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Altadena is home to many Black artists, many of whom were affected by the L.A. fires. A new exhibit at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park seeks to honor that legacy.” is filled with artworks from more than 20 people who live in or have family ties to the neighborhood.
It’s free to visit and will be on display through Oct. 12.Curator Dominique Clayton says the exhibit isn’t about destruction. It’s about the hope artists found in the ashes of the Eaton Fire and the area’s strong Black community.“Ode to ’Dena” brings together a range of artists with different skills. There are mixed media pieces, watercolor paintings, structures and family photos. Some artists even used charred materials from the Eaton Fire. There’s only one actual reference to fire in the exhibit.Some are black and white, some are color. They show Altadenans over the decades during treasured moments, such as a birthday celebration or family pool time. They’re part of the exhibition’s more than 20 Black artists, all of whom live in or have family ties to the neighborhood.“One of the first things that I envisioned in my mind was putting together this wall of archival photos, personal family photos, photos of the artists in the exhibition,” said Cameron Shaw, the museum’s executive director. She wanted to show how family and community are critical parts of Altadena life.“Ode to ’Dena” isn’t your traditional tour of place and history. This exhibition is about the neighborhood’s artistic tradition, which blends the past and present. Curator Dominique Clayton said the show is bittersweet because it stems from pain, but that it also poses an opportunity for people to learn another part of L.A. County’s cultural history. Museum galleries usually take a long time to organize, but Clayton said she was able to put this one together quickly. She started working on it in mid-January, just after the Eaton Fire broke out. She said that speed was in part because of Altadena’s supportive community of artists. “ I like to say it’s community curated,” Clayton said. “ I would talk to one artist. I was introduced to another and another. And so it sort of built itself.”These items were curated by Octavia's Bookshelf owner Nikki High as a symbol of the Altadena's Black literary legacy.Debris from the Eaton Fire also gets a new life here. A scorched flugelhorn sits next to burned tree branches. A piece titled"From the Ashes" from artist Sam Pace. The work includes a flugelhorn that was found in the ashes of his neighbor's Altadena home.The show also transcends generations. Davis’ 2-year-old son Micah has two watercolor paintings in the exhibit. He’s the youngest artist in “Ode to ’Dena.” Watercolor paintings from Micah Zuri Davis-O'Connor. These paintings were done with the help of his grandfather, Keni"Arts" Davis. His paintings, showing before and after looks at lost Altadena places, are also in the show.The exhibit is an example of change in America, Clayton said. The arts culture now has multiple generations of Black artists, and Altadena plays a big role in that. For example, Kenturah Davis' artworks are joined by ones from her parents. Her mother, Mildred “Peggy” Davis, has handmade quilts on display., who watched from New York as his family lost their home. His oil painting, called “Moses” contains the only reference to fire in the show. It shows Moses as a Black man sitting next to a burning bush surrounded by desert. Clayton says that piece is emblematic of the hopeful energy she wanted for the whole show — “so that it’s not so much about destruction and disaster," Clayton said,"but really about enlightenment.” Marcus Leslie Singleton's "Moses." During the L.A. fires, Singleton helped raise money from New York for his family, who lost their home in Altadena.Shaw said the team leaned into its mission to preserve Black art history and culture after the fires. She hopes that people who have a history with the Altadena area can see themselves reflected honestly in the exhibit.This was largely because of redlining. When it was banned in 1968, a “white flight” in Altadena ensued. One of L.A. County’s first middle-class communities with Black people emerged there, known as the Meadows. Today, Altadena is 18% Black — roughly double the rest of the county. “ Dominique says something so beautiful, which is that there are Altadenas everywhere,” Shaw said. “And that doesn’t mean that Altadena is replicable, but that there are Black places worth protecting.”— Curator Dominique Clayton on how to support the artists“ Take a moment to look them up,” she said. “Read about them, learn about them, tell someone else about them.” “Ode to ’Dena” will be on display through Oct. 12. Visitors can check out the free exhibit at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park.
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