CULTURE HUB

18th Street Arts Center supports artists from around the globe to imagine, research, and develop significant, meaningful new artworks and share them with the public. They strive to provide artists the space and time to take risks, to foster the ideal environment for artists and the public to directly engage, and to create experiences and partnerships that foster positive social change.

ARTIST

Marcus Kuiland-Nazario is an interdisciplinary artist, performance curator and producer and Los Angeles native. He is a founding artist of 18th Street Arts Center and Highways Performance Space as well as co-founder of Oficina de Proyectos Culturales, a contemporary art center in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and LA Community Health Project, a harm reduction street based needle exchange program. Kuiland-Nazario’s works are long-term research based cross- genre projects exploring extreme states of emotion such as grief, anger and loss influenced by the cultural and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora. His performance works have been included in national and international festivals including the Rapture Festival, ICA London, London; the Rompeforma Festival, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Pacific Standard Time LA/LA, Los Angeles. Kuiland-Nazario is the recipient of the 2020 Santa Monica Artist Fellowship award.

SOCIAL IMPACT INITIATIVE

Santa Monica Cultural Affairs brings the City’s art scene to life for residents and visitors by supporting engaging cultural activities for all ages throughout the year. Cultural Affairs nurtures local arts organizations, promotes artist engagement in the community, and is the steward of the City’s public art collection. The Division also provides grants to local arts nonprofits and individual artists, as well as hosting a number of artist residencies at the Camera Obscura Art Lab and Annenberg Community Beach House, enriching Santa Monica’s reputation as an international cultural destination.