Belmar History + Art

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PROJECT SUMMARY

Lead Artist: April Banks
Historian: Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson

Santa Monica Cultural Affairs embarked on a collaborative project to commemorate the hidden history of the early African American residents and business owners who were displaced by eminent domain.

The Belmar neighborhood was significant to development in the Ocean Park district, creating a distinct African American business, church, leisure and beach culture from c. 1900 - 1950s. The land was seized to make way for what is now the Civic Center campus.

In October 2019, I was awarded the public art commission and tasked with developing a community engagement program. RE/GENERATION, the engagement program was organized under three themes: RE/CITE focused on oral traditions, storytelling and conversation; RE/SIGHT explored legacy and representation through imagery and archives, and RE/SITE used movement and dance to investigate place, migration and displacement. Over the next year and a half, we facilitated more than 20 events that led to the development of the art concept.

Visit Historic Belmar Park to see the permanent art sculpture, “A Resurrection in Four Stanzas” and graphic panels along the path surrounding the park that reconstruct this history. It opened in February, 2021.

Documentation by: Leroy Hamilton, Halline Overby and Santa Monica CityTV