Abigail Lopez-Byrd and her husband, Marquell Byrd, didn’t really think twice when the opportunity to expand their tiny Compton Art and History Museum came up.
They chose to stay right in the city for which it’s named as they believe there are many, many more stories to tell and just as many local artists to tell them.
“It’s something I wish I would’ve had,” Lopez-Byrd said, “when I was a child.”
Growing up in Compton, Lopez-Byrd yearned for more exposure to the arts while attending public school. When she married her husband, an accomplished photographer, they founded a non-profit school that eventually expanded to include the museum space.
But it’s quite small – 900 square feet to be exact.
Through nine exhibits featuring 60 local artists and attracting some 4,000 visitors, they’ve had to constantly move and paint walls to accommodate the flat art and photos. Byrd even designed a system where dividers in the room move on wheels in order to create more wall space.
He doesn’t mind the moving and painting so much because the subject matter of the displays are so compelling and timely.
“This is happening right now, within LA. How can we make sure to tell the stories now?” he asked.
One current example: A perfectly framed, poster-sized photo of a low-rider-style Chevy, surrounded by Latino people on a sunny afternoon. Byrd pointed out that the story behind the story is that the Latino man, a U.S. citizen, who took the photo was recently detained by federal agents and kept in custody for 24 hours – based solely on the color of his skin.
“(The photo) is so much bigger than what, you know, the eye can see,” Byrd said, “and that’s why museums are so important.”
In a few months, the couple’s prayers for more room will finally be answered. A new space recently opened up approximately 1 mile away, with 4,500 square feet of exhibit space. With the help of architectural consultant Kevin Sherrod of Gensler Los Angeles, the building, which had been destined to become a 99-Cent Store before that company went out of business, will be re-imagined and re-modeled.
“The idea is not to demolish anything,” said Sherrod. “But to elevate it in a way that tells the story of what it was.”
Like the Byrds, Sherrod wants the new museum site to expose even more people to Compton’s local art scene – and then expand it.
He puts it this way: “Hey, Compton. You don’t have to export your culture. You can have it right here, for everyone to see!”
