Nicolassa Galvez, inside the new WE Labs space. Photo by Asia Morris.
Nicolassa Galvez has organized and curated a massive art exhibition for the grand opening of the new WE Labs coworking space in the historic Packard Motors Building. The opening, taking place this Friday at 6:00PM, will give the public a sneak peek into the 15,000 square foot space, which includes both shared and private working facilities. Live music, a DJ, and various refreshments will be available.
The art showcase, which includes approximately 150 pieces in a variety of media, will be available for public viewing for the next two to three months, during normal business hours.
Galvez served, previously, as the Chief Executive Officer of ArtExchange, which provided her with an introduction to the cultural and creative communities of Long Beach. She has a degree in Latin American History and Politics from Pomona College, graduated from the Leadership Long Beach program, and is currently working toward a master’s degree in Social Justice from CSULB.
Long Beach Post: How did your relationship with WE Labs develop?
Nicolassa Galvez: I’d been in discussion with WE Labs for a few months on collaborative possibilities, and they brought up their Grand Opening. I have been wanting to work more with them, and others in the community, so I was excited to partner. Everything came together so quickly. The call was released only a few weeks before the deadline. With that time frame, even with reaching out to my contacts, [I wasn’t sure] that I could pull together a strong enough show for the new space. However, I am very impressed with the variety of the work, and I’m always proud to exhibit artists that I haven’t worked with before because that makes me think, just perhaps, we are entering this Long Beach arts renaissance people are murmuring about.
I am working to include more 3D work, which is always more difficult. This show is all 2D, however. I was intentional in selecting pieces that represented the diversity of artists in Long Beach; a range of mediums from watercolor and printmaking, and abstract to contemporary.
We have hung the show in a creative way to represent the creativity and industrial nature of the new space. The artwork is hung similarly to how someone might hang their personal collection in their living room.
I will be publishing a catalogue with short bios, photos, and price lists of all the artists that sent in this information. However, I can say that attendees can come with the expectation that, along with our favorite local artists, you will be introduced to some artists you haven’t seen in the Long Beach arts circuit.
Outside the grand opening, WE Labs is not exactly open to the public. What are the prospects of art being sold in this setting?
In just the few hours I have been available to start setting up the show, I have seen a few dozen people come in to check out the new space. I think that artists showing in this exhibition will benefit from having their work seen by an audience not attending a gallery in a traditional sense. Rather, their work will be seen by viewers who will have the opportunity to be inspired by the selection and how it will fit into their home, their office or other creative venue. Additionally, I can’t imagine that WE Labs doesn’t have a few plans up their sleeves to get a lot of people in front of the art over the next few months. With that being said, I have made my cell phone [562.331.1095] and email [[email protected]] available, and I have already given a few sneak preview tours. I believe WE Labs at the Packard is open from 9:00AM to 5:00PM, Monday through Friday.
How did you get involved in the art scene in Long Beach?
I began as a volunteer with the ArtExchange four years ago. I quickly increased duties to take over the majority of responsibilities running the space, programming and administration.
Did you have any arts experience prior to that?
I have over fifteen years experience with nonprofit administration, facility development, community engagement, and programming. The ArtExchange was the first opportunity I had to broaden my scope of services to the arts.
I graduate, in May, with a master’s from CSULB in Social Justice. As I reflect on my experience with ArtExchange, I could say it was a dual master’s program, considering the amount of responsibility I took on in developing and increasing partnerships, programming, and administrative capacity of ArtExchange. It was definitely a hands-on, educational experience for sure.
I’m sure you gained some meaningful insights during your tenure there. What did you learn about Long Beach?
I have lived here for 13 years, the longest I have ever lived in one city, but the last four have been the most informative. I continue to reflect, grapple with, and deepen my understanding of what I have learned about Long Beach in the last four years. If we could just get out of our own way and work together with all of the creative, passionate people dedicated to the success of Long Beach, we really could have something unique brewing here. The question then becomes how, and when, will we get out of our own way? And thinking about it a second, the most important question is ‘the who.’
Well, here’s another interesting question to ponder: What is success?
Again, I am in transition, and about to graduate with a master’s in Social Justice, so success means so many things. In these last few months I have really been focusing my research on the impact of social practice or community-based art and, along the way, I got wrapped up in the product and it’s market value and I lost my appreciation for the process. In other words, I need to stop living for what is on the other side of the giant obstacle I’m expending all I have to overcome because I keep learning, the hard way, that it rarely shows up. So success, for me, is my ability to enjoy the process—the community I am with, how my time is spent and, most importantly, to make sure I take care of myself, too, because unless I insist that it comes today, the payday will always be put off until tomorrow.
Why did you decide to study social justice. Is there something specific you want to do with that degree when you graduate?
Not too many people are paid to change the world—such a lofty goal—or, more realistically, to make their little corner of the world a more just and better place to live. I’ve never been able to do any other type of work. This drive is rooted in my experiences growing up, but I don’t have an uncomplicated, succinct answer as to why I choose a degree in Social Justice, or why I continue a career path in community building. Until I do, I keep coming back to this feeling in my gut that, if I can just work harder to ensure my corner of the world has less good things go wrong, then maybe it will turn out okay in the end.
To learn more about WE Labs, visit WELabs.us. Also, check out a recent interview with WE Labs managing partners, Robbie Brown and Ted Sieving.
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