In keeping with a new tradition that began in 2023, this evening pays tribute to the twenty-six founding families of African American descent who blazed a trail with other brave founders to establish what is now known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles, by recognizing Los Angeles’s modern trailblazers with long-standing histories of accomplishment and impact. This year, in keeping with the national theme of African Americans and the Arts, we honor an esteemed visual artist during this year’s reception at the historic Pico House in the heart of downtown Los Angeles where it all began; acclaimed international artist and Angeleno, Mark Steven Greenfield.

ABOUT MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD
Native Angeleno Mark Steven Greenfield studied under artists John Riddle, Jr. and William Pajaud at Otis Art Institute in a program sponsored by Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company. He received his BA in Art Education from California State University, Long Beach (1973), and an MFA in Painting and Drawing (1987) from California State University, Los Angeles. He served as Director of the Watts Towers Arts Center (1993-2002) and Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (2004-2010). His artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States, most notably at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, the California African American Museum, and the Monterey Museum of Art. He has a permanent public art installation in Los Angeles’s Historic Metro Broadway Regional Connector Station (at 2nd Street). Internationally, Mark has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum (Thailand), Art 1307 Villa Donato (Naples, Italy), Gang Dong Art Center (Seoul, South Korea), I Box Gallery (Chengdu, PRC), and Art 1333 (Tokyo, Japan). His work deals primarily with the African American experience, and in recent years has focused on little-known figures of the African Diaspora. He has received the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship, California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship, Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship (Salvador, Brazil), the McColl Center for Art+Innovation Residency (Charlotte, NC), and Loghaven Residency (Knoxville, TN). He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts (2013) and California State University Los Angeles (2016), and served over 26 years as an art and drawing instructor at Los Angeles City College.