Unknown Artists Get Chance to Shine in ‘1993 Los Angeles’ : Art: The juried biennial at five city-run galleries spotlights the 364 artists as well as the city’s beleaguered arts centers.

The “1993 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition,” a major new biennial planned as a complement to last December’s sprawling “LAX: The Los Angeles Exhibition,” opened at five city-run art galleries Tuesday, with a sixth installment scheduled to open in two weeks.

The show is composed of 364 artists from Santa Barbara to San Diego and juried by such noted art figures as UCLA’s Henry Hopkins and Otis School of Art and Design’s Anne Ayres. The exhibitions, which are organized by medium, take place at Barnsdall Art Park’s Municipal Art Gallery and Junior Arts Center, Watts Towers Arts Center, William Grant Still Arts Center, Tujunga’s McGroarty Arts Center and Artspace Gallery in Woodland Hills.

The exhibition features mostly unknown artists, although a few familiar names are among them, including Jacqueline Dreager, Wayne Healy, Michael Barton Miller, Marcy Watton, Mark Katano and Rafael Perea de la Cabada. The show also appears to feature fairly diverse ethnic and gender representation. While some artists submitted works with initials only and their gender is not known, at least 165 women are included among the 364 artists.

“The idea was to provide a major exhibition opportunity for a lot of artists who normally don’t have a chance to show and don’t have a lot of connections with galleries,” said exhibition coordinator Brian Estwick, who was hired by the city in December to plan the exhibition. “We wanted to give these artists a jump-start on their resume, and an opportunity to be seen by a large segment of the arts community so that maybe they will have those opportunities to exhibit in the future.”

But the juried show, which comes at a time when the city’s exhibitions budget has been severely reduced, is clearly meant to advance not only the careers of young artists, but also to showcase the city’s beleaguered arts centers, some of which are being threatened with closure.

James Burks, director of the low-profile William Grant Still Arts Center, which sits in a converted 1929 firehouse just south of the Santa Monica Freeway near La Brea Avenue, agreed that the exhibition will help bring exposure to his center, which he called a “hidden oasis” that normally educates local children about African culture.

“We’re getting artists who wouldn’t normally show here, and they want their friends to see their work, so they’re going to encourage people to come,” Burks said. “It’s all about getting people to see something different from what they know. Los Angeles has some fragmentation problems, ethnically, culturally . . . so it’s always good to drive people to visit other parts of the community. And for the kids that come here, they see something different too. Now all of a sudden, they see white artists, Latins, older artists. It helps.”

UCLA’s Hopkins, who juried the painting section of the show, noted that the idea for a citywide juried exhibition first came up several years ago when the Municipal Art Gallery was under the helm of then-director Edward Leffingwell.

“I’m glad the department went on with the idea when Ed left,” said Hopkins. “None of the museums offer a juried show, and it’s needed here in Los Angeles. It gives younger artists a chance to have a critique, and it gives (viewers) a chance to see if something interesting turns up.”

While offering a very different picture of the Southern California art scene through its slant on the works of lesser-known artists, the juried show is planned to complement “LAX,” which had its inaugural outing last December at several diverse venues including Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Plaza de la Raza, USC’s Fisher Gallery and the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center.

Estwick noted that the juried exhibition, which this year drew 1,294 entries, will be held in off-years from “LAX,” which was spearheaded by Leffingwell and features curated shows focusing on more established Los Angeles talent. He added that different categories, such as photography, video and installation, will be included in future juried exhibitions.

Here is a list of shows featured in “The 1993 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition.”

* Painting (Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., (213) 485-4581). Closed Mondays. Opening reception Sunday, 2-5 p.m. Juror: Henry Hopkins, director, UCLA Wight Art Gallery and chairperson of UCLA Department of Art.

* Works on Paper (Junior Arts Center Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, (213) 485-4474). Closed Mondays. Opening reception Sunday, 2-5 p.m. Juror: Jay Belloli, gallery director, Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts.

* Prints (Watts Towers Arts Center, 1727 E. 107th St., (213) 569-8181). Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Opening reception Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Juror: Arturo Urista, gallery director, East Los Angeles’ Self-Help Graphics.

* Mixed Media/Assemblage (William Grant Still Arts Center, 2520 W. View St., (213) 734-1164). Open daily. Opening reception Friday, 5-9 p.m. Juror: Anne Ayres, director of exhibitions, Otis Gallery, Otis School of Art and Design.

* Textiles/Fiber (McGroarty Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga, (818) 352-5285). Closed Sundays; open by appointment only Tuesday-Saturday. Opening reception Friday, 7-9 p.m. Juror: Carol Shaw-Sutton, chair, Textiles/Fiber Department, Cal State Long Beach.

* Sculpture (Artspace Gallery, 21800 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills, (818) 716-2786). Closed Sundays and Mondays. Opening reception July 27, 7-9 p.m. Juror: independent curator Lizetta Le-Falle Collins, professor, John F. Kennedy University of Museum Studies.

The Artspace exhibition runs July 27-Aug. 28, while the other installments run through Aug. 22.