Gallery Opening Highlights Journalist’s Creativity, Insights, and Passions

The family of John Johnson presents the showing of his artistic works at the UnUrban Coffee House in Santa Monica, CA from July 26th thru Aug. 21st, 2014. The show is titled 60s Perspective: Oil Paintings by John Johnson.

John Johnson was a founder of the Los Angeles progressive newspaper and community calendar Change-links. John became its editor, providing this monthly publication free of charge to the public of Southern California for 22 years.

John passed away last April. The community supporting his efforts over the years is coming together with the intention of continuing publication of Change-links.

A gallery opening event will held on Saturday, July 26, ‘14 from 8 pm to 11:30 pm. The gallery opening will be a celebration of John’s life and works. Entertainment and commentary will be on hand, along with the planned free distribution of a commemorative issue of Change-links in John's honor.

The UnUrban Coffee House presentation of John's oil paintings is a rare chance to see his art chronicling the turbulent 1960s, when John was an SDS activist. Johnson’s artistic style vividly captures the spirit of those times.

The UnUrban Coffee House is located at 3301 Pico Blvd., (at 33rd Street) in Santa Monica, CA 90405. The UnUrban’s owner and staff will cater this event’s gallery opening night. Call 310-315-0056 or visit unurban.com on the internet for more info.

The gallery opening is a free, nonprofit, public, catered event, suitable for all ages.

The UnUrban is not wheelchair accessible, but willing hands will be there to support wheelchair access, if the same is desired.

KPFK – 90.7 FM - is the event’s media sponsor.

Silent Auction - John’s family plans to donate some of his paintings to venues for perpetual public display, while others will be offered for sale through silent auction during this exhibition, with the proceeds being donated to Change-links.

Scheduled Performing Musicians and Support - Musicians offering to perform at the event include singer / songfighter Ross Altman, folk singer Jill Fenimore, songwriter extraordinaire Peter Quentin, and the LA-based band Mayaztek. Peter Goverts of Pico Studios Santa Monica will be the event’s audio engineer. Theresa Bonpane, Ross Altman, and other announcers will provide MC services for the evening.

Independent Media Invited to Table - John Johnson sustained Change-links with a progressive physical and virtual media presence over two decades. In this definition, progressive is used to convey a sense of “favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters … and … employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.” By media, we mean establishing a communication outreach above and beyond being solely a presence (such as having an established organization, a store front, a singular website, etc.) This would entail creating, regularly distributing, and sustaining a “communication,” such as an ongoing eblast, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, published materials or program/show - be it electronic (audio/visual), digital, or in print form - in order to widely connect with and influence recipients. For this event, we have invited similar efforts to come forward and share their work at tables with the public during the evening.

Progressive independent journalists and publishers representing print / digital periodicals/presentations who have agreed to have a presence at the gallery opening include *KPFK, *Presente, *The Free Venice Beachhead, *PM Press, *Out Against War’s eblast, *Popular Resistance, *War Crimes Times, Addicted to War and the VFP quarterly newsletter, *Alternative Radio, *The Revolutionary Poets Brigade, and the *Courage to Resist pdf newsletter.

Other invited ?tablers yet to confirm include the following: Pacifica Radio Archives, The Agitator, Global Voices for Justice, Solidaridad, Turning the Tide, African Intercommunal News Service / Intercommunal Solidarity Committee, LA Indymedia, Red Hen Press, AK Press, Haymarket Press, Revolution newspaper and Revolution Books, LA Progressive, Truthdig, Street Sheet (SF), Democracy Now, Maximum Rock ‘n Roll, The People’s Tribune, Occupy Illustrated, The Nation, Mother Jones, Z Magazine, Slingshot, Tia Chucha’s Press, Yes! Magazine, KIll Radio, and other independent, progressive publishers and journalists.

( * confirmed present in person or by proxy as of 07-02-14)
( ? pending being present in person or by proxy as of 07-02-14)

FOR MORE INFO: For information about this art exhibition and its opening event, please call the UnUrban Coffee House at 310-315-0056 or visit unurban.com on the internet.

MORE DETAILS :

Free parking after 5:00 p.m. is available for this event’s patrons across Pico Blvd. in the US Bank parking lot - located behind the bank off 33rd Street.

Donations to support the on-going publication of Change-links will be gratefully received.

Attendees are encouraged to purchase beverages from the UnUrban to support coffee house operations.

FEATURED PERFORMERS CONTACT INFORMATION
(website and one on-line video):

Singer/Songfighter Ross Altman


http://folkworks.org/authors/ross-altman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpSYSxKH_3c

Jill Fenimore https://www.facebook.com/jill.fenimore.5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k9He5qRAe8

Peter Quentin


http://www.songmania.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yLGIAGp0HY

the LA-based band, Mayaztek - https://myspace.com/mayaztek/music/songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsG66uaQrrY


Change-links can be contacted at :

Website: http://change-links.org/

Email: changelinks2@gmail.com

Telephone: 951-638-9259

Mailing address: Change-links Community Calendar and


Progressive Newspaper


P.O. Box 34236



Los Angeles, CA 90034



Please come and celebrate John’s life and works with us !