CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION RETROSPECTIVE ART EXHIBIT OPENS AT MUSEUM OCT. 4

The California Community Foundation (CCF), the Getty Foundation and the Japanese American National Museum on Saturday, Oct. 4, launched a three-month retrospective featuring the works of 33 recipients of the foundation’s Fellowships for Visual Artists from the past 20 years.

Co-sponsored by the Getty Foundation, the exhibit is entitled "Twenty Years Ago Today: Supporting Individual Artists in L.A,’" and runs through Jan. 11, 2009, at the Japanese American National Museum.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of CCF’s partnership with the Getty in supporting visual artists. "There are few sources for direct funding to individual artists so we are delighted to partner with Getty to help visual artists pursue their passion,’" said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO at CCF. "This exhibition celebrates 20 years of the rich diversity and creativity that is L.A."

"Our partnership with the California Community Foundation has been a key aspect of our support for artists in Southern California through the past 20 years. We are pleased to celebrate this milestone with the exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum," said Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation.

"It is a special honor for our museum to host this momentous exhibition," stated Akemi Kikumura Yano, president and CEO of the National Museum. "Having been recognized by national foundations for our innovative achievement in the arts, our institution feels this exhibition builds upon our commitment to cultural and community partnerships and the contextualization of the visual arts."

Since 1988, more than 130 diverse Los Angeles artists have received the Fellowships for Visual Artists to advance their artistic development. The fellowships are made possible by the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, the Atlass Fund, the Brody Arts Fund, the Joan Palevsky Endowment for the Future of Los Angeles and other California Community Foundation funds.

The 2008 fellows were recognized at a reception Saturday kicking off the exhibition. A Web gallery of their work is featured at www.calfund.org. The exhibit was curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Rita Gonzalez.

Artists included in this show are Lynn Aldrich, Cindy Bernard, Natalie Bookchin, Erica Cho, Sandra de la Loza, Roy Dowell, Eve Fowler, Harry Gamboa Jr., Todd Gray, Jim Isermann, Hilja Keading, Charles LaBelle, William Leavitt, Jesse Lerner, Won Ju Lim, Monica Majoli, Daniel J. Martinez, Dominique Moody, Kori Newkirk, Ruby Osorio, Lari Pittman, Rachel Rosenthal, Erika Rothenberg, Betye Saar, Lezley Saar, Connie Samaras, Kyungmi Shin, Haruko Tanaka, John Valadez, Sara Velas, Megan Williams and Bruce and Norman Yonemoto.

The California Community Foundation is L.A.’s foundation. We’ve been around since 1915 and have more than $1 billion in assets. Each year we give about $125 million in grants to outstanding nonprofits. We’re known as the biggest supporter of individual artists in the region, the largest scholarship fund manager in L.A. and a national leader in increasing services for returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of donors choose us because of our personal service and expertise. To learn more, go to www.calfund.org.

The Getty Foundation provides support to for the understanding and preservation of the visual arts in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Through strategic grants and programs, the foundation strengthens art history as a global discipline, increases access to collections, promotes the interdisciplinary practice of conservation, and develops current and future leaders in the visual arts. The foundation is one of four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts. Additional information is available at www.getty.edu/foundation. Press contact: Melissa Abraham, MAbraham@getty.edu, (310) 440-6861.

The Japanese American National Museum is dedicated to fostering greater understanding and appreciation for America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by preserving and telling the stories of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Since its incorporation in 1985, the National Museum has grown into an internationally recognized institution, presenting award-winning exhibitions, groundbreaking traveling exhibits, educational public programs, innovative video documentaries and cutting-edge curriculum guides. The National Museum raised close to $60 million to renovate an historic building in 1992 and open a state-of-the-art Pavilion in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo Historic District in 1999. There are now members and donors representing all 50 states and 16 countries. To learn more, go to www.janm.org. Press contact: Chris Komai, ckomai@janm.org, (213) 830-5648.