SANTA ANA : A Place for New Artists to Bloom

For the past two months, a transformation has been occurring in the basement of the historic Santora Building.

Young artists have been busy turning 6,400 square feet of what was once an empty basement into the Underground, an art gallery and studio designed to serve as a haven for aspiring artists from the inner city who are looking for a chance to create art and have their work displayed.

The Underground is the dream of Greg Johnson, a 36-year-old Long Beach man who said he is determined to give disadvantaged young people a chance to realize their artistic potential.

“The Van Goghs are out there, the Michelangelos are out there,” Johnson said. “How many of them are falling through the cracks because they don’t have a chance to develop their talent?”

In 1987, Johnson formed the Society for Economic and Environmental Development, a nonprofit corporation that sought to get underprivileged youths off the streets.

The Underground is the corporation’s first venture.

“We want to give them a vehicle,” Johnson said. “A lot of the young artists don’t have a vehicle in which to express themselves. Most galleries aren’t apt to look at a young artist unless they have an agent behind them.”

Johnson’s longtime dream of opening the Underground finally began to take form earlier this year when he was able to rent the basement of the Santora Building at a reduced monthly rate of $6,400.

So far, Johnson said, he has spent a sizable amount of his own savings on the venture but is hoping to garner both corporate and city financial support in the future.

Once the studio is ready, Johnson said, it will have room for up to 40 young artists to work on their paintings, sculptures and other projects. Additionally, they will have a place to socialize with other young artists.

Lynn Morgan, an art teacher at Santa Ana High School, said a place like this has been needed for some time.

Morgan said many of her former students come to visit her after graduation and say they are frustrated about not having a place to work or the opportunity to have their work noticed.

Since finding out about the Underground, Morgan has encouraged some of the youths to become involved.

One of her former students, Raul Garcia, has been spending up to seven hours a day at the Underground since September. He and a handful of other young artists have been helping Johnson prepare for the facility’s grand opening on Saturday.

From Morgan’s standpoint, a place that can provide youngsters with an identity and a sense of belonging is sorely needed.

“They have a lot of dreams and aspirations,” Morgan said. “There needs to be some steppingstones out there for them. I hope the Underground will prove to be that steppingstone.”