photo courtesy of http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/01/bananas-eclectic-music-monthly-draws-audiences-to-leimert-park.html
The diverse creative scene in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park neighborhood has brought around countless renown artists and community leaders. Known for its rich culture and art scene, it is no wonder why this area has historically been known as the Soul of Los Angeles.
The day Ben Caldwell moved to Leimert Park, marked the day when the community was introduced to a new form of artistic expression. He founded the KAOS Network which exists today as one of the most successful artist incubators in the surrounding area. The KAOS Network rests on the corner of Leimert Park’s W 43rd Place and Leimert Boulevard. It sees hundreds of artists each year that come for the community and opportunity and create.
Caldwell’s passion lies in filmmaking. Since his undergraduate degree at Arizona State University, Caldwell had been crafting visual stories. In Arizona, Caldwell was creating photo essays and stories which sparked the attention of his professor. This professor later encouraged Caldwell to apply to UCLA graduate film school which he attended a few years later. After graduation, Caldwell got his start working as an assistant for Peter Guber, the then VP of Columbia Pictures. Quickly finding that the Hollywood system wasn’t for him, Caldwell later found that he longed to create his own films. He quickly shifted to independent film and started his own business, Spirits Incorporated, which helped bring film to children in the local community. After several years of curating films and working in the independent film world, Caldwell landed on the idea to start the KAOS Network in 1984. He proposed the idea to the local community and received a grant that helped him push his incubator forward. Caldwell was able to teach kids and adults in the community about the changing media that was taking place at the time. Film was converting to digital and new forms of media were popping up with the advent of the internet. Caldwell found many opportunities in teaching others about his profession while he combined his business with Broklan Galleries and Watch Towers Art Center.
His business started to grow and local artists began to hear about his endeavors in Leimert Park. Artists began contacting Caldwell to use his space for a way to host their own events. As a way to generate money for the space and collaborate with fellow artists, Caldwell agreed. This space-hosting allows new people to be introduced to the space and local residents to participate. Caldwell calls it “Cross-Fertilization”. He frequently uses the internet to create an open source environment where local artists and event planners can contact him. “I provide the space but these guys advertise themselves,” he said.
Today, the building that houses the KAOS Network remains a home to many artists and visionaries that look for ways to create and share their work with the community. “it’s a network of ideas but in a new structure,” said Caldwell.
photo courtesy of http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/01/bananas-eclectic-music-monthly-draws-audiences-to-leimert-park.html
On the third Tuesday of each month, Caldwell hosts a music showcase called Bananas. This energy-filled event is crammed with local residents and artists who want to observe and listen to good music. The frequented event has been popular since 2008 when it was formed by local rapper and artist VerBS and Gumshoe.
But the KAOS Network isn’t the only venue in town that is hosting musicians and artists.
On Degnan Boulevard, jazz performer and community leader Barbara Morrison started her story in the neighborhood in 2009. Morrison had the idea to create her own performing arts hall in the area after she came off from performing around the country and wanted to settle down. “I had diabetes and I wanted to take care of it fully, so this was the best way to do that,” she said. Morrison decided to combine her passion for jazz music with her passion to help out the community which led her to the founding of the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center. The center is open to the public and hosts numerous musicians of all ages. “It is a welcoming place for people to just be themselves and show their love for music,” Morrison said. The center raises money through paid events that occur on a rolling basis. Morrison is a two-time, Emmy nominated jazz singer.
Not too far away on Degnan Boulevard sits Gallery Plus, a local artist gift shop that sells miscellaneous household items, cards and paintings. Store owner Laura Hendrix has been in the area for the past 25 years where her business has sold local and “not so local” art. “I chose this business because I love art and paintings,” Hendrix said. Her store, which mostly features afrocentric items and gifts, has been a treasure to the community for a while. Hendrix’s store began on Slauson Avenue but, due to size restrictions, she decided to move it to Degnan allowing her to get more customers on the weekends.
Photo of Laura Hendrix, store owner of Gallery Plus. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Sentinel.