Open Call: Apophenia
December 9, 2023 to March 16, 2024

Opening reception on Saturday, December 9, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG), a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is pleased to present Open Call: Apophenia. In celebration of the gallery’s 70th anniversary, LAMAG revisits its popular open call format, an exhibition featuring 350 artists living and/or working in Southern California. Founded as the All City Outdoor Festival in 1950 and dispersed throughout nine LA city parks, the recurring program evolved into Open Call, a non-juried opportunity for youth, students, professional, and non-professional artists to present their artwork side by side at LAMAG. This year, in lieu of a cash prize and honorable mentions, LAMAG will invite between two to four artists to develop an exhibition in the gallery’s project space.

Selections were made by newly appointed LAMAG Curators Nancy Meyer and Hugo Cervantes.

This year’s subtitle, Apophenia, addresses the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things, such as objects or ideas. The show’s ethos speaks of creating connection among unrelated artists and practices celebrating the differences that assemble Southern California. Open Call: Apophenia includes multimedia works by artists living within Southern California, including Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. Organized by theme, medium, and color, Open Call: Apophenia generates a conversation mediated by artistic differences to create points of connection.