ChimMaya Art Gallery

For many of us....it was as though 2020 never happened, as we waited to regain some normalcy to our lives again. After closing ChimMaya for what I thought would be a brief time-out, it became a waiting game, for what seemed like endless months....ultimately postponing the reopening of the gallery to 2021. As we wait for the ‘best time’ to consider reopening, I’ve been growing nostalgic for the artwork, artists, friends, and patrons that were welcomed visitors to our monthly o...pening exhibitions. Over the years, we documented many of our exhibitions with 1,000s of photos. Recently I’ve been looking through many of those photos, and I decided to compile a video of our 2016 Annual Frida Exhibition. It’s my first attempt at creating a video, and I hope to create more videos of past exhibitions/events at ChimMaya in the coming weeks. Please click on the video to hear the audio, La Llorana by Frank Corrales

Artwork Previously Exhibited @ ChimMaya Retrospective | Artist: Robert Palacios Robert produced so many remarkable paintings for ChimMaya over the years. I was reviewing the images of his artwork, and these are some of our favorites.

Like pushing a reset button....I’m/we’re expecting a lot in 2021 and hoping, that it meets many of our expectations. Whether a new year or a new day, we’re free... to make a fresh start! Every moment offers a new beginning, and a chance to rediscover who we really are, and redefine how we manage ‘our collective losses of 2020’ and redirect our futures with a positive outlook. Wishing everyone.....’Best Wishes’ for the coming year!

People pop open Champagne and wave flags along Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Yesterday, we took a ride to see what was happening on the street after the Biden/Harris win, and WOW.....the news coverage didn't even come close to covering the thousands, and thousands, of people on the streets! From....Downtown L.A., to Silverlake, Hollywood, Melrose, Fairfax, and West Hollywood....the excitement on the street was incredible! The sounds of cars honking, people hanging out of sunroofs, and the sidewalks overflowing with people in solidarity.....walking and... dancing with unbelievable energy, was a 'once in a lifetime' event, that I’ll never forget. I've never witnessed so much public joy for anything, let alone the election of a president. As a Californian, the joy/pride I feel that our state is the home of the first female VP....renews my hope that our nation will begin to rebuild a system, that has been broken for too long.

Hollywood Forever, has been a 'must see'....of things to do in L.A. during Day of the Dead season. Just got an email, so I thought I'd pass it along......... This year, there 21st Annual Dia de Los Muertos will be streamed live!... Sunday, November 1st....... Live Stream Broadcast begins at 12:00 pm It's a 'FREE' event....https://stream.ladayofthedead.com/ There's no public event on site at the cemetery this year.

The importance of voting this year, is critical to our democracy! Because of COVID, many of us opted to vote by mail. Dropping the ballots in a mailbox had too much uncertainty, so we walked in our ballots to a drop off center. Still, the skepticism of having them included/counted was still in question, so we registered to track our ballots by email/text.... It’s GREAT to know that the system is working.....this morning we got confirmation that our votes have been received and will be counted! Unlike in 2016, we don't have the option to....‘NOT'....vote in protest. We can't complain that the system is unfair/broken, and not get involved in changing it. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

"Commander in Chief" by Demi Lovato | The Lincoln Project https://youtu.be/h0xSJQDRH2Q

While reading the LA Times this morning, I came across a pictorial of images that reaffirmed my belief that even during the worst of times, humanity and the human spirit....has always, and will always, find a way to circumvent any ‘temporary’ problems we face in our lives. _____________________________________ There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.... There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted. Sun Tzu

https://www.nbcnews.com//house-set-vote-creation-national-

Respect science, respect nature, respect each other. _________________________________________________ Herd Mentality: (also known as mob mentality) describes... a behavior in which people act the same way or adopt similar behaviors as the people around them often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Think of a sheep blindly following the flock no matter where they go just because that’s what the herd is doing. _________________________________________________ During the COVID pandemic, part of my daily ritual is up @ 5:00 am, sit in front of my computer with my morning coffee, and I begin reading the day’s stories from numerous publications coast-to-coast. Each day it becomes more and more challenging, sifting through the stories, articles, and commentaries on COVID, Trump, Racism, and the downward spiral/disaster our country seems headed to. As difficult as it is to begin my day with so much tragedy, how can I not keep up with it. Even if it leaves me at times feeling the hopelessness of the situationturning a blind eye to what’s happeningis pointless! _________________________________________________ We’re currently focused on the COVID Pandemic, when actually.since this administration took office, this country has been in a pandemic of.stupidity, hate, greed, narcissism, and an ‘over inflated sense of exceptionalism’. Long before the COVID Pandemic, our country was caught in a noose, slowly tightening its grip on us day-by-day. Stupidity, hate, greed, and narcissism.in itself, is disease. ‘Like attracts Like’..so why should we be so surprised that now Trumpism, has metastasized and is consuming the very ‘air we breathe’. Our society has nurtured and condoned racism and suppression since our founding, and this is the manifest outcome of that behavior/mentality. _________________________________________________ ‘That which you are, you attract into your Life’.so as our society is literally at ‘death’s door’..people continue to scream, yell, and put their selfish needs before the greater good of humanity. By definition, are we experiencing ‘Herd Mentality’.....is that the simplistic way of describing the lack of respect and humility for others, that seems to be prevalent in the news of the day? Living in Los Angeles, the necessity and urgency, of masks and social distancing.is a priority and necessity to keep our cities, counties, and state moving in the right direction. I’ve become tired, and frankly bored.listening to individuals complain that their ‘civil liberties’ have been taken from them. Do we listen to science, respect nature and each other, and work toward the ‘collective good for all’.or do we allow the ‘worst part of our nature’.to consume us, and take us to the lowest part of ourselves! _________________________________________________ Respect science, respect nature, respect each other.

