Heartbroken in LA
What you can do to help artists devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires
The fires in Los Angeles, which continue to rage on both sides of the city, have caused immense, incalculable devastation. My own family remains safe (at least from fire — air quality is a different issue, from which none of us are safe), and for that I am extremely grateful. Poring over maps on the Watch Duty app, texting friends non-stop, learning about friends and acquaintances who have lost their homes, hearing stories of utter miracles — fires that stopped just a few houses short of consuming the homes of my friends — has been the rhythm of this week. We left for a few days for peace of mind and fresher air, only to return yesterday afternoon to news that the Palisades fire was pushing harder east, threatening parts of west LA and cutting me off from access to the museum I direct in Malibu, which was already surrounded to the south and east by what looks like a war zone. (The fire interrupted our installation of spring exhibitions last week and one of our artists, in town from Manila, has been stuck on campus since then.)
I wish I had some bouncy content to share this week, but I’d rather use this little platform to boost fundraising efforts specifically for artists. Although national news has tended to focus more on the destruction of celebrity homes in Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, a very robust artist community in Altadena and Pasadena — beautiful communities on the far east side of the city — have also experienced unthinkable destruction. Thousands of homes and studios are gone. Schools and houses of worship and beloved restaurants have burned to the ground. More than one artist has lost all of the work intended for imminent exhibitions. Others were spared the worst, but can’t go back until significant cleanup occurs.
If you follow contemporary art, you will know at least one of the names of the artists who have lost their homes, which include (according to the Vanity Fair piece linked below): Alec Egan, Ross Simonini, Kathryn Andrews, Analia Saban, Kelly Akashi, Daniel Mendel-Black, Kate Mosher Hall, Amir Nikravan, Christina Quarles, John Knuth, Salomón Huerta, Adam Ross, Beatriz Cortez, Asher Hartman, Alice Könitz (whose property also housed artist Beatriz Cortez), Molly Tierney, Marwa Abdul-Rahman, Sula Bermúdez-Silverman, Mark Whalen, Jean Robison, Rebecca Baron, Rachelle Sawatsky, Grayson Revoir, Camilla Taylor, Tara Walters, Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio, and Andy Ouchi, as well as married couples Diana Thater and T. Kelly Mason and Jill Spector and Bret Nicely. Paul McCarthy lost his home as well, as did both of his adult children. Curator Mika Yoshitake’s home is gone, as is the incredibly beautiful, art-filled family home of my former boss and dear friend Paul Schimmel.
You can read more in-depth reporting on the impact of the fires on artists here:
How the Los Angeles Fires Have Affected the Art World (Vanity Fair)
“It Looks Like a Bomb Exploded”: LA Artists Grapple With Loss as Fires Rage (Hyperallergic)
Los Angeles Artists Mourn as Their Studios and Artworks Go Up in Smoke (New York Times)
No matter where you are, here’s what you can do to help:
Donate to one or more of many, many GoFundMe pages
Give to LA Art World Fire Relief, which is being organized by artists and art workers
Have art supplies to send? Contact Adam Alessi at artistreliefLA@gmail.com
This horrific event — which is still not over — will affect the amazing art community in LA for a very long time. I will continue posting fundraising and relief efforts as the best avenues for help become more evident in the coming weeks.
More food-art content soon, I hope.
Stay safe.