FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 08, 2009

June marks 25 years for Downtown Pomona’s influential dA Center for the Arts
The Members Show
Exhibit Dates: June 13 to June 27
Opening Reception: 2nd Saturday, June 13, 6pm to 10pm
Birthday Party: Saturday, June 27th, 6pm to 10pm

The Pomona Arts Colony was founded like other famous colonies, by a few brave souls needing space for artistic freedom. Out of this need came the birth of DA, when co-founder Chris Toovey and John Hanor, with a bit of help from Lord Calvert, committed to the idea of a community art space, where artists of any level would hang art and have dialogue with other artists. It would be a space to encourage experiment and creative freedom with no review requirements. The first art show in the original location, now Merendero’s restaurant on Garey and Second St., was “The Custodians of DA” featuring Chris Toovey and John Hanor’s artwork. Chris Toovey, 25 years later, is still the main guardian of the dA and the president of the board of directors. Oh, and the name DA came from an old sign on the premises for a dance studio on which tar covered the “nce”, so the sign read DA. It was a “sign” for the two custodians, and the small “d” used today helps distinguish us from the acronym for District Attorney.

The dA is still a vibrant place of artistic freedom, 25 years later. It’s current location of twelve years, is in the heart of the Pomona Arts Colony, a beautiful gallery space made possible by the generous donations and creative support of the Tessier family.

The dA is the first place a lot of artists have ever seen their artwork in a gallery. We host several open call shows each year and artists of all ages are invited to show their art in the open exhibits. We feel the dA is like The Giving Tree, a place that artists can come and play, use the branches as shade while they make life changing decisions, kick the trunk when they are mad at life, go out in the world and have a home to come back to. The dA has been described by a few of it’s most devoted artists as their church. Artists who took classes at the dA as children now own art galleries in the neighborhood. The dA will be the dA until every branch has been used up and all that is left is a trunk to rest on, we promise that.

The dA, a center for the arts, has been an established non-profit art gallery marking 25 years this June. That is pretty amazing given all the waves of change we have surfed. We now find a new wave to surf, the current economic situation that is not kind to the arts. So, instead of cowering we are partnering with the SCA Project gallery, another established non-profit gallery 10 years in the Pomona Arts Colony, and expanding our arts programming.

We are celebrating this monumental occasion with an art exhibit honoring our members and past and present board members. The exhibit opens on the 2nd Saturday Artwalk. The official birthday party will take place on June 27th and feature a favorite fund raiser: dAzert. Hand painted original art plates will be sold for $20 with a piece of birthday cake.