Art Congress Selects Santa Monica

The International Assn. of Art Critics has selected Santa Monica as the site of its 1991 congress. The meeting, scheduled for Oct. 10-15, marks the first time that the 43-year-old organization has convened in the United States.

Southern California was selected to host the international gathering in recognition of the region’s importance as “a world center for art and cultural exchange,” according to an association press release.

Generally known by its French acronym AICA (Assn. Internationale des Critiques d’Art), the nonprofit association of critics was founded in 1948 to disseminate information about diverse cultures, encourage international exchanges in the field of modern and contemporary art, promote works of criticism and protect freedom of expression.

More than 200 critics from 50 countries are expected to attend the meeting, which will address the theme “Beyond Walls and Wars: Politics and Multiculturalism” in a series of lectures and panels. Special sessions will be open to the public.

Among guests scheduled to speak at the AICA conference are Pulitzer Prize-winning author Octavio Paz; Serge Guibaut, a University of British Columbia professor and author of “How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art,” and June Wayne, an internationally renowned artist and activist who resides in Los Angeles.

A request for papers to be presented by members has already elicited responses from Ireland, Britain, France, Belgium, Brazil, Chile and Senegal, said Los Angeles critic Merle Schipper, West Coast conference committee chair.

In addition to the scholarly program, the congress will offer daily tours of Southern California’s museums, galleries, community art centers and private collections.

Conference participants, who write about art for major newspapers and periodicals, are expected to report on Los Angeles’ cultural life after they return to their homes. Many galleries and other arts institutions are expected to host receptions for the visiting critics.

Previous AICA congresses have been funded by the government of the host country, but the organization must depend upon private support for the Santa Monica-based meeting. Some grants are under review and various facilities are being made available for the conference, but about $45,000 is still needed to pay for translators, transportation and other required services, Schipper said. A fund-raising drive is currently in process.

Among local art events that will coincide with the congress is “Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries.” The landmark traveling exhibition, which will open on Oct. 6 at L.A. County Museum of Art, has inspired a host of related exhibitions planned for Southern California galleries.

The California portion of “Christo: The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and USA” will also be on view. Christo, a Bulgarian artist whose ambitious public projects include wrapping entire buildings in fabric, plans to raise 1,760 specially constructed yellow umbrellas in Tejon Pass and simultaneously unfold 1,340 blue umbrellas along the Sato River in Japan, Oct. 8-29.