Los Angeles Poverty Department is pleased to announce the opening of the Skid Row History Museum and Archive’s new exhibition, “The Dream Walk Exhibit” by Skid Row neighborhood artists from Lamp Community’s Arts Program. The exhibition will feature the works of a diverse group of more than 40 Skid Row artists, working in a variety of media, from painting to sculpture and video art. The majority of the works have been created specifically for this exhibition. Salem Rose, the artist who submitted the title, explains: “It’s an art walk (of sorts), walking also implies that we are moving forward. ‘Dream’ implies drive, determination, as well as recreation and restoration of aspirations.”

A number of public events will take place at the museum during the course of the exhibition, including participation in the August and September Down Town Los Angeles Art Walks (August 11^th and September 8^th, 6-9pm), and spoken word and musical sets on dates to be determined.

The Skid Row History Museum and Archive foregrounds the artistic and social consciousness of Skid Row and recognizes it as neighborhood that is a resource for all of Southern California. The connections between Los Angeles Poverty Department and Lamp Community go back to the origins of both organizations in 1985, as LAPD conducted weekly performance workshops at Lamp throughout the year and as a result many Lamp people became mainstays as Lamp performers.

It’s particularly fitting that this exhibition is now taking place as we mourn the loss of Mollie Lowery, the visionary co-founder of Lamp and long-time friend of LAPD, who passed away July 25.

Alan Glover, Amber Williamson, Angela McMillan, Anthony Bogan, Antonio G, Armando Diaz, Barbara Torok, Bruce Martin, Christopher Mack, Debra Davis, E’Dran Auguster, Edward R, Eiko Yoshii, Garrison A, Gary Brown, Hugo Gonzales, Israel Hernandez, Jerome Robertson, Jose Flores, Julia C, Karen Zaldana, Keith Jackson, Kurt Basa, Linda Leigh, Mariana Valles, Matt Miyahara, Myka Moon, Nick Paul, Princess Oawlawolwaol, QMT, Rachel Cowles MRC, Rachel J, Ram/Raw, Rene Nava, Ricardo Leon, Rita Barker, Salem Rose, Sharkie Stiles, Simone, Sir Oliver, Stone Blacksands, VLM, Vicki Maturo, and a number of others in collaborative works. The exhibit is prepared by Hayk Makhmuryan with the help of studio artists and guest volunteers.

About Lamp Community’s Arts Program
Lamp Arts Program is a creative studio platform for the residents of the Skid Row neighborhood. Lamp Arts Program offers a safe and nurturing place for creative self-expression to a diverse population of individuals who are homeless, extremely low income and/or living with a mental illness. The program encourages long-term participation as artists develop their individual voices, share artwork, inspire each other, build a healthy community together and make creativity a continuous, restorative part of their lives. Lamp Arts Program includes a visual arts and music studio and regular workshops ranging from creative writing to yoga.

About Lamp Community
Founded in 1985 on San Julian Street in L.A.’s Skid Row, Lamp Community’s mission is to end homelessness of the city’s most vulnerable individuals – primarily adults living with mental illness – through a continuum of services and housing, enabling them to reach their highest level of self-sufficiency and community integration. Its programs are based on the “Housing First” model, which Lamp helped pioneer more than two decades ago. Starting as a small daytime drop-in center, Lamp now operates at more than 10 sites throughout L.A. County. For more information, please visit www.LampCommunity.org or contact Kait Peters, Development Director, [email protected] .

LAPD’s Skid Row History Museum and Archive project is supported with funding from The Surdna Foundation, The Mike Kelley Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Trust, The LA County Arts Commission, City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs, and individual donors.