Bergamot Station throwing open its doors to art lovers

Art walks seem to divide the gallery world into two camps: On one side are the people who see the foot traffic and potential collectors as a plus. The other side sees a block party-like atmosphere that detracts from the art itself.

Bergamot Station, the art complex in Santa Monica, is the latest area to wrestle with the conundrum.

On Friday, the galleries in the former Red Line trolley stop will hold an open house to restake their claim as one of SoCal’s original art walks, having opened in 1994. Called “30 Open Doors,” it will include DJ sets, live music, a posse of food trucks and a holiday art supply and toy drive.

But the event was not always laden with holiday cheer. Bergamot gallery owners have been planning it — and many have been arguing about it — since August. The crux of the disagreement is familiar from last year’s infighting among leaders of the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk.

“There are some major people [at Bergamot] who are not happy with the idea of an event that involves everyone, because they’re afraid it’ll be a wild party and people won’t buy. They’re afraid it’ll attract the wrong element,” says Lois Lambert, of Lois Lambert Gallery. “My feeling is, there is no wrong element. This will bring in the community. It doesn’t have to be wild.”

She says Rosamund Felsen Gallery, among others, declined to participate in the event. Felsen declined to comment.

“It’s not about the number of people you get, it’s about the quality of people you get,” says Wayne Blank, Bergamot landlord and a partner in Shoshana Wayne Gallery. “We’ve never done an art walk per se, we’ve never felt we needed to. The only reason we’re doing this now is because of the business climate; and some people here feel they have to be more competitive with Culver City.”

Despite “30 Open Doors’” rocky roots, most of Bergamot’s galleries are now on board. It’s a matter of survival: 2011 was the art complex’s slowest year for sales, says Blank. Three galleries moved out and one closed its doors. And with more competition in L.A. for artgoers’ attention, “30 Open Doors” is an attempt to generate awareness for Bergamot, which some gallery owners say is more popular among out-of-towners than locals. If the event is a success, Bergamot plans to hold it twice yearly, in part to compete with the Culver City and downtown L.A. walks.

“Our galleries are very competitive with each other. There’s never been a need to work together. But now, it’s essential for survival. Foot traffic is needed here, especially in these economic times,” says Michael Goldstrom, director of the artists’ cooperative TAG Gallery. “Even though Bergamot has been here 17 years, mostly tourists know about us, not locals. So this is like our inaugural birthday/coming out party.”

One reason Bergamot hasn’t often held coordinated, multigallery art openings is its limited parking. “30 Open Doors” is expected to draw several thousand people throughout the evening, and Bergamot has only 359 spots in its lot. To handle overflow, valet service will be available Friday — something Blank is hopeful but skeptical about. “We’ll see. We hope [the event] is successful, just not too successful,” he says.

Bergamot Station is also home to the Santa Monica Museum of Art, a café and a handful of specialized boutiques. For “30 Open Doors,” the museum will host “Carol-oke,” Christmas carol karaoke, and all the shops will be open. Among the art on display, the Frostig Collection gallery will show such established names as Chris Burden, Lita Albuquerque, Frank Gehry and Ed Moses, among others. Pop artist Pippa Garner will show at the Lois Lambert Gallery, and the edgy, highbrow-hipster sensibility of Paco Pomet’s paintings will show at the Richard Heller Gallery.

“It’s definitely a celebration of the art, and of Bergamot itself,” says Heller. “But it’s also a party. I’m not expecting it to generate a lot of sales, but you never know.”

deborah.vankin@latimes.com