October 24, 2020
South Bay Artists Collective has announced the closing of Resin and its artist workshop and creative lab in January 2021.
For the past three years, Resin has been a creative hub for artists, youth art classes and wellness activities for the South Bay community.
SBAC and Resin are fully funded by generous donations from corporations, foundations, individuals and class revenue, but like so many businesses has been impacted by COVID with limitations on artist events and in-person class restrictions. To adapt to the situation in 2020, many activities were moved online in the form of virtual art shows and Zoom art classes demonstrating the ability for SBAC to be a virtual organization.
“It is unfortunate that COVID has impacted our ability to serve our community,” says Rafael McMaster, Founder of SBAC. “Resin’s building is closing, but the Collective’s spirit doesn’t live within a building. We will continue to unite the South Bay through art and creativity in 2021 and beyond.”
Over the past three years Resin has hosted award winning art and creativity programs and developed youth art partnerships with Richstone, Walk with Sally, Friendship Foundation to offer these programs to children in need. As a visual arts gallery, Resin has hosted 25 shows featuring 300+ artists to over 3,000 audience members and grown from a founding group of 20 artists to a network of over 380 artists today.
Looking to 2021, SBAC will focus on its core proficiencies as an artist network and partnership hub to continue developing the South Bay art scene. With strong community partnerships and non-profit service work, SBAC represents a turnkey solution for partnerships to the local art scene as an organization by, and for, local artists. SBAC will continue looking for fresh inventive ways to keep our community inspired and get the latest works in front of them. “As a non-profit, we are committed to social uplift through creativity, service, and art. This is really just the beginning of our next phase – our organization is so young – we are just getting started!” states McMaster who cites that he already has some great potential projects partnerships in the works for 2021.
Resin will continue offering youth art after school programs, holiday camps and Creative Wisdom classes through the end of January. Gallery shows and events, with artwork viewings arranged by appointment for social distancing and safe viewing, will be hosted at Resin through January. SolidARiTy, an ‘art-for-social-justice’ art auction supporting Claris Health and SJLI – Social Justice Learning Institute will be on display through October 2020.
After January, McMaster and the SBAC crew are looking to continue their award-winning youth programs beyond Resin. “We are going to need a little bit of help, and a little bit of luck – to arrive at a new solution or location to continue our visual arts program. I see firsthand the massive impact our programs make on our students – many of whom are at-risk youth or dealing with personal challenges for which these social emotional tools – and creativity as a positive coping skill – are making all the difference in their lives and development amidst uncertain times.” McMaster continues both his optimism and outreach to the South Bay community, “Whether our supporters have access to potentially available space for our program, or donations big or small – every little bit helps towards the Collective continuing to serve the South Bay for years to come. As I am 100% volunteer, this is all about gathering our community resources and bringing them to the front lines of making a difference locally through creativity and art. We’ve seen the power firsthand over the last three years. I feel confident the best is yet to come.”
To donate directly, visit https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/the-collectives-fundraiser-a-critical-moment-in-our-%20future.