Photos by Asia Morris.
WE Labs’ Inaugural WE Show was the grand addition of a collaborative and accessible space for local artists to showcase their work, meet other artists and art connoisseurs, and most importantly sell their work.
Robbie Brown, CEO of WE Labs, said that he considers the inaugural WE Show a successful beginning, where they were able to sell about $2,000 worth of art on the opening night. “That’s big for a non-gallery show of relatively unknown artists,” he said.
Brown continued by explaining that WE Labs will continue to be open to the public during regular business hours so that anyone can view and potentially buy local, quality Long Beach art. Businesses all over the City will be showing WE Show art, and while the details have yet to be decided, the up and coming Brass Lamp book bar will be the first business to lend its space for a showcase.
Now that the inaugural show has little over a month to be seen, while boasting an overflow of applicants to start, the second quarterly WE Show has announced a call for artists and curators alike, to help fill the horseshoe collaborative space and gallery located within dowtown Long Beach’s iconic Pacific Towers. In the meantime, the next WE Show Art Tour of the inaugural WE Show will be Friday, February 27 at 6:30PM at WE Labs.
Both WE Labs and the Arts Council for Long Beach will be selecting guest curators for each of the quarterly WE Shows in an effort to develop a curatorial pool of talent in Long Beach. The Arts Council will support each curator with a $250 stipend.
Curatorial applicants for WE Show II must submit a cover letter, resume, a biographical statement of 250 words or less and a short (500 words or less) curatorial perspective statement on how you approach art appreciation in 500 words or less. Submissions must be sent to [email protected] by March 4th in order to be considered. Guest curators should expect to commit to two afternoons or evenings and be available for the WE Show II opening on April 1 as well as WE Show’s monthly Art Tours during the second quarter of 2015.
All artists who apply must be signed up on the Arts Council’s Arts and Cultural Registry, a free service designed to be a go-to list for any organization or individual looking for art in the City. The registry is open to any artist who lives, works, performs or exhibits in Long Beach, CA.
Entry requirements for artists are as follows:
Entry Requirements
- Work Media: Most 2D media; limited space available for 3D work.
- Work Size: 6’X6’, 80 LB. max.
- Artist’s information on the Arts Council for Long Beach, Arts and Cultural Registry must be current and complete.
- Digital images (JPEG) of up to three works may be submitted either by email (using We Transfer) to [email protected] or on CD/DVD, mailed or delivered to: WE Labs, 235 E. Broadway, 8th Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802
- Artist Resume including biography, educational background, and exhibition record
- Artist Statement
- Sales price (if applicable)
Timeline
- Opening Reception: April 1, 2015
- Entries Due: March 6th, 2015
- Notification to artists: March 13, 2015
- Accepted Artwork: All 2D artwork must be installation-ready (wire or sawtooth hangers).
- Delivery: Artwork to be delivered to WE Labs by March 20th, artists will be notified of delivery days and times after selection process.
- Opening Reception: April 1, 2015, 7:00PM to 10:00PM
- Exhibit Ends: June 20, 2015