On view now through November 26, Alabaster Projects is exhibiting Black Pacifica, a collaborative showcase of 13 growing artists who were selected for a summer program offered by NewCrits, an artist mentorship platform, and LA’s collective-structured non-profit, the Black Image Center. 

Those featured in Black Pacifica have workshopped their pieces via studio visits and have received artistic and professional counsel from mentors like EJ Hill, Farah Al Qasimi, Curtis Talwst Santiago, and more spearheading artists of different mediums. Curated by Blessing Greer-Mathurin under mentorship from Ajay Kurian, Black Pacifica reports a collective of individual voices that paint a portrait of Black identity, reality, memory, and experience. 

The exhibition’s name is joined by two inspirations: a Chrysler Pacifica, its recognizable silhouette familiar to Angelenos, represents readiness, mobility, and the capacity to connect; and the Pacific Ocean, the edge of its expansive landscape only miles from the physical exhibition, symbolizes a space for contemplation on the evolution of diaspora, the West, and historic and contemporary colonialism. 

In a range of mediums like photography, installations, sculptures, textiles, and more, Black Pacifica is made complete by artists Brandon Foushée, Lawrence Dotson, Deshion McKinley, Francis Agyapong Jr., Zay Monae, Leeban Farah, Amanuel Getachew, Austin Pope, Jabari Wimbley, Renée Uba, Chanelle Triplett, Markele Cullins, and Karine Fluekime. The works created by these artists may have began with their unique perspectives on reality, yet on the other end of Black Pacifica, each piece is made alive by community, creating a collective story that awaits it's viewers on 1634 W Temple St.