Summer 2024
Dear Friends of SLOMA,
Around here, we are really excited to welcome summer! We love when Concerts in the Plaza and First Fridays overlap, turning the length of the plaza into one long dance party. Summer visitors from all around the world are always fun to welcome as they discover our amazing downtown. We consider ourselves unofficial ambassadors enthusiastically recommending restaurants, hikes, wineries, and more to the tourists who come through our doors.
We have the perfect exhibition to help you feel like summer with Whose Waters? premiering exclusively for members on Friday July 12; members can RSVP here. The exhibition opens to the public on July 13. This multimedia exhibition explores surf culture through photos, paintings, video, and even surfboards.
We have another reason to be excited for summer: for the first time ever SLOMA has air conditioning! Thanks to a generous grant from the Harold J Miossi Trust, we have a proper HVAC system. While this major milestone means A LOT to staff and to our beloved visitors, it means even more to the art. Temperature and humidity controls have been the standard for museum objects and most private collections since World War II. Up until now, the SLOMA team has worked its magic to regulate the galleries with all sorts of interventions including dehumidifiers, humidifiers, early closures, box fans — you name it. At other times we’ve simply had to pass on exhibitions or important works of art because we just could not meet climate requirements. This investment brings us one step closer to achieving our American Alliance for Museums accreditation and to bringing more of the world’s finest art to SLO County.
Outside our building we have big news as well, SLO(W) Rainbow, the exceptional mural created by Leah Rosenberg, will soon complete its run on July 18. On July 19, commercial painters will return our building’s façade to white, creating a blank canvas for our next mural artist Momo to begin creating the fourth in the incredible series of projects wrapping our little building. Watch Momo work on the piece when you pass by beginning on July 22. We are especially excited about Momo’s use of practical geometry in his work and his hands-on mural lessons with kids from the Boys and Girls Club of South SLO County.
Signing off with so much gratitude for the patrons who make it possible for SLOMA to exist. See you in the really comfortable galleries soon!
Leann Standish
SLOMA Executive Director