this october is going to be special.

we will celebrate our 2-year anniversary as a gallery and our 1-year anniversary as a colony. on october 10, 2009 we opened our doors with the “Everybody Someday” exhibit from Ito, our nutty friend in nyc. and last year, on october 1, 2010, we celebrated our anniversary show, which consisted of at least one piece from the shows of the previous year, plus special guest Cliff Cramp, while opening for the first time in our new space with our friends Hibbleton.

i remember the first time i saw our new space. it wasn’t “our new space” yet, but i could just feel it. after great conversations with Mike Magoski about the art community in fullerton, it was finally going to happen. it, as in a central hub for the arts in downtown fullerton. one wednesday evening after the monthly art walk meeting, Jesse La Tour, Mitchel Constantin and i went back to the Violethour with mike and candace to talk about the future. after socializing over some sangria and dreaming up best case scenarios (limitless dreams), we took a tour of the buildings that mike’s dad, Pete, owns. we were floored by 1) the amount of space/property there was, 2) all the stuff stored in (1), and 3) imagination-overload. an art colony? could it be real? were all the components coming together as one? after a few more meetings, we had finalized plans. mike is a true visionary. PÄS and Hibbleton were going to move in next to the Violethour in a warehouse down on the desolate Santa Fe Ave. we informally called it the “Santa Fe Art Colony” (referenced from an email dated 5/14/10), “Magoski Arts Center” (7/7/10) and “santa fe arts commune” (7/31/10).

as i was reminiscing the birth of the colony, i fished out a few old emails dated on May 14, 2010. “Gentlemen: Not even that powerful Sangria could erase the memories of Wed night’s conversations … What I’d like to do now is some very basic pre-planning to determine a basic footprint of operations:” starts off Mike Magoski. i followed with, “one thing we [kristy and i] are for certain though is the name of this “arts colony”. we’d like to nominate the name: “The Magoski” we think it will go well in conversation. ‘Let’s meet at the Magoski.’ ‘I’m taking a workshop at the Magoski.’ ‘Did you know Hibbleton moved to the Magoski?’ ‘I met this artist who has a studio in the Magoski, that place is so inspiring.’ ‘holy sheep, i was at the Magoski last night and saw the coolest film.’ ‘Did you know about the spoken word events at the Magoski.’ mitch chimes in with links to similar places in alabama, “I think you’re really onto something here.” and jesse agrees, “To a brighter future!”

two months later on July 19, 2010, mike calls another meeting, this time he brings in Katherine England.
“9-10/10:30 pm Violethour,
Brian-PAS
Jesse- Hibbleton
Katherine- bring your Son
Magin- listen to the future
Candace- yes, I’ll have fans on”
—
Handout Worksheets/Plan Views
Discuss Short Term and Long Term Goals
Develop Initial Time Lines
Discuss Immediate Concerns for next 90 days
—
Yes, there will be wine
and background music
and a dog that loves cheese”

the initial plans were these:

on july 20, 2010, mike writes, “Pete, aka Rockit Man, aka Dad or GRandpa, has returned this morning, has been briefed, and is 100 % behind this project.” this time Tony Bach is on the emails after attending a couple meetings. there was talk about Hibbleton and PÄS combining as one, but later we agreed that separate entities in a shared space was best. we got keys and spent over a month clearing the front 1/4 of the warehouse out. our goal was to open for the september art walk! we opened on Friday, October 1, 2010, the october artwalk. close enough.

somewhere in the middle of september, we were putting in the final touches. jesse wrote on 9/24/10, “So I spent most of today working on getting the new Hibbleton Gallery ready to open. We were all together in there: me, Steve, Tony, Chuck, Brian–painting walls, sanding, putting up drywall, listening to music, hanging out. It was fun. We were thinking about creating a lounge area/stage where bands can play or DJs can DJ and stuff. At one point, I looked around and said to Steve, “This place is gonna be awesome.” He said, “Yep.”

And then I went home and made some soup and watched Where The Wild Things Are. Max and his Wild Things build a fort together, and for some reason it really moves me. This idea of people creating something together. Making things as we want them. Not accepting things as they are–making them new. i feel like that’s what the gallery is all about, and this whole new Magoski Arts Colony. It’s like we’re a bunch of kids building a fort together. Making something in this world that we want to make, not because we have to or because anyone is telling us to, or because it’s gonna make us lots of money or anything stupid like that. We are doing it because it’s fun, and we want to.

Maybe that sounds cheesy, but it sounds good to me. I’ve really excited about this whole venture, guys.”

here are the only pre-opening snap shots i could find:

for PÄS, it’s been a great 2 years of growth. we’ve learned a lot. we’ve taken notes. but we must not forget why we are here… to love our community. we do that with partnering with our community and being in our community. that seemed like an easy goal with our small retail space on Harbor during the first year. now, as we become more well known and share space with big players in the local art world, sometimes it’s a little harder to focus. this month will mark a lot of reflection for PÄS where we will strive to get deeper in our commitment to the community. and, in the words of Jesse La Tour, “To a brighter future!”

yup. that pretty much sums it up.

now, one year later, The Magoski Arts Colony has a community of artists. to see, visit www.magoskiartscolony.com