Came across this in the LA Times this morning, so I thought I'd share. With ingenuity, foresight and vision....this Latina is paving the way for greatness! https://www.latimes.com//chicana-vegana-brings-vegan-mexic

It’s been nearly two months since we closed our gallery. Since vacating our space.it has given us the necessary ‘personal time’, to settle in and re-adjust to the everyday responsibilities of not operating our business, and the ‘time off’ has given Dan and I the opportunity to discuss the future for ChimMaya. Vacating our space was definitely ‘by choice’ and ‘post gallery life’, has allowed us to reflect on all our past exhibitions and the wonderful people and artists, that ...we looked forward to seeing at our monthly openings and events. UPDATE: Retirement isn’t really in our DNAlol! So the search has already begun for a new location for our gallery. We’re currently reviewing potential spaces/cities, to reopen ChimMaya. The search hasn’t been easy.it’s challenging to re-create a gallery that evolved over 15 years, with the footprint and energy that ChimMaya had, but we’re up for the challenge..so the search begins! Our goal is to reopen sometime in late Spring with a re-imagined gallery/space.for the artists we exhibit and the theme/quality/style of artwork, that has become closely associated with ChimMaya. We remain committed to showcasing the diverse talents in our community and look forward to the ‘new home’ for ChimMaya. Look for future postings, when we announce the new location for our gallery.

It's been awhile since our last posting....... Since we closed and vacated the gallery on Dec 22nd, we've been adjusting to life post-ChimMaya. After 15 years of focus on our business, we've taken some much needed time off. This picture is from an early morning 10 mile walk, we recently took at the beach. Our best to everyone in 2020!

ChimMaya is officially out of the building...! Dec 19th was our final business day, then 3 days of intense.packing, sorting, organizing and transporting things to storage. It’s unbelievable what we accumulated over 15 years, things you thought you needed and couldn’t live without, then 15 years later, all you can think of is get rid of it, give it away.it’s not going with us to storage.lol! So.we’ve come full circle, everything has been emptied out of ChimMaya and we cl...ose the door on our current location. No sadness, no regrets.it’s been an amazing experience owning/operating our gallery in East LA. The people we’ve met, the diversity of artwork we’ve exhibited from all over the globe, and the lives that we have intersected with, are the memories that we jointly share with our followers/supporters. In the past monthsmany people have come in, emailed and posted on social media.what ChimMaya has meant to them. To our surprise, the artwork wasn’t the principal comment.yes, they have acknowledged the wonderful artists/artwork we’ve exhibited, but most often.the comments have been rooted in what ChimMaya has meant to them as a community space, a place where people could come together and shop, listen to music, enjoy the art, and run into old friends and make new friends too! For every business owner, success is measured on many levels. The obvious is to generate enough income to cover our expenses and have a little left for ourselves. : ) The greatest blessing for Dan and I, is understanding as a business/art gallery.we have crossed the threshold and ‘inadvertently’ left an indelible impression on our community. No greater gift from our patrons to us.is knowing that our space will be missed and our time in the community, has been appreciated and valued, for more than ‘we ever hoped to achieve’. Over the years ChimMaya has morphed from ‘ladies accessories boutique’, to a dedicated art gallery. We never followed the trendswe shaped what worked best for us, and in many ways went against the grain of ‘traditional art spaces’. We didn’t re-invent the wheel, we just didn’t allow anyone else to define.the type/theme of art we exhibited, the artists we represented, or the audience whose attention we wanted to capture. Thank you, to the many.who have visited our space, followed us on social media, and supported our artists. We hope that as we transition out of our current location, you will continue to follow us and stand with us in our next incarnation. Special Thanks: Eddie Torres, Miguel Campa and George Martinez, for helping Dan and I clear out ChimMaya and meet our deadline, to turn over the keys to our landlordlater this afternoon. Steven Acevedo, Daniel Gonzalez Co-Owners/Founders of ChimMaya Gallery

Thank you, to everyone who has stopped by the gallery during our finals days in business. We're so appreciative for all the kindness and well wishes we've received, and continue to receive from everyone. 72 Hours | ChimMaya Closes | https://conta.cc/35qPCrD Dec 19th @ 6:00 pm, will mark the final chapter in our 15 year journey of friendship, discovery, and accomplishment.