The concept of “open-air galleries” is appealing now more than ever. That’s why my boss Linda Wehrli and I were thrilled to hear about the 7th Annual Billboard Exhibition!
So what is this all about? Linda introduced me to the non-profit, The Billboard Creative, last summer. TBC’s aim is to replace advertising with original art for an entire month at some of the busiest intersections throughout LA.
These open-air galleries can be found at major intersections such as Sunset and Vine, Beverly and Laurel, and Hollywood and Western.
TBC’s goal is two-fold:
1. To help emerging and underrepresented artists break through traditional career bottlenecks by raising their profile with the public and the arts community.
2. To bring art to city streets making it as accessible as the numerous billboards we view every day.
For 6 years, the non-profit has been dedicated to helping artists break barriers through exposure, publicity and lots of hard work. You can read Pastimes’ introduction blog about the organization here.
Artwork in TBC’s shows, which include curated selections from emerging, mid-career, under-appreciated, as well as established artists, has been passed by cars more than 45 million times and appeared in the LA Times, Flaunt Magazine, the Huffington Post, NPR/KCRW’s Art Talk, Creators Project, and L’Oeil de la Photographie among numerous other publications. Now that’s what I called being seen!
With the current times, this is a perfect solution to display artwork since many galleries are unfortunately still closed. Pastimes had its first successful Virtual Student Art Showcase in August, but maybe we should try out the billboard method next!
This year, the exhibition will be curated by Victoria Burns. She has advised new and experienced collectors and corporations on building significant art collections. Burns is passionate about supporting innovative arts organizations, emerging artists, and believes that art and culture can create, challenge, or change points of view.
So, who is permitted to exhibit? Submissions are open internationally to all art disciplines. Their method is – if you can put it in a digital file, TBC can put it on a billboard!
The entry fee is $28 and $8 for additional entries. The deadline is December 14th, 2020, so submit your artwork soon!
Good luck to all the artists!
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I’ve been committed to continuing lifelong learning and inspiring creative thinking through art and music since 1989. I’d love to meet you! You’re welcome to chat with me on Zoom or stop by the studio. Just shoot me an email at Linda@pastimesinc.com and I’ll be glad to set up a mutually convenient time.
Putting art on billboards is nothing new. I am reminded of Diego Rivera’s murals, see https://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-rivera and Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, see https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp. The cost of the billboard displays will not be recovered because of not advertising a product or service that earns back the revenue to pay for it. In other words, billboard art displays are altruistic in nature. But they add essential cultural value for the public.
Indeed. Thank you for your comment. Agreed.
What a cool idea and nice way for artists to get their work displayed. It also gives people something different to look at and creative.
I thought so, too. Thank you for sharing your comment.