PVAC Turns 90 and Celebrates with Starry, Starry Night Virtual van Gogh Presentation
PVAC Turns 90 and Celebrates with Starry, Starry Night Virtual van Gogh Presentation
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889. IMAGE: Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY
By Gail Phinney, PVAC Community Engagement Director
Founded in 1931 as the cultural arm of Palos Verdes Estates, Palos Verdes Art Center / Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education is dedicated to educating, enriching and building community through equal and inclusive access to the visual arts. We provide free exhibitions, affordable classes in all media, scholarships, elementary school-based art education and artist residencies, special education for low income and at-risk youth, outreach partnerships in the community, and support for our artist groups.
2021 marks our 90th anniversary. The story of the Palos Verdes Art Center begins in the early days of the Peninsula’s development. When Myron Hunt was commissioned to design a public library in 1929, it was determined from the start that the building would include an art gallery. The Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions was formed when the Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery opened in 1930, organizing early exhibitions and events.
Photo of the 2021 Grand Prize in the Palos Verdes Dream House Raffle, going on now. Information at CADreamRaffle.com.
Within a year the committee determined that a non-profit membership organization should take over responsibility, “for the advancement of knowledge and study of painting, sculpture, architecture, landscape architecture, music, drama and the applied arts.” On May 11, 1931, the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association (renamed the Palos Verdes Art Center in 2000) received its state charter. What followed was a series of exhibitions, programs and community events that set a standard of excellence for the next 90 years.
Students from Watts learning Center visit their Art At Your Fingertips Art projects on display at PVAC.
Community support enabled PVAC to move into a new facility at its current location in 1974. As community involvement continued to grow, it became apparent that the building could no longer meet the needs of the institution in the new millennium. What was required was visionary leadership to spearhead fundraising and a major renovation project. In 2002, Robert A. Yassin was hired as PVAC’s CEO and Executive Director charged with turning vision into reality.
Bob Yassin
Yassin, a graduate of Dartmouth College and University of Michigan, was an art historian with a strong academic background and equally strong entrepreneurial spirit. During his first year at PVAC he introduced a fundraising project that he had successfully implemented during his tenure as Executive Director of the Tucson Art Museum. The Palos Verdes Dream House Raffle, the first house raffle in California, launched in 2003 and continues to be a much-anticipated annual event. Following the successful renovation of the building, renamed the Palos Verdes Art Center/Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education, Yassin retired in 2012.
Doc Dave Streeter at the wheel in the PVAC ceramics studio.
Installation view of the exhibition MINORU OHIRA: MEMORY & NATURE.
Bob Yassin returns to PVAC on May 6 at 6 pm, to share his knowledge of one of the most beloved painters of all time – Vincent van Gogh. This online lecture is intended to provide a deeper understanding of van Gogh as a person, as an artist, and as a powerful figure in the history of modern art. Tickets for the event are $75 and include a gourmet dinner package with wine.
Young gallery visitors playing with one of the musical sculptures in The Alpay Scholarship exhibition, PLAY: New Works by Silvie Deutsch.
Drawing of the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association Art Center, 1982.
PVAC building wrap by artist Deb Stoner, 2020.
For more information on PVAC’s 90th Anniversary Celebration, Palos Verdes Dream House Raffle and Starry, Starry Night Virtual Presentation with Bob Yassin, visit our website at https://pvartcenter.org.
Historic photo of the Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery, opened in 1930.