Cultural Programs, Events & Tours
MARION DAVIES GUEST HOUSE & DOCENT TOURS
Discover the rich history of the Beach House with Santa Monica Conservancy docents.
There's no charge to visit, and reservations are never required.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday from 11am-2pm
Drop-in between 11am - 2pm when docents are available to share history, answer questions and provide brief tours.
Tours are free, last approximately 30 minutes, and accommodate up to 15 people.
Please note: During fall, winter and spring, hours are subject to change with short notice.
Please check the website calendar or call 310-458-4904 to confirm hours.
‘Life In This Ocean’ Opening Reception
Saturday, September 29, 2 - 4pm
Come to the opening reception and talk with the artists of 'Life In This Ocean'. Light refreshments will be served.
Please click here to RSVP
Skin and Paper: Taxidermy and Storytelling with Catherine Coan
Tuesday, October 30, 6:30 - 8pm
Join us for Writer-in-Residence Catherine Coan’s introductory event at the Annenberg Community Beach House. In “Skin and Paper,” Coan draws connections between written narrative and the craft of taxidermy.
Please click here to RSVP
'Life In This Ocean' Artist Talk
Thursday, November 1, 6:00 - 8pm
Exhibiting artists Donna Bates, Lena Rushing, Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman and Kathy Taslitz discuss their work, their experience as women in the art world, and their exploration of narratives that speak to the collective human condition.
Please click here to RSVP
Gallery Open Daily 9am - 4pm
‘Life In This Ocean’ On view September 29
Co-curated by Kathy Taslitz and Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman, Life In This Ocean showcases the work of four female artists with distinctly different styles, harmonized by their experience as women and their exploration of narratives that speak to the collective human condition. Surreal images pose questions about how we portray ourselves, how we are seen by others, and our relationships with one another. Unconventional characters challenge orthodox views of familiar dialectics, such as strength vs vulnerability, humanity vs nature, and connection vs disconnection.
Artist Donna Bates’ paintings reveal self-sufficient, sexy, powerful women. The complexity, strength, and humanity of the images she creates evoke powerful emotions and a profound empathy. Lena Rushing paints the tenacious, independent women she admires. Often paired against exotic predators, the women who inhabit Rushing’s paintings exude both enigmatic power and vulnerability. Using modified oil and egg tempera techniques of the 14th Century Masters, Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman depicts subjects who are young, hauntingly innocent, and teetering on the edge of naïveté. With her mixed media aluminum and giclée series EVERYTHING IS GREAT. NOT REALLY, artist Kathy Taslitz explores the fears and insecurities behind social masks in the Instagram age.
Please note: During fall, winter and spring, hours are subject to change with short notice.
Please check the website calendar or call 310-458-4904 to confirm hours.
About the Gallery:
As part of the City’s ongoing commitment to provide cultural programming, a rotating exhibition program has been created to showcase the work of local artists, artist groups, photographers and curators—both emerging and established. Exhibitions are programmed a year in advance through an open call for group exhibitions issued each year in early summer. For information about this and other artist opportunities, check here and join the "Artist Opportunities" email list. For more information about the gallery, please contact Santa Monica Cultural Affairs at (310) 458-8350.
Catherine Coan is a poet, professor, and hybrid taxidermist living in Los Angeles. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Poetry, Poetry Northwest, the Seattle Review, and Terrain. Her first book of poems, Aviation, was published by Blue Begonia Press (Yakima, WA) in 2000. Catherine grew up in Montana, went to school in the Pacific Northwest, and has lived in L.A. for eighteen years. She is deeply interested in the wisdom and humor that can be discovered at the intersections of the human and animal worlds, and her hybrid taxidermy can be found at fine art galleries in Los Angeles and nationally. catherinecoan.com
Office Hours:
Mondays Oct 22 - Dec 17, 11am - 2pm
Note: Week of Nov 12, office hours will be on Wednesday, Nov 14.
Coan will be working from the resident office in the Marion Davies Guest House. The public is invited to her office hours for questions about poetry and her process.
Event Dates:
Oct 30: Skin and Paper: A talk on Taxidermy and Storytelling
Nov 27: Cross-disciplinarity: a conversation with artists working between worlds
Dec 11: Poetry reading with live painting and music
About Artist Residency Program:
In celebration of Marion Davies’ support of artists, and to further the work of artists in all disciplines, the City of Santa Monica created the Annenberg Community Beach House Artist Residency program. Several times a year a local artist works out of an office at the Marion Davies Guest House, sharing their progress with the public both in person and online. Check out the Artist in Residence blog at http://beachhouseair.blogspot.com.
For questions about the Residency, please contact Naomi Okuyama, Cultural Affairs Supervisor at naomi.okuyama@smgov.net or call (310) 458-2257. Current calls can be viewed here. Join the "Artist Opportunities" email list for future notices.
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