Stay Gallery and the arts in Downey

DOWNEY – Within the past month scores of people have written letters and spoken publicly to the Downey City Council, urging city leaders to continue a service contract that would allow Stay Gallery to remain open.

The small arts venue on Downey Avenue, just a half block from Porto’s, was opened eleven years ago as an artistic experiment with financial encouragement from the city and a lot of sweat equity from its founders and supporters.

Gabriel Enamorado, one of the gallery founders, remembers local businessman Mike Chirco donating all of the labor for the air conditioning, Elite Concrete donating labor to refinish the concrete floors, and Lowe’s in Pico Rivera donating the wood for the stylish façade.

Regarding the façade, Enamorado recalls, “Warren High School students installed the wood on a Saturday morning as extra credit.” A teacher organized the novice work crew and Porto’s donated pastries.

“They were so proud,” says Enamorado, who was only about 22 years old himself at the time.

Enamorado says that the name Stay was selected for the gallery because it represents the importance of having young people stay in their community and build on its potential.

Downey Art Vibe, a non-profit, was incorporated to operate the space for the benefit of the community. In exchange for operation services, the city committed funds from its Art in Public Places ordinance that DAV could use to pay the $2,000 monthly rent.

An art gallery on Downey Avenue also served the city’s interests at the time.

“A big part of why the space was created,” says Juliana Canty, Programs Director for Stay Arts which manages the gallery, “was because of the goal of downtown revitalization.”

First-time visitors frequently gush over how “lovely” the art space is and how lucky residents are to have it.

As was to be expected, the new art gallery stumbled for a while, but supporters had no doubt about its relevance for the community.

Not only did the venue host art exhibits, it also presented musical events, dramatic readings, book launches, poetry readings, and art experiences for local children. All ideas and suggestions were welcomed, and DAV collaborated with other arts groups such as the Downey Arts Coalition.

In 2019 DAV was reorganized and renamed as Stay Arts. Enamorado became Executive Director of this managing organization.

As with many other businesses, the physical gallery had to close during the COVID pandemic but Enamorado sought creative ways to keep people engaged online. When pandemic restrictions were lifted, Stay Arts reopened Stay Gallery and sought additional grants and funding to resume its mission of championing creative exploration and cultural expression.

Besides operating Stay Gallery, Stay Arts pursues projects that give work to local artists, including contracted workshops at community events, pop-up art exhibitions, and temporary art installations. Stay Arts is currently preparing a historic photo exhibition for Farmers and Merchants Bank at its branch on Lakewood, and is an art vendor for a mural project at Kaiser’s Garden Building in Downey.

Enamorado says that Stay Arts’s budget this year has grown to over $250,000—an amazing accomplishment given the organization’s humble beginnings.

A large part of the budget now includes contracts with a state program designed to help students recover from the isolation of pandemic conditions. Stay Arts hires and supervises teachers for free afterschool art classes for elementary and middle school students in Downey.

Participation in this state program reflects well on Stay Arts’s professionalism and reputation, but most of the funding is designated for the eight additional staff members and their supplies. None of this can be used to cover rent for the gallery space.

It is ironic that as the importance and reputation of Stay Arts grows, this is the year that the City of Downey pondered its relationship with organization and decided not to pursue renewal of the service contract when it ended in May.

Enamorado reports that if the financial predicament cannot be resolved, the physical gallery will have to close.

“Stay Arts will continue to operate,” he asserts, and “will continue to oversee the afterschool art classes. But the city will no longer have this community space.”

As more bars and restaurants open on Downey Avenue, the gallery’s closure will be a noticeable loss to the community.

“You lose a space that is family-oriented,” says Canty. “You cut off all access for activities for families and youth downtown.”

A Presence Beyond Downey

Although the contract between the city and Stay Arts ended in May, the issue of contract renewal appeared on the November 28 city council agenda because so many people wrote letters of support and showed up to speak during public comments at the prior council meeting.

Letters of support shared with the public on November 14 include one from an assistant director at the J. Paul Getty Museum, a senior manager at LA Metro, a director at Californians for the Arts, a director at Arts for LA, and the Chair of the Eastside Arts Initiative.

After eleven years of hard work by so many people (including my husband who regularly set up chairs for Poetry Matters), it is clear that Stay Gallery and Stay Arts have brought acclaim to the city and created a presence beyond Downey.

It is to the city council’s credit that its members were flexible and agreed to reconsider a public discussion after this expansive show of support.

At the November 28 council meeting, city staff reported that for the 11 years since Stay Gallery’s inception, from May 2012 through May 2023, Downey has contributed $375,838 in support of the gallery.

