure R in 2020. Curated by artist Autumn Breon and CDM co-founder alexandre ali reza dorriz, the installation straddles the line between art, community archive, and political resource. Photo and video documentation of Stained: An Intimate Portrayal of State Violence (2012), a participatory performance by CDM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, appears in the first gallery. A response to the 2011 ACLU report detailing widespread, systemic abuse in the L.A. county jail system, the work incorporates testimonials from Cullors’ older brother, Monte, who was incarcerated for several years. Nearby, a 20-pound sculpture of wings Cullors crafted from Monte’s clothing (worn on the occasion of her performance Prayer to the Iyami, 2020) gives tangible form to carceral traumas underlining CDM’s calls for abolition.

Upstairs, Tlaloc Studios founder Ozzie Juarez reshaped the gallery into an extension of the organization’s South Central space. Juarez’s Sun Ground, Huitzilopochtli (2023), comprising one hundred silkscreened and hand-painted 3-by-3-foot wood panels, tiles the floor. Patterned with a hybrid symbol that fuses Aztec, Mayan, and pop cultural iconographies, the piece reflects the diverse artists who converge at Tlaloc. Other works, like Michael Alvarez’s multimedia Barrier Bash (Art Show at the D.I.Y) (2022), recreate artist-initiated community gatherings. Set on a dead end El Sereno street against a backdrop of train tracks, graffiti, and billboards, miniature versions of Alvarez’s paintings appear within the painting. In the foreground, hazy figures engage with the art and talk amongst one another. This gathering represents the many group exhibitions, kick backs, swap meets, and fundraisers held at Tlaloc Studios—events that move beyond the white cube to show how meaningful connections are cultivated when art meets the quotidian.

On the second floor, the work of 17 artists is splayed across a large geometric dome structure. Created by Slanguage Studio, a 21-year-old collective focused on accessible art education, the installation highlights the importance of mentorship and collaboration by spotlighting works created by residents in their program SlangA.I.R. The polydome also reflects the multiplicity coursing through the LBMA. Whether engaging with audiences through collaborative art projects, activism, arts education, or civil engagement, Ordinary People expands our ideas of art and social practice beyond traditional structures, illuminating the profound impact of creating and building together across communities, generations, and geographies.

Ordinary People runs from October 6, 2023–January 14, 2024 at the Long Beach Museum of Art (2300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90803).

Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Yes on R! Yes on J! Shut Down MCJ! A Decade in Abolitionist Aesthetics (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Yes on R! Yes on J! Shut Down MCJ! A Decade in Abolitionist Aesthetics (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Slanguage Studio, It’s in the Air (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Slanguage Studio, It’s in the Air (detail) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Slanguage Studio, It’s in the Air (detail) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Tlaloc Studios, Ordinary People (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Carlos Jaramillo, Escaramuzas (installation view) (2023). Archival inkjet print with leather frame, 40 x 50 x 1 inches. Image courtesy of the artist and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

People’s Pottery Project, Assortment of ceramic objects (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

People’s Pottery Project, Assortment of ceramic objects (installation view) (2023). Image courtesy of the artists and the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Alitzah Oros is an art historian currently based in Los Angeles.

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