Since February 2016, LACMA has supported families in the Compton area by offering free weekly family art workshops at Lueders Park Community Center through LACMA’s Art Programs with the Community: LACMA On-Site school outreach program. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the art studio, we teamed up with our community engagement program,On-Site: Neighborhood Partnerships with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, funded by The James Irvine Foundation, to hold a special event for the community that included celebrating family participants, art making, and live music by the Foster Elementary Bell Band and the Davis Middle School Band. 

The event kicked off with three art making workshops running concurrently. The first activity in the LACMA studio answered the question “The dream for my community is…”. Participants wrote their dreams on Post-it notes and placed them on the studio wall together. Participants were encouraged to read others’ dreams as inspiration for their own artmaking. They then created a collage using a variety of images from LACMA’s collection, images of Compton, and colored paper to create their own artwork. Families were encouraged to write their dreams into their artwork and bind their individual works together, creating a family book or poster.

Members of the community contributed their dreams for the community and Lueders Park on Post-it notes, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

Participant showing us "The dream for my community is..." collage, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

The second activity answered the question “My dream for Lueders Park is…”. Participants in this room also contributed to a wall of Post-it notes with their dreams for Lueders Park. They then took their dream to a drawing board and easel and visually depicted their dream.

“My dream for Lueders Park is…” a participant depicts her dream for the park with pastel chalk on paper, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

“My dream for Lueders Park is…” participants work on their pastel artworks, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

The third activity grappled with the question, “My dream for the future of Compton is…”. Participants contributed their hopes and dreams for the city on two large mural panels, creating a community mural in acrylic paint. 

Participants contributing to the “My dream for Compton is…” mural on panel, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

Throughout the park, student artworks from local schools were displayed and in the afternoon students performed for those in attendance. The Davis Middle School Band and Foster Elementary Bell Band both performed a few tunes as well as the ASES Cheer and Performance Squad from Dickison Elementary.

Davis Middle School band performs, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

Foster Elementary Band performs, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

ASES Cheer and Performance Squad from Dickison Elementary, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

We also celebrated families who have been consistently attending since the beginning! Families were awarded Certificates of Appreciation in front of a crowd of enthusiastic visitors.

Family participants working together on their artworks in the LACMA Art Studio at Lueders Park, photo Ⓒ Museum Associates/LACMA by John Lewis Photography

The One-Year Anniversary of the LACMA Art Studio at Lueders Park celebrated not only the art studio, but the arts already happening in Compton. The studio brought together many talents on a single day from our community partnership.

Join us every Saturday at 11 am for free art workshops inspired by LACMA’s collection and temporary exhibitions! Lueders Park is located at 1500 E. Rosecrans Ave., Compton, CA 90221. Interested in adult and senior workshops? On-Site: Compton will be starting classes in the community very soon! Check out the current listings.