This story begins in a little coffee shop in Urbana, Illinois, where I paired my first day as an intern at the Escalette Collection with a blackberry latte and a croissant. I opened Jessica’s e-mail attached with my official 10-week internship program. Seeing the program she curated just for me, I was filled with anticipation
Earlier this summer, the Escalette Collection introduced Mercedes Dorame, an artist whose work asserts the Tongva people’s presence by intervening in the landscapes of California. Today, we’d like to introduce another Tongva artist who utilizes visual imagery to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples in Los Angeles: River Garza. River Garza is a Los Angeles-based
Image: Maggi Owens (center) with Ross and Phyllis Escalette It is with great sadness that the Escalette Collection announces the death of its former Curator, Maggi Owens, on August 15, 2022 in Palm Desert, CA. Owens made an inestimable contribution to Chapman’s campus over the long period she served, first as a volunteer, then co-director
The Escalette Collection is excited to announce a new exhibition featuring 10 years of Tab: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics in the Henley Galleria on the 2nd floor of Argyros Forum. Tab Journal re-envisions literary cultural production using design thinking; publishes work that represents a range of aesthetics and stages of career; and strives to
Almost a year ago, we announced that one of the most well-known paintings in the Escalette Collection – Untitled by Mary Corse – was going to be on loan to Copenhagen Contemporary in Copenhagen, Denmark. This summer, we were so fortunate to be able to go to Copenhagen to see our painting in their landmark exhibition about
Laurie Steelink is an artist, curator, musician, and member of the Akimel O’otham tribe (Gila River Indian Community). Born in 1960, in Phoenix, Arizona, she is part of a generation “that was impacted by one of the last vestiges of the U.S. Government’s active attempts at full hegemonic assimilation of Native Americans through the promotion
The Escalette Collection is excited to share our new mini podcast series hosted by Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast, titled “The Artist is Present.” In this series, students interview Escalette Collection artists, asking questions about their artistic practice, career, and interests. A new episode will drop every Thursday during the month of July. You can
As an artist born in Los Angeles, and as a member of the Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California (whose land extended from the Los Angeles Basin to the Southern Channel Islands), Mercedes Dorame feels deeply connected to the landscape of California. She explores the problematics of living in a place that once belonged to her
The 3rd floor of Beckman Hall recently got an art makeover by students in Micol Hebron’s Contemporary Gallery Practices course. Throughout the Spring semester, the students in Gallery Practices worked together to conceptualize an exhibition and select artwork from the Escalette Collection to be featured in Beckman Hall. Since the students in Gallery Practices came
Zackary Drucker, in collaboration with Rhys Ernst, created a series of photographs titled Relationship that lasted from 2008 until 2014 that focused on not only their evolving stages in their respective transitions, but also their attachment to one another. Gaze, energy, and intimacy are all important themes in this series. The representation of transgender bodies