centennial

 Hanging on the wall of painter Kim Russo’s art studio, is a cross-stich sampler depicting a large, masted sailing ship, which she found several years ago at a flea market in Pennsylvania while visiting family for the holidays. “I just walked over to it, asked how much it was, and bought it,” says Otis College of Art and Design’s interim Provost (she is also Dean of Graduate Studies). “There was probably less than 90 seconds between when I saw it and when it was in my arm being carried out.”

Two days before Christmas in 1916, Los Angeles Times publisher General Harrison Gray Otis gifted his Wilshire Boulevard home—aka The Bivouac—to Los Angeles County so it could be utilized “continuously and perpetually for the Arts and advancement of the Arts.” In September 1918, when the Otis Art Institute opened its doors as part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, it became the city’s first art school.

What do the U.S. Air Force, tattooing icon Kat Von D, and masking tape have in common? They each play a crucial role in Otis College alum Darel Carey’s journey as an artist. Growing up in Colton, CA, Darel loved to draw, but never considered it for a possible career. After high school he ran into a friend who had a similar artistic streak. She told him she’d just started tattooing and that he should try it too.

Sometimes one day is not enough to celebrate a milestone birthday. So for its centennial, Otis College of Art and Design is throwing the 100% Festival, a two-day bash this weekend packed with panels, workshops and a maker’s mart that invites the whole community to come onto campus.

“It’s a celebration plus a kind of introduction, introductory lessons in art and design for anybody,” says Otis College President Bruce Ferguson. “Here, you get a chance to make a pot and do stuff that our students do every day. It shows that our education is not just for people who get a degree.”

Otis College of Art and Design celebrated its 100th birthday on Sunday with a community party, the opening of Some of Our Favorite Things a group exhibition at Ben Maltz Gallery, as well as receptions for the annual Alumni Mural Competition and 100% LA Save Art Space collaboration.