Laboratory for the Future Opening Reception with artist Debra Scacco

Santa Monica Cultural Affairs is the largest single provider of arts services for the City of Santa Monica. It is also the leading local advocate for ongoing support for the arts before all City agencies and in the private sector. Its annual grants programs enable local arts organizations to mount countless performances, exhibitions, and activities for Santa Monica residents and visitors.Visit us at santamonica.gov/arts or call 310-458-8350 for information. #ArtSaMo

Santa Monica Cultural Affairs

Join us to celebrate the culminating exhibit of Debra Scacco's embedded  artist residency at City Yards!

Santa Monica Airport Propeller Gallery

Laboratory for the Future

Artist Debra Scacco's project, Laboratory for the Future researched, illuminated, and celebrated the often-unseen labor and natural and created systems of the city and region. This exhibition has a series of events deep diving into the project.

Join us for a reception capping Debra Scacco's multiyear artist residency with the city of Santa Monica Public Works Department (Water and Resource Recovery &amp; Recycling Divisions)! Scacco's project, Laboratory for the Future researched, illuminated, and celebrated the often unseen labor and natural and created systems of the city and region.Included in the exhibition are different modes of art as data visualization; maps of water systems in Santa Monica, rubbings of infrastructure sites, a collaboration with the city's geographic mapping systems team, sculptures inspired by visits to wells and reservoirs, and works made from Pacific Ocean driftwood. The exhibition also features Scacco's "We Are Essential" photo campaign, with photography by Monica Orozco; documentation of an eponymous festival celebrating essential workers that Scacco produced in 2024; and other images from her research on invisible infrastructural systems.Enjoy Open Studios at the Airport Arts Center, Studios 3026 during and after this event - the studios of various artists will be open 12-5pm.Laboratory for the Future is a project of City Yards Artist in Residence Debra Scacco, made possible by the city of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and Percent for Art program, and the city of Santa Monica Public Works Department. More about the project <a href="https://www.santamonica.gov/city-yards-public-art" title="https://www.santamonica.gov/city-yards-public-art" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.Events:The Laboratory for the Future exhibit is on view at the Airport Arts Center Propeller Gallery, 3026 Airport Ave. 10/11/25 - 1/4/26, hours: Thursday - Sunday, 12-5pm.10/11/25, 12-3pm: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/o/santa-monica-cultural-affairs-199424266" title="https://www.eventbrite.com/o/santa-monica-cultural-affairs-199424266">Opening Reception for Laboratory for the Future exhibit</a>, Propeller Gallery10/18/25, 11am-12:30pm: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-composting-session-with-artist-debra-scacco-tickets-1735586218099" title="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-composting-session-with-artist-debra-scacco-tickets-1735586218099">Composting session</a>, following the 9-11am “Oh My Gourd” event and garden exploration, Ishihara Park Learning Garden, 2909 Exposition Blvd.10/25/25, 12-2pm: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-flow-and-form-invisible-systems-of-santa-monica-tickets-1735883908499" title="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-flow-and-form-invisible-systems-of-santa-monica-tickets-1735883908499">Flow and Form: The Invisible Systems of Santa Monica</a>, an artist talk and exhibit walkthrough with Debra Scacco, Propeller Gallery11/1/25, 12-1:30pm: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-woven-waters-protection-resistance-renewal-tickets-1735900819079" title="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-woven-waters-protection-resistance-renewal-tickets-1735900819079">Woven Waters: Protection, Resistance, Renewal</a>, a conversation with Emma Robbins (Diné Water Activist &amp; Artist) and Debra Scacco, Propeller Gallery1/3/26, 12-2pm: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-flow-and-form-2-concluding-artist-talk-tickets-1736132672559" title="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laboratory-for-the-future-flow-and-form-2-concluding-artist-talk-tickets-1736132672559">Exhibit closing event</a> with Debra Scacco, Propeller Gallery-------------------------------Debra Scacco's research-based practice spans the creation of studio work, installation, public art, curation, teaching, writing, community engagement and oral history. Rooted in personal experiences of immigration, she re-envisions the visible and invisible lines that seek to establish boundaries of access and understanding. Her work has been exhibited at galleries, institutions and public sites internationally including the Lancaster Museum of Art and History; Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles; LAX Airport; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Viper Basel, Switzerland; and James Cohen Gallery, New York among others and her work is included in the collections of Hammer Museum, LACMA and CAA.Scacco is Founding Director of the climate-focused creative research program Air Projects, Co-Founder of the art worker mutual aid cooperative Contemporary Art League, and an organizing member of Artists Commit, an artist-led collective committed to a climate-conscious, resilient, and equitable future. More at <a href="https://www.debrascacco.com/" title="https://www.debrascacco.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.debrascacco.com</a>.The Propeller Gallery at the Airport Arts Center, 3026 Airport Ave, hosts exhibitions and events throughout the year. By Bus, closest stop is Metro 44 SMC Bundy Campus, more frequent is Metro 14 at Airport and Bundy. Parking available onsite. Programs at Airport Arts Center are made possible by the Recreation and Arts Department.