Black Art and Legacy of the Brockman Gallery Celebrated at ARTBOUND Premiere Event in Downtown Los Angeles Hosted by PBS SoCal, LA County Museum of Art And Los Angeles Public Library

On Tues., Oct. 22, PBS SoCal hosted an event in collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to premiere a new film from its fifteenth season of original Emmy® award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND. The new one-hour documentary “Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy” explores how The Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park was the center of a community of Black artists from 1967-1990 featuring interviews with relevant artists and other art influencers and collectors. The event took place at LAPL’s Central Library in the Mark Taper Auditorium where over 200 guests previewed an advance screening of the PBS SoCal program paired with a panel discussion. Attendees included Black artists and influencers from across Southern California as well as the filmmakers and onscreen talent from the film, which premieres on Fri., Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal, with streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App.

A private reception hosted by Arterial preceded the screening with light bites and beverages catered by Fundamental. Attendees were welcomed by City Librarian John Szabo along with remarks from PBS SoCal’s Chief Content Officer Tamara Gould and Senior Director of Production Angela Boisvert who introduced guests to the new season of ARTBOUND and gave some insight into the new documentary. The almost at-capacity theater gave attendees a sneak peek of all five episodes coming up in Season 15 of ARTBOUND prior to the premiere screening of the film ARTBOUND: “Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy.” A panel discussion followed that included Co-founder of the Brockman Gallery Dale Brockman Davis, artist Charles Dickson and LACMA’s Vice President of Education and Public Programs Naima Keith moderated by PBS SoCal’s Bonnie Boswell.

Additional attendees included the film’s director Bryant Griffin, a representative for Supervisor Hilda Solis, author and sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen, Paddy Calistro of Angel City Press and former director of the Californian African American Museum Charmaine Jefferson. Also in attendance were Black artists featured in the film which included Ulysses Jenkins, Tami Outterbridge, Alitash Kebede, Dominique Moody and many more. Attendees received a limited-edition ARTBOUND tote bag created for the event, which featured art from each of the new films in the series.

ARTBOUND: “Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy” explores how The Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park was the center of a community of Black artists from 1967-1990. Founded during the heyday of the Black Arts movement and two years after the Watts uprising, it would go on to feature artists that included Betye Saar, Noah Purifoy and John Outterbridge. The Brockman Gallery ushered in a new era of Black artists, helping them penetrate the mainstream art world.