Survey: Angels Gate Cultural Center

Posted August 05, 2010 by Anonymous

Organization:

Angels Gate Cultural Center

Part 1.

Year Founded:

1981

1b. Primary activity[ies] of the organization.:

Multidisciplinary Artist Studio Rentals

1c. Organization's annual budget.:

$500,001 - $750,000

1b. Primary activity[ies] of the organization.:

Exhibition Space

Multipurpose Space [Amalgam of Multiple Artistic Disciplines]

Other

Part 2.

2a. Mission Statement:

Angels Gate Cultural Center is a place of creative discovery, exploration and enlightenment, providing the Southern California community and visitors from around the world with opportunities for enrichment and education. (interim Mission as of Feb 04; new mission in progress Jul 07.)

2b. Organization History / Organizational Overview. Index of important events in organization's history.:

Situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, with notable views of ocean, harbor and hills, the Center was founded by artists residing in the Los Angeles Harbor area in 1981. Incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 1982, the organization leased the former upper reservation of Fort MacArthur from the City of Los Angeles on a month-to-month basis, and remained small for most of its history, primarily providing inexpensive studio space for local artists. Development into a midsize organization began in 2003 with the growth of a large education program and a plan to transform the site into an innovative regioinal arts center. The organization currently produces an annual festival on the San Pedro waterfront, operates two gallery spaces year round, hosts community classes, trains treachers and provides art programs in many schools, and produces/presents the performing arts.

2c. Exhibition / Programming / Publishing History.:

The organization currently produces an annual festival on the San Pedro waterfront, operates two gallery spaces year round, hosts community classes, trains treachers and provides art programs in schools, and produces performing arts and special events, including bi-annual international residencies with artists from around the world. The Cultural Center also serves the professional artist community with studio space at below-market rates for 45 artists, including musicians, ceramists, painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, printmakers and jewelers. A new arrangement with the Port of Los Angeles is providing funding for publications for the first time: the Center’s first color show catalog was published in 2006, "History of San Pedro Punk."

Part 3.

3a. Names and email addresses of Founders, Board Members, Directors or other key individuals::

Nathan Birnbaum nathan@angelsgateart.org

Additional Names and email addresses of Founders, Board Members, Directors or other key individuals:

Marshall Astor marshall@angelsgateart.org

Additional Names and email addresses of Founders, Board Members, Directors or other key individuals:

Juliann Wolfgram juliann@angelsgateart.org

3b. Could any of these individuals assist in providing an oral history of your organization?:

Yes

Part 4.

4a. Is organization currently active?:

Yes

4b. Year activity suspended if no longer active.:

Organization Still Active

Part 5.

5a. Type of organization at its founding.:

Non-Profit [IRS certified]

5b. Type of organization currently, or at the termination of activities.:

Non-Profit [IRS certified]

Part 6.

6a. Does the organization have an archive?:

Yes

6b. Are there any short or long-term threats to the organization?:

Fiscal endangerment of organization

End of lease for your space resulting in termination of activities or changing of priorities

Changes in your physical space that will result in endangerment to your archival materials

6c. Other threats to the organization::

The Center achieved a long term (30-year) lease from the City of L.A. in 2005, but the lease requires the Center to plan and develop the coastal site quickly - within about five years. Development must be at the $5 million level or higher. With the organzational budget just grown from about $300,000 to $600,000 in the last few years, a $5 million development price tag may be a tall order. For the organization’s next few years, this places loss of lease on one side and financial instability on the other. The Center’s eleven former military buildings - including the ones housing the physical and digital archives - are in very poor condition, indicating a day-to-day threat which further impels planning and capital work.

Part 7.

7a. How important is to the organization to preserve the organization’s historical material. From 1 – Very Important to 5 – Not Important.:

1. Very Important

7b. Has planning for the preservation and documentation of archive begun?:

Our archive is already in place

7c. Does the organization know how and where to seek expertise and assistance?:

Yes

7d. Does the organization have specific concerns regarding starting an archive working with its historic materials?:

Fiscal Need

Part 8.

8a. Is the organization's archives in the collection of another institution or promised to one?:

8a. Location:

IF YES to 8: University (Name)

8b. Archival materials are also located at::

Where are these locations?:

Where are these locations? [I.E. Home / Office of Private Individual(s) (i.e. Former Board, Staff, Funders, etc)]

Part 9.

9. Does the organization maintain archives for any other organization.:

survey_field_49:

IF YES to 9: 10a. Please describe:

Part 10a.

