ArtNow 2021: Good Trouble

This year, NUMU invites Santa Clara County high school students to create an original work of art in response to the exhibition theme: Good Trouble.

From his activist work as a Freedom Rider marching on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, to his decades-long legislative work on the Voting Rights Act, Congressman John Lewis (1940-2020) never strayed from his pursuit of justice and equality. New Museum Los Gatos honors the battle and the achievements of this acclaimed leader by inviting high school student artists from Santa Clara County to render and submit their interpretations of Lewis’ call to “make some noise and get in good trouble.”

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”—John Lewis on the ongoing fight for equal rights, 2018

ArtNow 2021: Virtual Exhibition Announcement

All of us at NUMU dream about the day museums can reopen and welcome our community in-person once more. Although Covid-19 has created many obstacles with temporary closures of museums nationwide, along with the inability to host in-person gatherings, there is potential to reach and serve an even wider audience than we ever thought possible. With a few months of virtual programs under our belts, NUMU is excited to announce that our premier annual exhibition of high school artists, ArtNow, will be an exciting digital exhibition that you can visit 24 hours a day! 

Now in its tenth year, ArtNow will be entirely virtual in 2021, presenting a new opportunity for emerging artists to gain exposure through virtual presentations of their artwork, online gatherings to celebrate their accomplishments, and a commemorative exhibition catalog. Stay tuned for an exciting series of programs that will help young artists get noticed and launch their artistic careers. We’ve already received over 200 submissions and we are so impressed with the caliber of work responding to this year’s theme: GOOD TROUBLE. Submissions closed January 31st at midnight.

None of this would be possible without the talented students artists, encouraging teachers and parents, and the generous support of our sponsors. We’d like to thank our sponsors that have stuck by us, and remained dedicated to NUMU’s vision to offer equal and equitable representation, opportunities and services to all. In particular, we wish to thank visionary supporters Alyce and Michael Parsons for helping us launch ArtNow back in 2011. We also owe a special thank you to The Town of Los Gatos, Los Gatos Morning Rotary, The Flick Family, University Art, West Valley College, Saratoga Rotary, The Waitte Foundation, Ginger & Jon McDonald, The Linda Smythe Young Artists Fund, Jillian Troftgruben, John & Valerie Hopkins, Heritage Bank of Commerce, California College of the Arts and KCAT TV 15. Because of all of you, ArtNow continues to inspire and acknowledge young artists on the precipice of their artistic careers. I’ll see you online, and in-person, soon!

Ami Davis
NUMU Executive Director

About ArtNow

ArtNow is an award-winning annual juried Santa Clara County high school art exhibition and educational program, presented by New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU). ArtNow offers opportunities for high school student artists, from Palo Alto to Gilroy, to gain real-world experience by participating in a juried museum exhibition. Each year, a new theme is chosen for the exhibition and students are asked to submit works based on that theme. Look for #artnowatnumu on social media.

Questions? Email artnow@numulosgatos.org

Catalog & Resources

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On the Shoulders of Giants: Selected Works from the NUMU Atelier Masters and Students
May 17-October 13, 2019

Opening in the main gallery on May 17, On the Shoulders of Giants: Selected Works from the NUMU Atelier Masters and Students features the works of master artists and students from NUMU's Classical Drawing and Painting Atelier Program. The exhibition showcases all levels of mastery in the traditional style of classical drawing and painting. Featured artists include NUMU Atelier Director, Gabriel Coke, and Master Artists from NUMU’s Visiting Artists Workshops program: Adrian Gottlieb, David Gray, Brianna Lee, Jim McVicker, Cuong Nguyen, Sarah Sedwick, Enzo Segovia, Robert K Semans, Oliver Sin, Conor Walton, Zhaoming Wu, and Elizabeth Zanzinger.

An opening reception was held on Friday, May 17 from 6-8pm.
To view photos and videos from the reception, click here.

