Since the start of the pandemic, LBCC’s art gallery has been closed with the last art show taking place from February to March 2020. This fall semester, we will be getting our first two art gallery exhibitions since 2020 in a completely revamped art gallery.
Karla Aguiniga is LBCC’s new full-time art gallery director and curator. Aguiniga is a Latinx artist, curator and educator who has worked for museums, commercial galleries as well as for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the art world.
When asked how she is settling into her new position Ahuiniga said, “The space has really been neglected for a long time, so I’ve been trying to make improvements and really advocate for the space.”
When asked how has it been to get the art gallery ready, Michol Loeffler, a student working for Aguiniga in the art gallery said, “Right now we’re just doing all the gritty work, like cleaning up and getting the frames and everything ready to have the space ready for the art gallery’s reopening.”
The art gallery is in a somewhat hidden area, located in building K of the LAC with the entrance to the gallery on the inside of the building instead of the doors located along the pathway heading towards the library and the theater.
Aguiniga said she is working on trying to make the space more inviting with hopes to have the main entrance be on the outside of the building where there is a lot more foot traffic instead of its current location where it’s mostly art students that frequent that side of campus.
She also wants to add more features to the art gallery to provide a better experience when visiting.
“I’m trying to add audio guides for the exhibitions, where you can scan a QR code, put on headphones and learn about the artworks,” Aguiniga said. “From an accessibility standpoint, I think it would also engage visitors and make the experience more immersive.”
It’s not uncommon to visit an art gallery and not fully understand the meaning that the artist is trying to portray so Aguiniga believes that by adding audio guides, visitors will have a better way to absorb the artist’s intended message “instead of just walking through the gallery in two minutes,” Aguiniga said.
Another thing that Aguiniga wants to include in the near future is a projector.
“With a projector we can show multimedia work to adapt the gallery for the 21st century,” Anguiniga said. “Artists are not just making drawings and paintings anymore. Artists are making VR experiences or films. There’s all kinds of stuff that artists are working with that are way beyond drawings and paintings.”
With a coat of fresh paint and a completely cleaned out art gallery. Aguiniga and her two work study students are getting ready to set up for their first reopening since the start of the pandemic.
The art gallery is set to have its first exhibition begin on Oct. 27, 2022.