On Saturday, December 15 from 1:30 - 3:30 PM, join "Here" exhibition artists Fran Siegel and Sandy Rodriguez as they talk about the connections and communities of inspiration of their practice, Los Angeles, and their newly commissioned works in the exhibition. About Fran Siegel: Fran Siegel lives and works in the Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro and her pieces in Here involve the nearby ongoing construction at the Port of LA. She earned her MFA in Painting from Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT. and her BFA from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Recent solo exhibitions include Lineage Through Landscape, The Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (2017), in conjunction with the Getty’s city-wide initiative PST- LA/LA and initiated by research from a Fulbright Core Fellowship in Brazil; Lesley Heller Gallery, New York City, NY (2018); and Reconstruction, ACME, Los Angeles, CA (2016). International exhibitions and fellowships contribute to her process of in-depth research and include La Napoule Art Foundation, France, Bogliasco Foundation, Genoa; Nuova Icona, Venice; Siena Art Institute, Italy ; Muzeum Stzuki, Lodz, Poland; CCA Andrax, Spain; The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; and Instituto Sacatar, Bahia, Brazil. Siegel represented the United States in the IX International Biennial of Cuenca, Ecuador and U.S. Art in Embassies commissioned a permanent work for the consulate in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Siegel has just been awarded a commission by LA Metro for a permanent installation on the Purple Line, is a recipient of a COLA fellowship and the California Community Foundation Mid-career Artist Grant. Her work is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and MOCA, Los Angeles, CA. Siegel is a professor in the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach. About Sandy Rodriguez: Sandy Rodriguez is an artist and independent educator. Her artwork investigates the methods and materials of painting across cultures and histories. Her most recent work includes the Codex Rodriguez-Mondragón, a bioregional map and series of paintings about the intersections of history, color, medicine, and cultura. Her landscapes capture moments of transformation in the social, political and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, with a focus on themes of resistance, persistence and cultural regeneration. She was raised in San Diego, Tijuana, and Los Angeles. Rodriguez earned her BFA from California Institute of Arts and designed and administered education programs and resources for numerous museums and arts organizations since 1998. Teaching across constituencies is part of her artistic practice and embodies her belief that artists are critical to reshaping our time and place through civic engagement projects. She has exhibited at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Art+Practice, Los Angeles; and Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles. This fall you can see her work at a solo museum exhibition at Riverside Art Museum as well as part of shows at The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Music Center, the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. Recent awards include: American for the Arts Public Art Network Year In Review ‎2017 award (2018), City of Los Angeles COLA Master Artist Fellowship (2018-2019), The Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Trailblazer Award (2017-18), Artist-in-Residence for Los Angeles County Arts Commission (2016-2017), and Artist-in-Residence at Art+Practice in Leimert Park (2014-15). Her artist communique and artwork are featured on the cover and in the Fall 2017 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies from UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center. Rodriguez has been featured on CBC Radio Canada Hour le Monde, KQED Statewide Report, KPCC’s Off Ramp, Los Angeles Times, and KCET.