NUMU Atelier Program Director Gabriel Coke founded the Atelier in 2015 and teaches classical drawing and painting classes for adults and teens. Gabriel has also developed a robust Visiting Artists Workshops program at NUMU that invites regional and local contemporary masters to lead week and weekend-long intensive workshops to the Atelier throughout the year. This  program has grown out of Coke's many friendships with painters across the United States and Europe. Coke has studied with teachers and working artists in Seattle, Santa Fe, France, Norway and New York City. Gabe has worked and studied at The Grand Central Academy of Art in New York, Frovik Kunstskole in Norway, Ecole Albert deFois in France, The Studio of Anthony Ryder in Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Washington, The Concrete Tower, and Old Arcata Creamery in Arcata, California.

In the Artist’s Studio: Warren Chang
January 31-April 14, 2019

Acclaimed artist Warren Chang is featured in an exhibition titled In the Artist’s Studio: Featuring Warren Chang. Visitors are invited into Chang’s studio for an introduction to his work, creative process and life as an artist. In this virtual studio visit, a selection of the artist’s works, art making tools and personal items, along with rarely seen photographs of private studio spaces - rarely open to the public - are on view.

Chang’s studio is relatively small, a stand-alone building constructed in the backyard of his house in 2007. Inspired roughly by the architectural drawing of Norman Rockwell’s studio, it boasts a large bay window from the direction of the north. There is a long bookshelf installed along the north wall, containing hundreds of art books and literature, which are of constant inspiration to him. There is a small loft on the second floor primarily used for storing paintings and this is where he also stretches his canvas.

Join Warren Chang for a Talk and Tour of his art-making process from 2-3pm on April 7.

NUMU’s In the Artist’s Studio exhibition series, introduced in 2018, supports the museum’s mission to share stories in new ways. Most people do not have the opportunity to visit an artist’s studio and learn firsthand how artwork is made, and more importantly why it is made. Through this program, NUMU offers insight into the practice of artmaking and shares with the community the ingenuity, intelligence and empathy that goes into the creative process.

An artist’s studio is both a sacred creative space and a functional workshop, each as unique as the individual artist. The studios of artists provide a treasure trove of insight into their practices and personas. Examples from art history include painter Francis Bacon, known for working amongst a disheveled hoard of creative material. Georgia O’Keefe’s adobe home studio is filled with found bone fragments and rocks, and punctuated with windows that provide magnificent views - all informed and inspired her creative process. Constantin Brancusi’s workspace was chock-full with not only his sculptures, but also his own handmade furniture.

Warren Chang’s exhibition of large scale paintings of migrant farmworkers, titled Voice of the Fields, is also on view. More information is available here.

In the Artist's Studio is generously supported by the Borgenicht Foundation.

The Borgenicht Foundation works to promote the understanding of secularism as the way and hope for establishing peace in the world. In addition, the Foundation supports social justice, conservation and historic preservation, the arts, health, and education.

About ArtNow

ArtNow is an award-winning annual juried Santa Clara County high school art exhibition and educational program, presented by New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU). ArtNow offers opportunities for high school student artists, from Palo Alto to Gilroy, to gain real-world experience by participating in a juried museum exhibition. Each year, a new theme is chosen for the exhibition and students are asked to submit works based on that theme. Look for #artnowatnumu on social media.

Questions? Email artnow@numulosgatos.org

NUMU was inspired by Bay Area artist Michele Théberge's interactive art installation project for the 100 Days of Action initiative undertaken by artists around the country. Theberge's project, Seeds of Hope amplifies the stories, hopes and dreams of all Americans as a part of NUMU's Summer Celebration Open House event to invite and share the stories from our community. Seeds of Hope unites and amplifies the wishes, hopes, dreams and aspirations of all Americans, in a secular prayer action. Théberge represents each participant with a small painting of a seed. As each seed is pinned to the gallery wall, the personal intention of that participant is spoken out loud.

