by Devon Pettengill
for Altadenablog
Altadenablog welcomes its sponsor, McGinty's Gallery at the End of the World.
Ben McGinty's Gallery at the End of the World could easily be called the center of art culture in Altadena, a community that is already a place where many artists choose to make their homes. When McGinty opened the Gallery eight years ago as the Underground Art Society, it was in response to his artist friends complaining about a lack of local venues to show their work.
(Pictured: Ben McGinty, the Illustrated Man, selling tickets in the gallery for the recent Altadena home art studio tour).
Still operating as the non-profit Underground Art Society, the Gallery operates on a theme of inclusion. Its mission is to promote artists of all kinds, from amateurs to the well-established, while putting aside prejudice and pretense. Owner Ben McGinty describes the Gallery as a community-based art salon, where artists and the community can come together to exchange ideas and reflect upon the art.
"I've always felt that a world without art is a world without a future," McGinty says. "I think it's one of the last frontiers. We've pretty much discovered everything that there is as far as exploring goes, so now we explore within."
Unlike some galleries, McGinty's only opens to the public a few select times during the year. The core of the Gallery's events schedule are quarterly Art Benders. Artists come together to hang their art on Wednesday of an Art Bender week, and the gallery opens to the public on Thursday with a traditional artists reception that evening. Friday is the immensely popular First Friday Art Club from 7pm onward, where guests enjoy entertainment and mingling for a $5 cover. Saturday is a potluck barbecue, which runs between noon and 7pm. Sunday features a brunch that runs from noon to 6pm. During all four days of an Art Bender the Gallery remains open for the public to enjoy.
And enjoyable it is -- a unique blend of inside and outside spaces, with a performance area, many alcoves and niches with art on display, and a crawling trumpet vine that weaves its way through the gallery. Altadena author Laura Randall names the gallery in her new book, Peaceful Places Los Angeles, as one of the list of 110 places.
The Gallery's long name came at the suggestion of artist Matt Foote, who noted that its location put it not only near the end of Lake Street, but also at the fringe of the Los Angeles cultural world.
For updates on upcoming events and to learn more about the Gallery at the End of the World, visit www.galleryattheendoftheworld.com. The Gallery will be hosting a fundraiser for the Light Bringer Project this Saturday with a display of Doo-Dah Parade memorabilia, starting at 6 PM.
The Gallery at the End of the World is located at 2470 N. Lake Ave., and can be reached at (626) 794-8779.
