“Protection” by Tracey Durfee. Silk screen, acrylic and image transfers on wood panel, 10″ x 10″.
2:34pm | In the West, elephants are beloved and iconic symbols of strength, grace and wisdom. In South East Asia, however, they’re beasts of burden. There, conditions for working elephants are sometimes beyond conception. Some are given amphetamines and denied sleep, and some are starved. Wild elephants, when trapped by a poacher’s snare, injure themselves to the point where they can no longer survive.
In Thailand, Laithongrien Meepan created the Royal Elephant Kraal, a facility where injured, abused and elderly elephants are given all the care they need. He’s also a world-reknowned breeder of captive elephants and trains them to interact safely with people. Meepan has also created a farm specifically to grow food for his elephants and started ElephantStay, which allows visitors to live and work with elephants.
At this point, you may be scratching your head and wondering, “What does this have to do with Long Beach?” Well, local artists Jamie Kivisto and Traci Durfee heard about the Krall from a friend who had visited there and were so inspired that they decided to hold a fundraiser.
The event is this Saturday from 5 – 10 p.m. at the 2nd City Council Art Gallery and will feature work by more than 40 artists. There’s a suggested donation of $10, which will go to the Krall, and you’ll be able to enjoy Thai food and live entertainment, as well.
Jamie: I’ve always had a fondness for elephants and painted them for many years. A little over a year ago, a friend of mine went to visit the sanctuary that we are supporting. She said it was the most amazing thing she’s done, and she travels a ton.
Ever since then, I thought it would be cool to help them out since they are doing a wonderful thing by rehabing old retired worker elephants.
Sander: How did you get the ball rolling?
Jamie: We started asking our artist friends and spreading the word through Facebook and Craigslist. We had a huge response! Way more than expected! Many of the artists were inspired, and created work specifically for the show. All of the work will be elephant/South East Asian-themed.
Traci: Even through this last weekend we had a few more people contact us basically begging to be allowed to be in the show, so it has been pretty amazing to see the excitement and the word speading via social media outlets.
In fact, a few people who are providing entertainment contacted us to participate. So much of this was people finding us rather than the other way around. There is something about elephants that I think so many people just instantly gravitate toward, and they feel a connection with those gentle giants.
Sander: Is this the first fundraising event you’ve produced?
Jamie: We have both participated in, and put on, art shows and been involved with fundraising events. This is the first one that we have officially produced on our own. We are thinking about doing something for Japan a few months out.
Traci: What is incredible about Long Beach is the huge amount of interest in, and support for, the arts we have going on the city. Plus, when you produce something in concert with a good cause, the people of Long Beach connect to that. We are definitely a city of conscious citizens that care about things locally and globally.
As residents of the East Village, we have seen so many good arts-related things happening here over the past three years. And I think it’s just scratching the surface. This area will be THE neighboorhod of great happenings in the next few years. We’re excited to be in the middle of it.
We both moved to Long Beach from other parts of the country five-plus years ago and have both had artistic opportunities here that I don’t think would have happened in most other cities.
Sander: Like what?
Jamie: I think it basically has to do with the people and the appreciation for art and community. I moved here from Cincinnati and, even though it’s a great city, I don’t think it would be as easy to get this large group of people excited for these types of events. It also has to do with being personally more inspired and motivated here.
Traci: Like Jamie, I have just been so inspired since moving here from Boston. There is something that just makes you want to LIVE more vibrantly in SoCal, [laughs] if that makes sense!
For me, I finally found my art “niche” here. I have a background in graphic design, but always wanted to do more with the fine arts. I tried all sorts of art methods, but never thought I was particularly great at anything until, in 2009, I started taking classes at LBCC in printmaking. I haven’t stopped with it since. It’s my big, big love, and my “thing.”
Of course, by taking a plethora of classes there, I have also been able to meet many people who love the arts, too, and have, for sure, been able to build a network of likeminded colleagues and friends.
Sander: What brought you both to Long Beach in the first place?
Traci: [laughs] Women. (Now exes, thankfully.) We met each other through an Artists Way group I had put together three years ago. Fate. [smiles] That really is the serious answer as to how, but we were both ready for some very new scenery at our repective places in life at the time. Now, Long Beach feels like home.
For more information about the event, which is titled The Elephant In The Room, visit Facebook.
To see Jamie’s portfolio, visit JamieKivisto.com.
For information about the 2nd City Council Art Gallery’s exhibitions and programs, visit 2ndCityCouncil.org.