Mayor Claudia Frometa was right when she said, “This city does support the arts.” No question about it. The issue is how to move forward.

The importance and role of Stay Gallery within Downey is not a question of dollars and cents. It is a question of city priorities. Do city officials feel it is a priority for Downey to have an art gallery—somewhere, somehow?

George Manzanilla, Stay Arts board member and local businessman, explains that one important role of arts organizations is to serve as conduits for individual artists to work with government entities and other institutions.

When various organizations want to employ artists, Manzanilla says they often “look to organizations like Stay to facilitate that. And that, I think, is a function that has a worth that’s beyond just a dollar amount.”

The professionalism and growth of Stay Arts reflects well on the city, and there is a strong argument that continuation of the service agreement in the coming years is a good investment.

The Arts in Other Cities

By the 1970s, flush with income from the space program, Downey residents built a theater and supported a symphony, a civic light opera, and a museum of contemporary art. The former Downey Art League reportedly had over 250 members at one point and held yearly competitions. For years Writers Workshop West had over 30 members in monthly attendance.

Today the museum and civic light opera are both gone, the symphony is barely hanging on, and the theater is not doing as well as the city would hope. Artists and writers looking for organizational support usually look to other communities

This level of decline in formerly vibrant artistic activities is cause for concern. A robust arts scene contributes to a community’s economic well-being as well as its social well-being.

Neighboring communities with much smaller populations sometimes seem to have more going on for their residents culturally.

Nearby Santa Fe Springs, with a population that is less than 20 per cent of Downey’s, has the well-developed Heritage Art in Public Places city commission that meets monthly.

Its agendas and minutes are posted online and readily accessible to even those outside the community. The minutes reflect clear language and include details about income and expenses for the yearly Santa Fe Springs Art Fest. Minutes for one month report a motion to approve an art consultant service agreement for 2024, not to exceed $55,000!

Neighboring Norwalk and South Gate, with populations closer to that of Downey’s, have art galleries on city property. The Mary Paxon Art Gallery in Norwalk is open Tuesday through Friday and has monthly exhibits that stay up for several weeks with a reception on the closing day. Norwalk median household income is approximately the same as Downey’s.

The South Gate Art Gallery, next to City Hall has only two yearly exhibits, but the gallery does put out a call to artists based on a theme.

The city of Whittier has the non-profit Whittier Art Gallery which was built in 1939. While the Whittier gallery is an independent non-profit, it would be worthwhile to look at its methods of operation and how its gift shop is run.

On a regional level, profound changes are scheduled for this southeast LA area with plans for Southeast Los Angeles Cultural Center designed by architect Frank Gehry to be built near Imperial Blvd. and the confluence of the Los Angeles and Rio Hondo Rivers. This is right in Downey’s back yard.

Multiple state agencies are involved in planning this project, with the site is envisioned as multi-arts facility with space for performing arts, visual arts, and community events. It will cover approximately ten acres and be near the stations planned for the new LA Metro line that will serve the southeast LA communities. Communities will be asked to contribute their own experiences and visions to the project.

Considerations Moving Forward

There are several things worth considering if city officials want to build back the opportunities for residents to experience and participate in the arts.

One is to revisit past discussions about forming a city arts commission.

Commissions don’t cost very much (members aren’t paid) and they are advisory, not decision-making. And it’s a certainty that appointees would be responsible with “the people’s money” because Downey is known for its volunteerism and collaborative practices.

The establishment of a commission would show everyone that Downey knows how to inspire and harness vision.

Another issue worth revisiting is the building at Furman Park that formerly housed the Downey Museum of Art. The building was donated for a museum in 1957, but political squabbling led to its closure in 2013, and it was later leased to the Downey Family YMCA for $1 per year for children’s activities.

Not much has been happening with the building as YMCA officials and supporters are deep in fundraising for a new sports/health complex. Perhaps this would be an optimum site for Stay Arts Gallery. The building is on city property and a gallery there would have hundreds of visitors among the people who use the park every week.

Board member Manzanilla says one benefit of moving Stay Gallery to Furman Park is that “it allows us to be in a location that isn’t under market pressure all the time, as far as rising rents and such. If the city does do further investment in that location, it belongs to the city.

“It belongs to the public. Whereas, any investment we make in the downtown building, ultimately, some day it will be returned to the market and we’ll lose that.”

An arts commission and the building at Furman Park are topics that should be included in long-range city planning.

For now, it would make sense for the good of the community if the city council votes to renew the service contract with Stay Arts that would allow Stay Gallery to remain open. Mayor Frometa is to be applauded for making this suggestion.