{"id":4911,"date":"2011-10-27T12:55:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-27T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/help-support-the-collaborative-eat-tacos-and-enjoy-great-music\/"},"modified":"2011-10-27T12:55:00","modified_gmt":"2011-10-27T12:55:00","slug":"help-support-the-collaborative-eat-tacos-and-enjoy-great-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/help-support-the-collaborative-eat-tacos-and-enjoy-great-music","title":{"rendered":"Help Support The Collaborative, Eat Tacos, And Enjoy Great Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

2:00pm | <\/strong>The Arts Council for Long Beach<\/a> has received a grant of $10,000 from the LA County Arts Commission<\/a> but, like so many things these days, it isn’t easy money to actually get. In order to receive the money, the ACLB must match it with donations generated from new individual donors. <\/p>\n

The grant, when received, will be used specifically to fund The Collaborative<\/a>, a gallery space located in the gallery421 Apartment Community<\/a> just North of the Police Department on Broadway. The gallery was paid for by the developer of the property through the RDA’s Percent for Public Art program. The Collaborative is co-curated by the ACLB and the Museum of Latin American Art<\/a>. The two entities alternate between 3 month exhibition cycles. <\/p>\n

Past ACLB Board President Justin Hectus has teamed up with board members Doug Gastelum and Max Viltz to raise funds for the matching grant. Hectus, who with Fingerprints owner Rand Foster, helped to create the acclaimed Summer And Music<\/a> concert series for the DLBA, and who helped produce the Schooled In Song<\/a> fundraising concerts, is tapping into the City’s musical community to create a unique concert event inside The Collaborative. The concert, taking place on Wednesday, November 2nd from 6 – 7:30 PM, will feature acoustic performances by The Brook Lee Catastrophe<\/a>, and singer\/songwriter\/multi-instrumentalist Brett Bixby<\/a>, who is on a short break from touring with AM & Shawn Lee<\/a>. To round out the evening, vegetarian tacos will be provided by Taco Rog<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Of the LACAC, Hectus said, “they really want to encourage their grantees to connect with a new audience. In this case, we are trying to connect with people who have a vested interest in a free gallery, showing unique site-specific installations, in downtown LB. <\/p>\n

“It’s tough,” admitted Hectus, “to ask people to reach into their pockets to support something unless they have a connection to it, so we are hoping that by having meaningful events at The Collaborative, it will encourage support. <\/p>\n

“I asked these artists to perform for two reasons: Because their style of music is a good fit for the space — performances will be inside and outside the space, and we are not going to use any serious amplification; and also because Brook, Paul and the rest Catastrophe and Brett have been amazing supporters of our efforts to put on free musical performances in Long Beach. I feel like their spirit is in line with the current exhibit<\/a>, which is an exercise in imagining a utopian society. <\/p>\n

“The second important part of the event,” Hectus continued, “will be vegetarian tacos with locally grown, organic veggies prepared by our good friend Rogelio Madrigal de la Vega (Taco Rog). I’m a carnivore, but I feel like we’re heading for a less meat (if not a meatless) society for a lot of good reasons. <\/p>\n

“The third aspect, and the centerpiece of the night is the exhibition by Architect Giacomo Castagnola and Urban Planner James Rojas<\/a>. They will be building a model of the City that will encourage discussion on what would drive Long Beach to a more utopian society. I really geek out on any art that encourages this kind of dialogue and I am extremely excited about this installation.” <\/p>\n

I asked Justin if he had a specific fiscal goal for the event. <\/p>\n

“Three groups of Arts Council board members have volunteered to do events (the other two are on October 26 and 27) and we need to raise $10,000 to make the LACAC matching grant. Our group is hoping to raise over $3,000. If 150 people come through during the night, they only have to give $20 each for some amazing tacos and music. If any of my friends come through and are short, I’ll spot them a twenty. If folks can’t make it to the event, they can donate online<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

To get another perspective about the event, I asked Brett Bixby why he decided to step up and donate his talents to the cause. <\/p>\n

“Firstly,” said Bixby, “if I can be of service with my music to help a charitable event and the fit feels proper then I am happy to oblige. Justin has been a long time friend and supporter of music in Long Beach and he is a ‘connector’ – someone great at bridging the music community with the art and business community. He is an outstanding person and has a passion for facilitating people to do righteous and creative things together that help Long Beach. <\/p>\n

“Secondly, I have been touring and it fits in between now and my next short jaunt on the road with AM & Shawn Lee in November. I also happen to be friends with the Brook Lee folks… their violinist Paul Mitchell has sat in with me on a number of occasions. <\/p>\n

“Thirdly,” Bixby continued, “The Collaborative’s current exhibition looks like a forward thinking work that blends art with a collective notion about the future of our City and public spaces. Art requires vision and often that vision can take real root and help to create city spaces that are vibrant and creative and welcoming to residents. At a minimum, it brings people together and helps to create a dialogue. People need to be educated and informed to understand why and how the arts are important, and how a gallery space like The Collaborative fits into the vision of a diverse and evolving community like Long Beach. <\/p>\n

“I think,” mused Bixby, “if an event can successfully combine art, community, music and food and there is an opportunity to inform an attentive crowd, then those are the proper ingredients that may engender the connection between the giving spirit and how that financial support influences the positive evolution of a dynamic artistic community. If everyone brings what they have to the table with heart, then things often happen properly. I’ll be bringing my support and my music and I hope the other pieces fall into place as they should.” <\/p>\n

— <\/p>\n

Details about the event can be found on facebook<\/a>. <\/p>\n

To learn more about the current exhibition at The Collaborative, visit ArtsLB.org\/Collaborative.<\/a> <\/p>\n

You can also donate online<\/a> to help the ACLB match the LACAC grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justin Hectus and Brett Bixby speak about a fundraising event taking place next Wednesday at The Collaborative that features music performances by Bixby and The Brook Lee Catastrophe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4911"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=4911"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}