Over the course of the installation, hundreds of seed paintings representing individuals and their hopes and dreams will come together in large wave-like formations. One wave will represent those who have lived in the United States for one or more generations, and the other represents newcomers. Each painted seed stands for our potential to contribute to our nation and fulfill our own dreams in the process. New immigrants, and those whose families have been here for ages, will grow into one interwoven whole on the gallery wall.

This installation begins at NUMU on Saturday, June 24, 2017 during our Summer Celebration. Michele Théberge is interested in gathering your personal hopes and aspirations. If you could have someone pray for your dreams or wishes to come true, what would your most simple request be? All responses will be kept anonymous, unless you choose to share a name. During the summer months, we invite the public to continue adding their hopes and stories at our Seeds of Hope artist station in the NUMU MakerSpace.

For more information and to add your story visit micheletheberge.com/seedsofhope .

In support of our local art community, New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) is hosting the biennial Los Gatos Art Association (LGAA) juried fine art show: Greater Bay Area Open. The exhibition is organized and produced by the LGAA and has been juried by artist and teacher George Rivera. Greater Bay Area Open runs through August 19th. A public reception with the artists will take place on Thursday, June 15th from 6pm to 8pm at NUMU. The LGAA is a non-profit organization established in 1948 dedicated to the enrichment and support of the arts community. 

For more information about LGAA and the exhibition please visit www.lgaa.org 

Art Now is an annual Santa Clara County arts exhibition and educational program, sponsored by NUMU. Art Now offers an opportunity for high school student artists from Palo Alto to Gilroy to gain real-world experience at creating and presenting artwork in a competitive environment. NUMU offers a total of $10,000 in scholarships and awards to encourage students to pursue a profession in the visual arts. 

Questions? Email artnow@numulosgatos.org

In 1927, the San Francisco Bay Area Muwekma Ohlone tribe was falsely declared extinct by a leading UC Berkeley anthropologist. For almost a century the tribe has fought the US government for their rightful federal recognition. Join us as we explore this critically important, Bay Area story of the tribe’s history, heritage and legacy.

In support of the New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) mission to feature exhibits that are connected to globally relevant ideas, art and history, NUMU is pleased to present In the Heart of the Wild: Anne Brigman and Her Circle an exhibit about 19th century Los Gatos resident, photographer and poet, Anne Brigman.

Born in 1869, Anne Brigman moved to Los Gatos when she was 16 years old. She first studied painting, but gravitated to photography and began exhibiting in 1902. Brigman focused on rugged landscapes and the female body, which resulted in new ways to explore feminine identity. She achieved early success as a Pictorialist, belonging to the Camera Club of San Francisco and the Photo-Secession group, led by Alfred Stieglitz in New York.

Brigman lived an active life, exploring territories that were literally and figuratively unfamiliar to many women of her time. She exhibited nationally and abroad, was published both as an artist in the photo journal Camera Work, and as a poet in her book Songs of A Pagan. All of her work reveals a love of nature, a connection to the mystical and an element of freedom.

In the Heart of the Wild: Anne Brigman and Her Circle features the photography and poetry of Anne Brigman, photographic work by Edward Weston, Imogene Cunningham, Judy Dater and others, as well as an interactive poetry activity for all museum visitors. The exhibit is made possible by the generous support of our partners, lenders and sponsors including: The Weston Gallery, Richard Gadd, Judy Dater, Craig Krull, Scott Nichols, Lite Line Illuminations, ClearEdge Advisors, the Borgnicht Foundation, and Donors to NUMU’s Annual Campaign.

Curated by Marianne K. McGrath

Script and Scribble: The Art and History of Handwriting will examine the value of practicing traditional handwriting in a world that is increasingly concerned with abbreviated communication, and what the possible extinction of penmanship might mean. This exhibit will weave together the history of writing implements and scripts, the golden age of American penmanship, the growth in popularity of graphology and handwriting analysis.

This exhibition will include lectures, programs and interactive components that allow visitors to explore characteristics of their own handwriting, learn cursive and the art of lettering, as well as handwriting analysis.