Lara Bank
MFA '98 CalArts in Studio Art
MFA '96 University of Maryland at College Park in Painting
Adjunct Faculty at Otis, USC, Pierce College, & Moorpark College
larabank.com

Sea and Space Explorations
4755 York Blvd
LA, CA 90042
tel 323-445-4015
fax 323-982-0854
info@seaandspace.org
http://www.seaandspace.org
Director & Founder: Lara Bank
map

Gallery Hours
Sundays 1-5PM
Or call 323-445-4015 or email to make an appointment.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lara Bank, Chief Executive Officer
Adam Overton, Treasurer
Emily White, Secretary (Legal Advising)
Loren Hartman, Chair of the Board

ADVISORY BOARD / EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE
to be announced soon...

MISSION STATEMENT

The sea and space are uninhabitable and inhospitable regions, yet they are essential to life. We navigate these environments using technology that provides only a dim understanding of what is both familiar and unfamiliar, easy to see but impossible to fathom. They are targets for conquest whose expansiveness resists us.

These two spheres bracket us, literally and metaphorically as representatives of worlds beyond, portholes into what we have yet to discover about ourselves. They are grounds for exploration and intense risk-taking; we rewrite and restructure our world with what we find.

Sea and Space Explorations strives to create a hiccough beyond the binaries of good and bad, market constraints, and notions of progress, where artists who are genuinely engaged in the specificities of their own practice can come to take the risks that are entirely their own. This space will primarily be dedicated to artwork that has historically been termed "conceptual," "theoretical," "political" or "alternative," terms that are loose and applicable to all media. Sea and Space vigorously supports the autonomy of artists, lecturers, guest curators, and collaborators, especially with regard to the presentation of their work.

GOALS

1. To steer towards work that resists capitalization as the gallery operates as a capitalist critique of sorts.

2. We seek works that are either relational, collaborative, large scale, ephemeral, video, performance, neo-conceptual, or in traditional mediums that would have a really hard time fitting into a commercial gallery.

3. We aim to support work that is marginal and not as supported due to content, scale, longevity, or conceptual reasons.

4.We are deeply committed to work that has strong content with little visibility.

5. We support artists and their endeavors over objects. The space is more of an exploratorium or experience for artists engaging within their practice than it is a gallery.


COSTS

in 2007 the cost has been $800 a month. This includes rent, electric, half of postcard costs (split this with artists), postage, beer, water, cleaning supplies, and repairs. Part of the space is rented out to keep the rent low.

aside:

I personally lose $9,600 a year on this project, not including the startup costs of the initial year ($4,000). The gallery made less than $200 on sales last year.

How do I afford to do this?
Through working multiple jobs outside of the gallery and maintaining a very low cost of living.

I believe that these details are very significant as I feel that I am proof that if I can do this, many people can as well. It does cost as making any art project does and I feel that this is worth paying for. I also recognize my privilege to do this kind of project in terms of the support and resources that have been available to me from our community.

---Lara Bank

We are incorporated and aim to go non-profit.

LABOR

Lara Bank
Director, Founder and CEO
Conceptualization of the direction of the space, artist/curator selections, studio visits, website maintenance, promotion, press contact, documentation, repairs and maintenance, accounting, cleaning, gallery sitting, and errands (20-40 hrs a week).

Adam Overton
Board Member
Intern & Volunteer Coordinator, Advisor

Loren Hartman
Chairman of the Board
Advisor

Emily White
Secretary
Legal Advisor

Interns:
February 2008 - May 2008 Chelsea Lewcow. 8hrs a week. From Occidental College.
We miss you Chelsea!

ARTISTS' RESPONSIBILTIES

•Installation and deinstallation of show

•The space should be returned to the state that you found it in. Artists are responsible for repairing the walls, floor, ceiling if they are altered or marked. If alterations are extensive, cost for repairs will be the artists responsibility.

•If you have more than one opening a month, you must contribute to beer costs if you wish to serve beer.

•Part of postcard costs if they want them. We buy 150. We send out 100 to press and keep 50 for the gallery. Artist pays for additional postcards that they want starting at 150 for themselves at around $30.

GALLERY SUPPLIES ARTISTS WITH

•Space (key access at all times)

•Publicity

•Gallery sitter on Sundays 1-5pm

•Documentation on website

•Beer and water for openings. If you have more than one opening a month, artists must contribute to beer costs if they wish to serve beer.

•Paint and painting supplies to return space to original state.

•BBQ out back is free to use and back patio area (as long as noise is kept to a minimum, we do have lovely neighbors).

SUBMISSION PROCESS

We accept submissions. We want this to alway be an inclusive project. If your work doesn't make sense with our mission and goals for the space, please don't apply. How do you know if this is you. Well, if the work you want to show here can easily fit within a commercial gallery and probably will eventually then don't apply.

Please send submissions in the form of an email with a link to work online or with only a few attached (under 500kb) images to info@seaandspace.org. Snail mail usually just piles up and is harder to get to or gets misplaced.

Turn around isn't always so good due to all the labor that necessitates the running of this space and lack of current resources and support. So, don't be offended if you don't get an immediate response.

MUGS


Mug wall in gallery.

Mugs are $3 to buy and free to borrow. All proceeds go to the gallery. Bought mugs can be taken or left in the gallery with your name (mark) on your mug.