WHAT: On Wednesday, May 29, the Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College will celebrate the grand opening of its VPAM Learning Lab and Lounge. The new facility will be an onsite study, research, and learning environment available to East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) students to support their studies, museum experience, and overall curiosity for learning.
Located on the third floor of VPAM – in its third largest gallery – the lab underscores the museum’s mission to serve as an educational resource and training ground for the diverse audiences of ELAC and its surrounding community. In fact, the museum traces its origins to 1957, when actor Vincent Price and wife Mary Grant donated 90 artworks from their personal collection to establish the first “teaching art collection” housed at a community college.
The new lab is equipped to serve currently enrolled LACCD college students, specifically in the visual arts, art history, and museum studies, and will host specialized courses. It features an impressive non-circulating collection of over 500 books, including art history textbooks, artist biographies, exhibition catalogs, and art books, as well as a limited edition letterpress art book set, all of which will be browsable in the lab’s online catalog. Currently enrolled students will also be able to reserve the use of state-of-the-art technology, including an iMac computer workstation, a large smart touchscreen monitor for presentations, a flatbed scanner, and more.
VPAM’s new facility enhances the museum’s support for ELAC students of all disciplines and notably those within ELAC’s Museum Studies Certificate Program, which opens career pathways to students of diverse socio-economic and academic backgrounds into the museum field, with courses taught by ELAC faculty and VPAM staff. The Learning Lab and Lounge enables VPAM – one of the few museums located at a California Community College – to provide a student-centered space for individual and collaborative learning, peer networking, and professional development for students.
The VPAM Learning Lab and Lounge will open with special hours during ELAC Finals Week, with regular open hours beginning in June 2024.
The VPAM Learning Lab and Lounge is made possible with generous support from East Los Angeles College, Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, and Bank of America.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Kick-off Celebration: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Student Study Hours: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Vincent Price Art Museum
S1 Building, Room 319
East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754
Parking, Directions, and Visitor Information: vincentpriceartmuseum.org/visit.html
INFO: Admission to the Learning Lab and Lounge is free and open to all LACCD and ELAC students, faculty, and staff. LACCD students must present their student ID upon check-in at the VPAM front desk, located near the 1st floor main entrance, prior to their visit. Regular open hours will begin in June 2024.
Finals Week Schedule
Wednesday, May 29: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (including Grand Opening Kick-off Celebration)
Thursday, May 30: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, May 31: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, June 1: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Regular Open Hours, Beginning in June 2024
Tuesdays through Fridays: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Learn more about the VPAM Learning Lab and Lounge at vincentpriceartmuseum.org/learning-lab.html or email learninglab@vpam.org.
About Vincent Price Art Museum
The Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College serves as a unique educational resource for the diverse audiences of the college and the community through the exhibition, interpretation, collection, and preservation of works in all media of the visual arts. VPAM provides an environment to encounter a range of aesthetic expressions that illuminate the depth and diversity of artwork produced by people of the world, both contemporary and past. By presenting thoughtful, innovative, and culturally diverse exhibitions and by organizing cross-disciplinary programs on issues of historical, social, and cultural relevance, VPAM seeks to promote knowledge, inspire creative thinking, and deepen an understanding of and appreciation for the visual arts. Learn more about VPAM at vpam.org.
Follow VPAM on social media at Facebook @vpam.arts, X/Twitter @vpam_arts, and Instagram @vpam_arts.
About East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is the largest of nine two-year community colleges within the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). More information about ELAC is available online at www.elac.edu. Follow ELAC on social media at Facebook @EastLACollege, X/Twitter @EastLACollege, and Instagram @ELACHuskies.
For VPAM press inquiries, please contact Katie Dunham, Katie Dunham Communications, at katie@katiedunham.net.