10a. Is the archive accessible to scholars, curators or researchers?:

Yes

Part 10b.

10b. Are there conditions of access for scholars, curators or researchers?:

Part 11.

The following questions address the historical materials (type, quantity and storage) of the organization. 11a. Paper Files and Documents:

Artist Files

Correspondence

Board Minutes

Exhibition or Production Files

Financial Records

Legal Documents

By-laws / Incorporation Documents

Other Paper Files

11b. Artwork and Documentation:

Oral History, Recordings and / or Transcripts

CDs / DVDs [Pre-Recorded or CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / etc.]

Photographs

Unique Art Objects

Other::

Other Artwork

11c. Press and Promotional Materials:

Announcements, Mailing Cards, etc.

Newspaper / Magazine / Media Clippings

Posters / Flyers

Other::

Other Press or Promotional Materials:

11d. Printed Publications:

Artists' Publications

Brochures

Checklists / Performance Programs / Price Lists

Programs of Events

Other::

Other Printed Publications

11e. Other:

Architectural Drawings / Floor Plan

Other::

Other

Part 12.

12. What years does the materials cover?:

1980-1989

1990-1999

2000-2005

Part 13.

13a. How is the material stored?:

Banker Boxes

Other Boxes

Three-Ring Binders

Other - Please describe below.

Please describe:

hard drive

13b. Are some or all of these storage units “archival”?:

None

Part 14.

14a. Estimated Number of Boxes or Milk-Crate Sized Storage Units:

51 - 60

14b. Estimated Number of Archive Drawers:

----

14c. Estimated Number of Archive Notebooks:

----

14d. Estimated the total Linear Feet. ["Linear Feet" is standard measure of the quantity of archival materials on the basis of shelf space occupied or the length of drawers in vertical files or the thickness of horizontally filed materials. For example, a:

51 - 60

Part 15.

15. Is the historical materials - or archives - inventoried or catalogued in any way, either formally or otherwise?:

Yes

Part 16.

16a. Is there a key, index or finding aid to the materials inventoried?:

Part 16 / Electronic Files & Archival Management

16f. Does the organization have a back-up program, or back-up schedule, for its electronic records and perform monitoring of its removable media (i.e. floppies, ZIP disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, portable hard drives, etc.)?:

Yes

16g. Who is responsible for working with the archival material?:

Interns

Part 17.

17. How are new materials processed?:

No System

Part 18.

18. What, if any, conservation methods are in place for both physical materials and electronic data?:

Controlled Access

Other - Please describe below.

Other:

off site back up of digital files

Part 19.

19. What type of climate-controls are present in the area[s] in which the archives are stored?:

No or minimal climate controls [i.e. in an attic, basement, unheated / uncooled storage area, etc.]

Part 20.

20a. What are the goals for the historical materials for the next year?:

Additional organizing

20b. What are the biggest challenges to reaching these short-term goals?:

None n/a

20c. What goals are in place for the historical materials for the next three to five years?:

produce narrative, including full history of exhibitions, performances and artists

20d. What are the biggest challenges to reaching these long term goals?:

volunteer basis - no funded program of archiving or history writing

20e. Are there any additional goals for the organizations historic materials?:

Removal to offsite for protection

Part 21.

21. Estimated cost to achieve these archival goals for the next year.:

$1,000

Part 22.

22. Estimated cost to achieve these archival goals for the next five years.:

$4,000 - $5,000

Part 24.

24. What archival issues could / should visual arts organizations address collectively in the next three to five years? Ranked from 1 (highest priority) to 5 (lowest priority).24a. Shared standards / protocols for digitization:

Promote professional standards / protocols for digitization

Part 25.

25a. Is the organization a member of, or in contact with, any organizations concerned with archival issues?:

Yes

25b. Who?:

AS-AP

Part 26.

26. Additional information, comments, observations, and questions.:

interesting project! please contact (if you have not already) Highways performance space and gallery in Santa Monica, CA http://www.highwaysperformance.org/ High Performance Magazine http://www.apionline.org/hp.html betalevel (formerly known as C-Level gallery), Los Angeles http://www.betalevel.com/ http://www.c-level.cc/

Finish

Who executed this survey.:

Nathan

survey_field_149:

I wish to defer payment and allow AS-AP to use these funds to further AS-AP’s efforts to preserve the history of the alternative and avant-garde movement in America.

Is this survey complete and all appropriate questions answered?:

Yes