Bergamot Station: Train tracks to masterpieces
In a world where nothing good seems to be free, Bergamot Station Arts Center, located on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and 26th St, somehow seems to slip the mind of every high schooler in Santa Monica. Funded by the city of Santa Monica, the former train depot has managed to stay free to the public for its entire 30-year existence while simultaneously staying firmly atop the West Side art scene.
Bergamot Station is not just a collection of galleries in an old train yard, but a sprawling five-building campus with more than 20 art galleries and six other creative venues such as theaters, comedy clubs, writing workshops and more. Among these additional spaces is the gallery store. The shop features both museum original clothes, prints and souvenirs as well as a nice curation of third-party goods ranging from candles to kimonos.
Grewia Occidentalis by Alberto Gálvez is on exhibition at the Nüart Gallery in Bergamot Station Arts Center.
The allure of Bergamot Station extends past art too. The space has an open layout with avant-garde buildings, a cafe and two gourmet, chef-driven restaurants in Birdie G’s and Le Great Outdoor Restaurant. The restaurants, while expensive, help keep Bergamot open and free to the public so paying $45 for an entree is essentially charity.
At any point in time, Bergamot Station is concurrently hosting roughly 20 exhibitions, rotating every few months or so. These exhibitions can vary from abstract works by a single international painter to close-up portraits from groups of local photographers. Silent Elevations by Randall Reid and Emilio Lobato, a current exhibition at the arts center, showcases the artists’ contemporary collection of geometric shapes painted onto found materials like salvaged steel and aged wood, blending formal structure with an organic feel. The variety and transience of exhibitions have helped Bergamot Station develop a core fanbase and build a positive reputation in the LA art scene. Bergamot Station is constantly eager to innovate and push the boundaries of what an arts center can be.
Bergamot Station’s most ambitious endeavor this summer was Santa Monica’s Digital New Arts Festival. Cleverly shortened to DNA Festival to highlight the festival’s emphasis on science, the first-year festival finishes its 6-month exhibition on Nov. 20th, 2024. The festival is taking place at 12 different spaces, six at Bergamot Station, three at Santa Monica College and another two at the 18th Street Arts Center. The DNA Festival features art gallery exhibitions, live performances, large-scale video installations, experiments in telepresence, screenings, and panel discussions from both local and international artists. Bergamot Station has expressed plans to make the festival an annual event, describing this year’s as inaugural.
The arts center, which got its name from a wildflower native to the area, is a charming weekend-outing that won’t put a strain on the pockets of Samo students.