Come On In, We're Open!
Hello and welcome to Open Access, an online magazine and archive project dedicated to providing readers with a window inside the creative incubator of the Lucas Artists Residency Program at Montalvo Arts Center. Learn More >>
​Montalvo's Lucas Artists Residency Program is proud to announce its latest jury selections for incoming Fellows.
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Curatorial essays. Video interviews with participating artists. Photos and write-ups about related programming. 
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​Former and current Lucas Artists Fellows routinely make headlines around the world. Read the latest they've been up to.
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Recent Articles

We the People
On July 20, Montalvo hosted a communal gathering on its grounds, featuring poetry, performance, soundworks, installation art, and participatory engagement activities.  Audiences joined poets, musicians, and visual and sound artists from across the globe as we collectively considered: How can we expand our understanding of “we” and imagine new, more inclusive ways of being together?
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Fellows in the News: August 1, 2018
For this edition of Fellows in the News, we feature: Stephanie Syjuco is showcased in the ninth season of PBS's Art21 series, the People's Kitchen Collective is featured in the SF Chronicle's 2018 Rising Star Chefs, Jonas Becker has artwork in the MoCP's latest exhibition, three LAP Fellows will perform at Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours, and streetwear brand 3 Shibuya sat down with LAP Fellow Mario Ybarra Jr. for a studio visit.
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​Preston Lane: Appalachian Theatricality and the Future of American Regional Theater
By Margarita Kompelmakher, PhD 
Over the past year, the Lucas Artist Residency Program welcomed an inaugural group of playwriting Fellows. It has been my pleasure to spend time with this talented and diverse group of artists and observe how the discipline of theater makes a home for itself at Montalvo. The following is Part 1 in a series of audio-blog portraits that discuss their playwriting projects and topical questions about the theater—past and present, here and elsewhere.
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Interview Between RADIOEE.NET and Lucas Artists Program Curator Donna Conwell
Lucas Artists Program Curator Donna Conwell sat down with RADIOEE.NET for a wide ranging conversation about their work and upcoming broadcast project AUTOPILOTO. The collective explore their interest in radio and mobility and the impetus for their new broadcast focusing on
the evolving technology of self-driving transit in this edited interview. What will our streets and cities look and sound like in a driverless future? How will society and infrastructure systems adapt? What might humans do during their newly available transit time? In what ways do machines imitate human's auto-pilot modes of engaging with the world?
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This Week in my Studio
​During any given week of the year, a diverse array of international artists are actively at work in their studios at Montalvo's Lucas Artists Residency. In our "In My Studio" series, we ask the artists to share a snapshot of their experience. Take a peek inside their studios in the posts below.
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2018 Spring Update
It has been an exciting spring season at the Lucas Artists Program (LAP), and two new sections of our blog give you behind-the-scenes access! In January, we hosted internationally recognized multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, then jazz great Henry Threadgill in February. Through our new This Week In My Studio series, you can see artists working in their studios and hear what they are up to. And at the end of the day, they come together around the table for dinner in the LAP Commons. Our new blog series Around the Table gives you a peek into that shared experience, from recipes of the meals served to a taste of the conversations that happens there. Join us!
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​Spotify Mixtape: July 2018
By Emily Borchers
This month is extra special because it marks the start of our 2018 Art on the Grounds: We the People festival! So in preparation for this large-scale event, we've put together a playlist highlighting all of the LAP Composer & Musician Fellows showcasing work at the festival. 
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​A Taste of Place: Distilling Redwoods
By Andea Blum, Montalvo Culinary Artist
The redwood is my absolute favorite tree. It’s a powerful symbol and a living, breathing organism that defines a place. Oh California, how I appreciate you. The redwood is the tallest tree in the world, and it only grows in the coastal foggy climate of the west. It’s not only a pleasure to gaze at in all its wonder, but also has a scent that brightens the dark forest. Last week, I invited Alice Duvernell, an ethnobotanist and maker of healing skin products, to the Lucas Artists Residency to teach a class on how to distill this incredible tree with  steam—and how to do it sustainably.  
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Fellows in the News: July 1, 2018
For this Fellows in the News, we feature this: The L.A. Weekly's recent article about Gregory Sale's latest project; two LAP Fellows showcase work in the Made in L.A. show at the Hammer Museum; Walter Kitundu’s sound piece makes another appearance in Caramoor’s summer exhibition; The People’s Kitchen Collective holds a feast on the streets of Oakland; and LAP Fellow Sita Bhaumik was chosen for the YBCA’s triennial Bay Area Now exhibition.
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​A Taste of Place: Edible Flowers with Kija Lucas
By Andrea Blum, Montalvo Culinary Artist
Visual artist Kija Lucas came for a visit last week. We have been working on a project for over a year, documenting the seasonal ingredients I use in my meals, with the goal of creating a unique Montalvo-centric book with recipes and stories that play off her incredible images. Those special ingredients come from my travels to the farmer’s markets, from excursions into the woods, from dives into the sea, from walks on the beach, from the LAP's culinary garden, and sometimes from the side of the road or plucked from a tree and into a basket. For me, finding food is an adventure. ​
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