THE URGENCY OF NOW: ¡NO PASARÁN! Curated by TAG member Karen Fiorito, Dale Youngman, and Isa Gordon

THE URGENCY OF NOW: ¡NO PASARÁN!                

As a response to the current political climate, with the United States at the center of conflict and upheaval around the world, from Venezuela, Cuba, Canada, the Russia/Ukraine war, to Trump’s unnecessary war with Iran, three independent art professionals have come together to produce a multi-disciplinary political exhibition that is also a “Get Out The Vote” activation, opening on Saturday, October 3 with a reception from 6-9 PM, at  Gloria Delson Contemporary Art (GDCA), 727 South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Soft opening DT Art Night 10/1) 

Curated and produced by Karen Fiorito, Dale Youngman, and Isa Gordon, the show takes its name from a Dr. Martin Luther King quote: "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there 'is' such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency."  ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967

We evoke the ¡no pasarán! battle cry — "they shall not pass" — to bridge the gap between historic anti-fascist movements and our contemporary struggle. We feature a gathering of diverse contemporary artists in all mediums who refuse to remain silent and are using their creative practice as a vital weapon of resistance and a tool for civic awakening. The works will include a broad range of fine art media, photography, VR, documentary film, video art, and interactive art performances. The exhibition includes local and international artists, including Lydia Lunch, Dread Scott, Kim Abeles, Sue Coe, Guillermo Bert, Andre Miripolsky, Rick Robinson, Man One, and Karen Fiorito.

Show Dates 10/1- 10/31. Special events and performances all take place at 7:00 PM and include: 

Oct. 9th - “The Unravelling of the Constitution” by performance artist Amy Kaps.  

Oct. 24th - Performance artist and co-curator Isa Gordon brings “The People Power Players”, a masked, anonymous troupe in "Grift and Fall of the Clown King": an interactive silent performance promoting voter awareness & action. 

Oct. 30th - An artist panel moderated by artist and co-curator Karen Fiorito “The Artist’s Voice: Political Action and Creative Urgency”  taking place during our closing reception from 6-9 that night. 

Timed to illuminate and educate the public on government corruption, fascism, freedom of speech, and the preservation of truth just before the midterm elections, one of the exhibition sponsors The Poor People’s Campaign (founded by MLK) will be registering new voters at the exhibition on DT Art Night 10/1 and opening night 10/3. Other financial and in-kind sponsors include Defiance.Org, Freedom Trainers (freedomtrainers.net), Arterial.org, Wttle Animations (https://www.wttleanimations.com/) and The Center for Artistic Activism (https://c4aa.org/).

About the curators: 

Karen Fiorito is an activist, artist, and curator whose artwork has been exhibited internationally and featured in major publications. She is most noted for her political billboards which have gained international media attention. She is the National Chair of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society (LAPS), a member of the California Society of Printmakers (CSP) and a Board member at The Artists Gallery (TAG) in Los Angeles.

Dale Youngman is now the new Curator and Gallery Director for Blue & The Muse Gallery in the Arts District, but maintains an advisory role in multiple projects, with twenty years of experience curating over 80 professional exhibitions at multiple galleries, independent projects, and charity events. She has twice been the recipient of “Certificates of Recognition“ from the City of LA for Arts Advocacy and Outstanding Achievements. (2008, 2015)

Isa Gordon is a new media & performance artist, curator, filmmaker, teacher, and lifelong activist. Isa’s most recent curatorial project was the WIGI-E3 Experimental Realities Interactive Art & Animation Festival. Sponsored by Women In Games International, these pop-up galleries included dozens of artists and were experienced by thousands. She's exhibited, performed, and lectured around the world, including at the Whitney Museum, and been featured in the New York Times, Wired, on NPR, and in Stephen Wilson's book Art & Science Now.

GDCA is open Wed. -Sun. 12– 6. https://www.gdcagallery.com For event info visit https://urgencyofnow.art/

TAG Artist - Victoria Loschuk - awarded an Artist Residency at Chateau D'Orquevaux for June 2027

TAG Artist, Victoria Loschuk, has been awarded an artist residency at Chateau d'Orquevaux Artist Residency for June 2027.

“The residency creates an environment for the artist in their quest for personal growth and artistic expression--while reinforcing that the end product is not necessarily the principal focus.

We believe life is a creative journey and consider every moment a part of the process.

New experiences stimulate creativity and revitalize the creative mind.  For this reason our residency is self-motivated. The artist must immerse themselves in the French country lifestyle. 

The things you thought you knew back home will begin to look different.

​This magnificent estate in the French countryside of Champagne-Ardenne is a unique environment, offering artists a place with limited distraction, plenty of food and an abundance of natural inspiration.”

Victoria Loschuk recently exhibited her solo show “Verdant Rapture” at TAG Gallery in May of 2026. Her work examines natural environments and landscapes, invigorated by a unique perspective on both space and composition. This residency amplifies and builds on her exciting and dynamic body of work.

