[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s LA Art blog features a look at Act on It! Artists, Community, and the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles, which is an enduring legacy in the lifeblood of L.A.’s art community.
Act on It Exhibition: Honoring the Brockman Gallery Legacy
Founded in 1967 by brothers Alonzo Davis and Dale Brockman Davis in Leimert Park – often called “the village” – the Brockman Gallery emerged amid the cultural vitality of the Black Arts Movement, catalyzed by the 1965 Watts Rebellion. As one of the first Black-owned commercial galleries on the West Coast, it offered a vital platform for Black artists during an era when mainstream Los Angeles art institutions were largely inaccessible to artists of color.
The gallery showcased early works by now-legendary figures such as Betye Saar, David Hammons, John Outterbridge, Charles White, Noah Purifoy, and Doyle Lane. By elevating these artists, the Brockman Gallery helped shape the foundations of Los Angeles’ contemporary arts scene and positioned Black creativity at its center.
That impact is currently being revisited through the exhibition Act on It! Artists, Community, and the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles, organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The exhibition highlights artists connected to the gallery, structured around themes of roots, material experimentation, body and identity, civic engagement, and uplift. It is currently on view at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History through August 31, 2025, before traveling to the Vincent Price Art Museum and CSU Dominguez Hills in 2026.
Yet Brockman was always more than a gallery. In 1973, the Davis brothers launched Brockman Gallery Productions, a nonprofit initiative that introduced artist residencies, film festivals, symposia, murals, sidewalk exhibits, and jazz concerts. These efforts transformed the gallery into a cultural hub that blurred the lines between art, activism, and community life.
Today, the Brockman Gallery lives on through its archives, donated by Dale Brockman Davis to the Los Angeles Public Library. The collection remains an invaluable resource for researchers, students, and artists seeking to understand the intersections of Black history, culture, and artistic expression in Los Angeles. Recent recognition has further cemented its legacy, including the PBS SoCal documentary “Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy,” which premiered in 2024 with panel discussions featuring Davis and other key voices.
The story of the Brockman Gallery matters because it reframes how Los Angeles’ artistic canon is told. Rather than a narrative dominated by mainstream institutions, Brockman’s legacy centers on resilience, creativity, and community empowerment. Exhibitions like “Act on It!” and documentaries like “Artbound” are not just acts of preservation—they are acts of renewal, ensuring that the lessons and spirit of Brockman Gallery continue to resonate in today’s cultural conversations.
Ultimately, the Brockman Gallery’s importance lies in its model: a space where art and community moved together, inspiring change that rippled far beyond Leimert Park. Its history is not a closed chapter, but a living influence that continues to shape Los Angeles’ cultural ecosystem today.
Follow the Act It Exhibition:
https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/act-it-artists-community-and-brockman-gallery-los-angeles