Page 8 April 8, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
ESMoA from front page
out” a Living Book for a twenty-minute oneon
one conversation.
As part of their Oz-themed experience,
they hosted a Queens and Kings drag show.
They’ve had an experience called “Eat,” calling
on guests to consider the role of food
in our lives and our art, and another called
“Matriarchs,” an art experience curated and
created by indigenous women.
Currently, the small museum features an experience
called “Freestate.” Within this exhibit,
artist Cole Sternberg explores the idea of The
Free Republic of California. What could a more
enlightened society look like? From sculpture,
visual art, websites, merchandise, and even an
entire constitution checked by constitutional
legal experts, Sternberg explores the answer.
Unlike most museums, no work in the
building is labeled. Rather, every piece
is assigned a number, which can then be
looked up on a grid online and explored further.
As Boehm describes it, this is meant to
encourage engaging with the art rather than
spending so much time reading what is on
the walls.
Within their organization, the museum
has three pillars of its structure: experiences,
arts education programs, and artists in residence.
The experiences consist of workshops, art
talks, presentations, and other public events,
all of which are free and open to the public.
On the museum education and programming
side, Holly Crawford heads up an effort to
increase diversity, inclusion, and community
relations. This includes school programs and
artist-led workshops and family days, and
creative experiences for K-12 in LA and the
South Bay.
Crawford comes from the east coast, has
a background in art, and is a practicing
artist herself. “Being a museum educator,
I did not know going into this field how involved
it is with research, how involved it is
with community building and connections,”
says Crawford, going on to say that prepandemic,
she was rarely home, going
from work to art openings, to meeting with
artists. As things begin to reopen with the
rollout of the vaccine, she is beginning
to attend galleries and arts events again,
always in search of new artists to work with
and connect.
The third pillar of ESMoA is their Artist in
Residence program (AIR). Each year, an artist
is selected to complete a residency at ESMoA,
culminating in the installation and exhibition
of their work. “It’s designed for an artist or
a writer or a musician to create an original
artwork or composition or performance,” says
Crawford. It allows the artist creative freedom,
with planning support from the ESMoA team.
Their experiences have drawn support
from other museums, international artists,
and El Segundo’s community. “We get a lot
of support from the parents who are saying
like, ‘yes we want a moment to teach
tolerance, we want a moment to say that it’s
okay to be who you want to be,’” says
Boehm. Because of this, they have experiences
that are available and open to all age ranges, and
they believe people of every age will connect
with their experiences in a meaningful way.
The entire ESMoA team is always
looking for new ways to connect with
the local community. From projecting an
artwork on El Segundo High School to
partnering with the El Segundo Library, they
encourage participation and partnership with
anyone looking for an artistic experience.
“There’s definitely a sense of being in the space
that makes coming together to think about art
in a new way really special,” says Crawford,
“and I’m so happy that the city has a space
like ESMoA where we can do that in new
and bold ways.” Boehm, Crawford, and Torre
can often be found on-site at the museum,
and they encourage anyone and everyone to
stop by, engage with some art, and reflect. •
One of the rooms in the current Freestate experience. The Free Republic of California “headquarters”.
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