The Davis art collective inspires creativity and conversation
By LAILA AZHAR — features@theaggie.org
The sight of eight-foot tall walls with wheels attached to them might not bring the words “art gallery” to mind — but Open Walls Collective isn’t a typical art gallery.
Beginning this summer, the collective has emerged as a unique space for Davis creatives to learn the ins and outs of displaying their work. The walls that serve as the group’s namesake allow them to turn any venue into a gallery personalized to the artist’s liking. As they put it, they’re “redefining what gallery spaces and artist platforms consist of.”
Before launching, the group studied the advertising of fashion brands in an age of oversaturation on social media. The most successful ones, they noted, didn’t attempt to advertise to everyone — they catered to their particular audience.
Similarly, Open Walls Collective set out to answer the question, “What would an artist want in a town like this?”
On Oct. 11, they hosted a pop-up event as part of Davis Rave Co. and Sudwerk Brewery’s “Frog Hop” event. A group of 12 artists displayed their work and artist statements. Two murals were created live at this event. One, a community mural, allowed for anyone in the audience to participate in drawing, while the other involved professional artists painting the logo of the event.
Their upcoming show, titled “Are you better than AI?,” is taking place on Nov. 1 at the Pence Gallery. This juried exhibition has a twist — among the artists displayed in the show, one will secretly be Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The advent of generative AI has raised a lot of questions for creatives.
“I’ve seen a lot of AI-generated images online,” Tavleen Hayer, a second-year human development major, said. “When you use AI you don’t have to pay a liveable wage, the way you do when there’s humans involved, so I can definitely see how that would cause a lot of fear for artists.”
Sophia Nguyen, a fourth-year biological sciences major, also commented on how the current period of technological advancements may potentially impact the job market.
“There’s fear about AI replacing jobs, and there’s also some people using AI in cool ways,” Nguyen said. “We’re in an adjustment period where we have to figure out how technology advancing can also involve people being treated and paid fairly.”
Notably, this fear that studios will turn to generative AI for tasks typically done by paid workers was a major component of last year’s Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes.
Open Walls Collective’s upcoming exhibition addresses the topic of AI and art. Rather than presenting definitive answers, the exhibition allows artists to come together and respond to the prompt however they choose. The group aims to have a nuanced approach to this relevant issue.
For many members of the group, the biggest challenge facing artists today is increased cost of living. They hope the organization can be a place for newer artists to gain experience and learn the skills they’ll need to continue their craft in the real world.
“The idea of a ‘starving artist’ is attached to everything,” Krishna Das, a fourth-year art studio major, said. “Open Walls Collective is a way for artists to stop thinking about the overwhelming pressure that they may not be heard, or matter or find employment — or they have to wait and wait and instead adopt a realization that if you can’t find anyone to make these connections happen for you, you’re going to have to make [them] yourself.”
These connections, the group noted, are an essential part of running Open Walls Collective. The vibrant arts scene in Davis has served as a major source of inspiration for the group.
“Pence Gallery has really shown us a degree of professionalism that now we try to maintain everywhere we go,” Das said. “The way [The] Basement Gallery curates artists and staff, how talented they are and the way they take themselves seriously has led us to look for alumni that were part of [The] Basement Gallery.”
The UC Davis arts department in particular, the group also noted, has provided invaluable guidance and resources.
Open Walls Collective is precisely that — open. They’re an open space for newer artists to gain knowledge and experience, and they are open to learning more from established artists. As they continue to host events, their unique and collaborative approach will provide a valuable outlet for Davis creatives.
Written by: Laila Azhar — features@theaggie.org