About Victoria Loschuk:

Victoria Loschuk grew up in Western Canada, a formative experience that fostered her connection to the natural environment. She received her M.F.A. from York University in Toronto and has exhibited in venues in the U.S. and Canada, most recently at Realarts Gallery in Agoura Hills, Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles, and at the Broome Art Gallery at Cal State Channel Islands, Camarillo. She has been awarded Canada Council grants and Artist Residencies at the Banff Center, Canada and the Bemis Artist Colony, Omaha, Nebraska. She has lived in Los Angeles for many years where she has co-created artist studio spaces, and has taught Art/Design in the Los Angeles Community College District. Her studio practice, mainly paintings and drawings, explore the varied and abundant natural environment found in Southern California.

“My painted views of nature have all been found in the city, sometimes in very unlikely urban environments, next to freeway on and off ramps, and behind the architectural structures of our sprawling city. I often found these views and vistas as I drove. Something about their beauty struck me. In the moment, they provided me with the space that I needed to recompose myself, to decompress in the hustle and bustle of city life.

In the design process I crop the views of nature to focus on the contrast and positioning of simple or elaborate representations. Indeed, landscapes, with their rich colors and textures, have become for me, a place to frame and present both the delicate and the bold that I perceive around me, and also a place to paint, compose and play with spatial concerns. The resulting paintings are sometimes ethereal and sometimes more verdant; they reflect the botanical diversity in our environment, the foreign species that coexist with the native flora…”

In contrast to the traditional horizontal format for landscapes, the paintings are often composed within vertical formats, and also within squares and circles. There is often no ground in the paintings; they invite the viewer to look up or beyond by framing the sky and space. The paintings are large enough to involve the viewer mentally and physically with the space; they describe a more poetic interpretation of the subject, provide a physicality, a presence, and a solitude that one craves and finds in nature. Like “limbo”; they suspend that existence between sky and earth.

In my drawings I explore perceptions of space and image making through the densities of the medium. Many of the drawings are black oil pastel on rough paper; a non-erasable process that evolves through sensitivity to pressure and tool. Like the paintings, they too can present abbreviated and/or elaborate representations of our varied and fantastic natural environment.

John Muir once said, “Between two pines there is a doorway to a new world.” To me, he was addressing the restorative abilities of time spent in nature. The Japanese call it “Shinrin-Yoku”, “taking in the forest atmosphere”, or “forest – bathing”, a healing process. Like the Japanese concept of “forest-bathing” these experiences and paintings may be an eco-antidote to city life and an homage to nature in a changing world.

Creating, Collaborating and the LACMA Parade

This past May, TAG Artists - Wren Sarrow, Victoria Loschuk, Elyse Wyman, Gary Polonsky, and Gina Leon-Gutiérrez- submitted a proposal, alongside hundreds of applicants, for selection to participate in the LACMA parade.

In June, invited to participate, TAG Artists worked steadily for three weeks to bring concept and vision into production.

Breath of Freedom - Lady Liberty breathes for a brighter future. Around her, illustrated vignettes of "freedom" - dancing bodies, birds, animals, figures - come to life in color rubbed over engraved plexiglass images.

Costumed in regalia inspired by the Bauhaus Metal Festival, TAG artists paid tribute to the Bauhaus artists historically featured at LACMA while parading in attire that celebrated innovation, fantasy, and imagination.

A special thanks to TAG Artists for their creative contributions and support: Pedrin Garcia, Rhonda Burton, Sharon Cannon and David Stewart Klein.

From Process to Parade

Gary Polonsky and Elyse Wyman

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) invited artists and creatives to participate in The Art Parade, a large-scale public procession on Museum Row on June 20, 2026. 

Conceived two decades ago by influential art dealer and curator Jeffrey Deitch, The Art Parade ran annually in New York's SoHo from 2005 to 2008, bringing together more than 1,000 participants each year in a creative procession that transformed the streets into a living gallery. Organized in partnership with Creative Time and Paper Magazine through Deitch Projects, the parade became a beloved community event where artists, performers, and designers created floats, placards, and spectacles that blurred the boundaries between art, performance, and public celebration.

This Los Angeles edition marked a pivotal moment in LACMA's history and for the city itself, alongside the opening of the David Geffen Galleries.

The parade invited participation from artists, musicians, performers, art students, and the city's entire dynamic creative community. It activated LACMA's campus and surrounding public space through artistic participation and shared experience, underlining LACMA's longstanding commitment to celebrating artists, presenting art in public spaces, and engaging broad and diverse audiences. This was a reimagining: a collaboration that adapts Deitch's original vision for L.A.'s unique cultural landscape.

Victoria Loschuk preparing for parading!

Victoria Loschuk and Elyse Wyman

Wren Sarrow and Victoria Loschuk

Wren Sarrow, Garry Polonsky, Victoria Loschuk, Lady Liberty, Elyse Wyman, and Gina Leon-Gutiérrez