Photograph by Rob Comeau.
Eric Gray has been quietly working to liberate the energies of the creative community. He helped found the Long Beach Music Council, has served on the Downtown Residential Council and, most recently, launched a Facebook group called Long Beach Artists. Since early April, the group has grown to more than 240 artists. He’s also a business owner.
Long Beach Post: Why did you start the Long Beach Artists group?
Eric Gray: I have been seeing some success with the Long Beach Music Scene Group in that it has connected local musicians across Long Beach, at least on social media, where musicians have been able to share their shows and their music. I felt that Long Beach Visual Artists needed to have their own space to show their work. I, along with many others, want to see Long Beach become an arts destination. I also want to ensure that our artists are successful.
Sumako, a local arts professional who works as a photographer, designer, curator and musician, was tapped by Eric to serve as an administrator for the group.
Sumako, what have you learned about the arts community from helping to run this group?
Sumako: What has been important to visual artists, pre-social media, echos very well in the Long Beach Artists group today. “How does an artist connect with buyers?” “How does an artist promote themselves and their work?” The only addition is that the communication is more immediate. This creates opportunity for stronger dialogue, and creative collaboration, to help artists find ways to fill gaps in their careers.
Have there been any new innovations since the group was launched?
A new tool has been added: the “Sell Something” Button. This feature allows artists to share an image of their work as an organized “For Sale” post. This was a huge motivator for the group. Not only is there an art piece listed for sale but also all for sale items are the first posts you see when you visit the group.
Efren Luna is a community arts leader, founder of AMC [Art, Music & Culture], and the Social Media Manager for the Cultural Alliance for Long Beach. He was also asked by Gray to serve as an administrator for the group.
Efren, what are some of the benefits of participating in the group?
Efren Luna: Artist members can add as many images as they like, and those artists that use it more will get the most benefit so, in this sense, it’s self-driven. The other positive thing is that artists can create events and share them through the page.
Eric: Also, the fact that the greater public will know where to go on social media to view art designed locally will help get the artist’s name out there.
Eric, you’ve spent a great deal of time connecting with people in the Long Beach community. What do you see as the big opportunities for the arts in Long Beach?
Long Beach is home to many visual artists, musicians, and theatrical performers. I see great opportunity in flexing our artistic muscle as a city. We have big opportunities in stitching together our multiple artistic scenes for the greater public to enjoy consistently and predictably.
You look at what Laguna Beach does with the Sawdust Festival and you think, “Why doesn’t Long Beach have a week-long large visual arts event at a high profile location in the city?” Or you see empty warehouses on the West Side and think, “Why don’t we approach property owners about designing space for artists to rent to design sculptures and metal work?” We have seen, first hand, what happens when a property owner lets artists come in and showcase their work. Space is leased more quickly. It is also important to partner with the Convention and Visitors Bureau to let tourists know where our artistic and cultural assets are.
How can these initiatives be funded?
In many cases, event planners get sponsors but, for Long Beach to be serious about becoming an Arts Destination, there needs to be a collective approach, with backing from the city, to create a high profile event. This is just on the visual arts side. Music is a whole other spectrum that I am very passionate about and, in many cases, visual art, music, and theater go hand in hand.
What are the stumbling blocks, and how do we overcome them?
One of the greatest stumbling blocks is that the greater public does not know where to view and buy local art. Although we have a few staple locations across Long Beach, they are few and far between. For our arts scene to flourish, our artists need to be compensated for their hard work.
I feel Long Beach residents do support each other very much. We support our restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, pubs, and furniture stores, but visual art needs to be more readily available and visible for the greater public to access and see.
Artists who live or work in Long Beach are welcome to join the group. People interested in learning more about artists in Long Beach, or purchasing art, are welcome to visit the group.