DOWNEY – After sixteen months of closure, Stay Gallery will be reopening its doors to the community beginning on Friday, July 9.

The nonprofit art gallery and creative space will be hosting the opening reception of its first in-person public art exhibition since the onset of the pandemic from 7-10 pm that evening.

The exhibition, titled Unidos, highlights the works of eighteen artists from the Greater Los Angeles region, bringing together stories of adversity, growth and healing from this past year into a shared space for the artists and the community. Featured Downey artists include Jorge Del Toro, Made Rindu, Ricky Ostendi, Robert Nehemiah and Tamara Ramos.

The opening reception is supported by The District @ Downey, New World Mortgage, Prima Development, Downey Chamber of Commerce and California Arts Council. The evening will feature live sounds performed by Long Beach-based DJ &SOUL (of KLBP Radio) and locally brewed craft beer by Pico Rivera’s Brewjeria. The reception welcomes people of all ages and will be open to the public.

“We are eager to reconnect with our community,” says Gabriel Enamorado, Stay Gallery’s co-founder and executive director. “The pandemic has been challenging for us, but we have learned to adapt on a day-to-day basis. It gave us the time and space to strengthen our programs and offerings, and deepen relationships with our city’s leaders, families and artists.”

As a means of fundraising for the organization, Stay Gallery plans to reopen with the addition of a small artisan shop. At the beginning of the year, Stay was awarded a grant from the SELACO Workforce Development Board, which provided funds for new equipment and PPE necessary to maintain an artisan shop and reopen safely due to the pandemic.

“We’re very grateful for the grant from SELACO,” says Juliana Canty, Stay’s programs director. “Before the pandemic, we relied heavily on large in-person gatherings. The artisan shop will help us generate lost revenue from our closure to get us back on our feet.”

The shop will feature limited edition art prints by local artists, locally-made goods – such as candles, jewelry and dry goods – and exclusive Stay merchandise. Featured Downey artisans include The Good Candle, a local small business that produces natural soy wax candles and fragrances, and renowned local artist Don Lamkin, creator of the infamous Downey Doodle-iscious mural.

Stay Gallery’s reopening also comes at a pivotal time for the organization, which underwent a number of changes during the pandemic - including an organizational name change from Downey Art Vibe to Stay Arts and a recent board transition.

Stay said goodbye to two longtime board members, Downey Unified art teacher Ed Plant and former Downey mayor Kirk Cartozian, who served as the nonprofit’s chairman for seven years. The organization installed local art enthusiast and Downey native, George Manzanilla, as the nonprofit’s new chairman and welcomed two new faces to the board, Emely Martinez and Barney Santos – both Downey natives and emerging leaders in their respective fields.

“On behalf of our current team and board, we’d like to thank Kirk and Ed for their leadership and years of dedication to the organization. They helped chart the course for where Stay is today,” says George Manzanilla. “Stay Gallery is a community asset for people to learn, be inspired by and participate in the arts. As an organization, we aim to highlight and nurture creativity in our city and region, as it has been shown that investing in the arts has incredible benefits for life, career and community.”

"The Unidos group exhibition is a testament to our collective experience, providing an avenue for our artists and community to process and recover from a difficult past year." says Enamorado. "We are happy to have our doors open again and invite everyone to visit and perhaps relate to the stories and experiences that the artists have given us the opportunity to share."

After the opening reception, the exhibition and artisan shop will be open to the community during Stay’s weekly gallery hours. To learn more about the opening reception and to RSVP, please visit stayarts.org/unidos

Stay Gallery reopens next week with art exhibition