Cultural Events take place in January, February and March 2012 at historic landmark venues in Santa Monica, CA Long Time Resident, Rallies the Community to Create NoirFest Santa Monica
by Kathy Leonardo, Santa Monica Daily Press
Multi-media artist, Noirist, and long time Santa Monica resident, Helen K. Garber has been working endlessly since 2010 on her “dream project,” NoirFest Santa Monica. T
his Saturday, January 14th marks the opening night and the first year, of NoirFest Santa Monica 2012. Reminiscent of the cinematic ventures of the 1940s and 1950s, the NoirFest Santa Monica proposes to celebrate the city of Santa Monica, while capturing the vision of “Noir” like a rare black and white image plucked from a Raymond Chandler novel. The misty atmosphere of the seaside local has kept Santa Monica a popular setting for film noir and pulp fiction." When asked how it came about, Garber replies, “I came up with the idea for the festival back in 2010. I went to the Santa Monica Cultural Affairs first.” Once Santa Monica Cultural Affairs agreed to produce a Beach=Culture event at the Annenberg Beach House, Helen knew she was able to move forward. She continues, “First in line was connecting with SM city-wide reads as they are in their 10th year of producing the kind of programming I had in mind. An amazing coincidence was that they had already chosen Raymond Chandler as their author for 2012, and as I don't believe in coincidences, I immediately knew that the festival was meant to be.”
Then, Noir experts, Judith Freeman and Alan K. Rode jumped on board along with the American Cinematheque and the Santa Monica Conservancy. She further explains, “Another amazing coincidence...The gallery who represents me, dnj moved from LA, to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. Then, I got a call from Otis about wanting to have me teach a night photography class during the winter semester and added that to the festival. “
Although Otis College of Art and design is not located in Santa Monica, Helen requested that she teach the class at her favorite shooting location, the Santa Monica Pier. She approached Pinot Days (Pinot Noir Festival) about participating at the historic Barker Hanger, as well as other venues like Vidiots and Upper West Restaurant. Finally, Hotel Casa del Mar will host the closing party with live Jazz starring local legend Barbara Morrison and friends on March 28. The Festival runs from January 14th through March 28th and will include art, film, photography, literature, music and spoken word at various historic venues throughout Santa Monica. Garber for the past 30 years and both adore this city. She adds, “I am happy to see that the cultural community of Santa Monica is coming together to create this wonderful programming in my favorite genre, Noir...”
The January 14th premiere event will be held at dnj Gallery (J-1) at Bergamot Station Arts Center in Santa Monica 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Curated by Pamela Schoenberg, this exhibition will feature Garber’s work in one gallery and in the other, a tribute to Vintage Noir photography by legends such as famed Parisian photographer Brassai and several of his contemporaries. Immediately following the reception, patrons are invited to a no-host party at the Upper West Restaurant, the official Bar Noir for the festival. Located at 3321 Pico Blvd., (across from Trader Joe's), Upper West Restaurant will be featuring specially priced drinks and appetizers, as well as introducing an event cocktail, the Bar Noir Manhattan. Film Noir masterpieces will be projected with period music playing at the same time. Vintage attire is recommended. Admission is free to both venues with no reservation needed, except for dinner. Call for a reservation at (310) 586-1111. For more info about the opening night reception, contact [email protected]. NoirFest Santa Monica is a labor or love, a grass roots, community based festival, created to celebrate Noir in one city, the beautiful city of Santa Monica. For a full list of participating venues and an event schedule, go to www.noirfestsm.com.
