Paige Bauer
10:30pm | Paige Bauer is presenting an art exhibition at the 2nd City Council Art Gallery, featuring work in a variety of media, created by gay women. The show, Ménage à Trois No. 4, takes place on Saturday, May 14, from 5 to 9 p.m., and will also feature music by Beautiful Chaos and Tarot readings by Stephanie Medina. There is a suggested donation of $10, which will help to defray the costs of the show, and also support The Trevor Project and the Take Me Home Pet Rescue.
Like many who live here, Paige is an import, so I asked her what brought her to Long Beach.
Paige: That’s simple: The weather! I was 33 years old and a friend invited me to tag along with her on a work trip. I had never been to California before, so I was all over the invite. I immediately fell in love with the weather, the vibe and the unlimited activities So Cal offers. Less than six months later, my dog Libby and I were headed west and have been California girls ever since.
Sander: Where had you lived before?
Paige: I grew up in central Iowa. I moved around a lot while I lived there. [I lived in] Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. My family always joked with me that they always wrote my address in pencil because I jumped around so much! I was living in Kansas City, Mo., before I moved to California. I’ve lived in California seven years now, which is the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place. I think my family finally feels comfortable writing my address in ink.
Sander: How did you develop your interest in making art?
Paige: I’ve always loved photography for as long as I can remember. Before I was really old enough to have my own camera, I would use my parents 110 and 126 instamatics and just shoot pictures for fun. The older I got, the more serious my interest grew. I’ve always been involved in photography on some level, from yearbook photographer in high school to college newspaper photography editor to doing what I’m doing now in my art shows. I feel my interest in photography has evolved a creative aspect and that’s what feels most comfortable to me.
Sander: Had you participated in group shows?
Paige: No … never had. This is all a brand new experience for me.
Sander: How did you come to the idea of producing one?
Paige: I went to an art reception to support a friend that had a piece of her work in a 2nd City Council Art Gallery exhibit. I loved the space and, while I was standing there talking to my friend and another friend of ours — all of us are artists — I said to them I thought we should get a group of our friends together and have our own art show. My specific idea was to feature all gay women artists. I think they thought I was a little crazy. I mean, really, I had no experience producing an art exhibit ,so what was I thinking, but I did it anyway.
I rented the gallery and the planning process began. At that point I had no idea how it would turn out. I kept my fingers crossed and was hoping if I built it, they would come. Turns out everyone loved the idea, and I am now on my fourth gay women’s art show. I also did a dog art show, too.
Sander: Why do you feel it important to feature gay women artists?
Paige: Well, I feel it is important to support the community when I can. I know so many creative and talented gay women in the community, and I wanted to bring them together to showcase their work. I felt pretty confident that I could find enough artists to do the first show, but I had no idea how many gay women artists are really out there! Word has spread about the gay women’s shows, and I now have artists contacting me wanting to be in future shows. After this next women’s show in May, I will have showcased 35 gay women artists. The shows have become a really popular event in the gay women’s community, with a focus on artistic creativity and visibility.
Sander: Tell me about two of the women who will be sharing work in the show?
Paige: Beverly Williams is a Long Beach artist who creates, designs and assembles one-of-a kind functional art displays and cabinets out of recycled, broken down antiques. She is beyond talented and just happens to be the artist whose reception I was attending when I first had the idea to do the gay women’s show!
Judy Francesconi is another artist featured in the show. Judy is a legendary lesbian photographer whose work concentrates on fine art images of women with women. I first became familiar with her work about 15 years ago. I was living in Iowa and had just come out. I remember seeing one of Judy’s images at a book store and was struck by how beautiful her work was, but also how affirming it was to me at that time in my life to see non-stereotypical images of gay women. I was immediately drawn to Judy’s photos because they were images I could relate to.
It was though the magic of Facebook we connected, and I invited her to show her work in the women’s exhibit. I was in shock when she agreed! I mean, never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would one day meet Judy, let alone be showing her work in an exhibit I created … it’s a true honor.
Sander: What’s next?
Paige: Well, after this show is over I plan on taking a little breather before I start planning the next exhibit, an all dog-themed art exhibit titled BEST IN SHOW: Art Goes to the Dogs! I did BEST IN SHOW last June and got a great response, so I wanted to bring it back again this year. Long Beach is a perfect place for an exhibit like BEST IN SHOW because we love our dogs here so much! It made perfect sense to me to honor our canine companions in an exhibit all of their own.
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The 2nd City Council Art Gallery is located at 435 Alamitos Ave. More information about the gallery can be found at 2ndcitycouncil.org.
Beverly Williams’ work can be found at TheIndustriousBeaver.com.
More information about Judy Francesconi can be found at JudyFrancesconi.com.