Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE)
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, better known as LACE is the longest running arts organization in LA first founded in 1978 by a group of 12 artists. Since its beginning it’s been a space of experimentation, including performance and installation, forms that in its founding were not embraced by the mainstream arts world. It’s continued to be a place that is open and flexible, supports political work, and tries to feature women, queer, and people of color.
Some of their key programs include the Emerging Curators program which invites one curator or team to develop an exhibition at LACE. It’s an opportunity to give curators more visibility in a supportive environment, as well as feature work that they might otherwise not programmed themselves. They also have a Summer Residency program for artists at different points in their careers to develop a project over a few months.
Community
The space has been at the current location on Hollywood Blvd since the early 1990s, and considers the Hollywood Blvd community an important audience, along with often presenting street performances and incorporating the stories and characters of their neighbors into the exhibitions themselves.
Because of their long history, their audiences are multigenerational. They pride themselves in their long history and often curate exhibitions in dialogue with exhibitions hosted in space decades ago.
- Visual Art
- Dance
- Music
- Education
- Cinematic Arts
- Poetry
- Performance
Media
Hollywood Boulevard is an extension of LACE because most artists that perform here want to go out and perform. This is important for Hollywood - our presence - because we are the only art space around addressing our surroundings, looking at the housing crisis and the change in the neighborhood - Daniela Lieja Quintanar, Curator
