SUSTAIN: FROM LOSS TO RENEWAL, ESSENTIAL WORKERS PORTRAIT SERIES AT THE SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER
Sustain: From Loss to Renewal
September 11 – March 20, 2022
A series of seven images by local artist Stephanie Mercado. Paying tribute to LA’s diverse workforce—especially those disproportionately affected by the pandemic—the collection highlights the ways in which community sustains us during crises and is essential to creating a more just and humane society.
Created in response to the COVID-19 crisis,Sustain: From Loss to Renewal is a Skirball project in three phases that explores meaningful expressions of grief and resilience. Phases I and II, presented in Summer 2021, drew inspiration from Jewish traditions of mourning – the lighting of a yahrzeit (memorial) candle and the placement of visitation stones in honor of a deceased loved one.
Sustain culminates in the presentation of a commissioned print series by Los Angeles artist Stephanie Mercado. Created in the spirit of hope and renewal, these seven images highlight the power of community, and the many people who work on behalf of the greater good to sustain us during times of hardship.
Fusing together traditional printmaking and experimental practices, Mercado’s work contains visual references to her subjects’ lived experiences. In this series, she honors seven members of the Los Angeles community who have demonstrated strength and perseverance in the face of the COVID crisis and the socioeconomic inequities that the pandemic has heightened. Recognizing humanity’s deep connection to nature and its cycles, Mercado chose to surround each portrait with florals: “Each year after the winter, the cold, and long dark nights, we emerge again in the Spring with warmth, light, blossoms and one more year of experience and knowledge.”
Stephanie Mercado interviewed each worker depicted, listening to them share their story about their experience over the last year and a half. Each interview and portrait was a deeply personal and intimate interaction between the artist and the subject. To honor each subject and ennoble their individual contributions, each is surrounded by vibrant hand-printed relief prints of plants and florals. The portraits also include miniature hand-carved prints of occupational tools, household items, and identity signifiers.
Sustain: From Loss to Renewal was inspired by the Skirball’s Jewish values of honoring memory and building community, and its belief that the arts can help heal, uplift, and activate.
The exhibition and its related educational programs at the Skirball Cultural Center are made possible by generous support from the following donor:
Stephanie and Harold Bronson
Family Medicine Physician with Child and East Los Angeles Medical Team, 2021
The current pandemic heightened the inequities and digital divide in East Los Angeles and low- income communities globally. The family medicine physician pictured here (who chose not to include her name) made a commitment while in medical school to help her community of East Los Angeles, a predominantly low-income Latinx community. She is the mother of a toddler and was carrying a child while seeing patients in a medical clinic in East Los Angeles, managing patients, working long hours, and finding ways to help people heal and protect her family and staff from exposure to the Covid-19 virus. Together, she and the nurses pictured have selflessly served the communities of East Los Angeles through medical care and emotional support.
Ana Rodriguez South East Los Angeles High School Teacher and Artist 2021
Ana Rodriguez is an artist and high school teacher in South East Los Angeles, a low income predominantly Latinx community that has experienced disinvestment and limited resources for generations. Ana is an abstract painter and lover of metal music, and she is passionate about teaching. The pandemic forced her school to a virtual format and she witnessed first-hand how the quarantine and lack of social interaction was affecting her students. She made it her mission to be available around the clock for her students and their parents, encouraging them to make their physical and mental health a priority, above everything else. She believes the emotional support provided to youth and parents is more important in times of crisis, than homework assignments and grades.
Riaz Ali, Fire Captain and Paramedic, 2021
Riaz Ali, Fire Captain and Paramedic swore an oath together with his fellow firemen “to protect those who are in danger, those in times of need, and those who they would serve.” They promise courage, wisdom to lead, compassion to comfort, and love to serve when they are called. Riaz and the paramedic and fire team have not only been first responders, helping people needing urgent medical care and transport to hospitals, but have also simultaneously been fighting wildfires during the pandemic. Additionally they have been advancing fire research and designing new safety protocols to help keep firemen safe through crises, battling blazes, and long-term exposure to carcinogens. Riaz works approximately 100 hours a week, serving his community, giving selflessly, while balancing family and work-life. He has helped many people receive urgent medical care, is a brave and caring leader, and has battled local and large-scale fires such as the Paradise Fire.
Jannette, Domestic Worker & Child Care Provider, 2021
Jannette is a loving, hard-working, and devoted caretaker and domestic worker. Each day she travels from one home to another, caring for children, helping families with their daily tasks, and assisting them with all of their needs. She takes public transportation to each residence, is committed to her work, and is proud of the quality of tasks and relationships she builds with people and their children. During the pandemic, Jannette has continued to support families in need of help and continued using public transport despite the change in bus routes, schedules, and risk of exposure. She is dedicated to her line of work and supporting her family with acts of care, love, and resilience.
Jerusha M., Human Resources, Grocery Store, 2021
Jerusha is a human resources manager for a grocery store. She has been supporting frontline workers and managing employees’ needs while balancing shortages, fears, and the “new normal” created by Covid-19. Jerusha selflessly makes herself available to all managers and employees at all hours through her cell phone, and in-person store visits. She keeps up to date with all the guidelines provided by the CDC and her company’s leadership, sharing updates with the teams of the district she manages. If an employee becomes ill, she provides them and their families with emotional and financial support to ensure they overcome hardship and sustain their livelihoods. Jerusha is a warrior of wisdom, care, and perseverance. Her support of the staff makes it possible for grocers to continue serving the public and helps to build community in each district from Long Beach to North Hollywood.
Bruce Barack MD (1941 - 2020), Radiologist and Professor of Medicine, UCLA & USC, 2021
Bruce Barack spent most of his career as a radiologist and professor, teaching at UCLA, USC Keck Medical Center, and the Veterans Administration. He was passionate about helping people, learning about art, and raising orchids, and he expressed kindness, generosity and compassion to everyone he met. In pursuing his life’s work as a radiologist, he researched ways to improve patient care. On the weekends he frequented the galleries at Bergamot Station, where he would meet with me to talk about art, learn about artists and take images of work he liked on his cell phone. We developed a friendship based on mutual admiration, respect, and love of artists. Bruce supported artists and musicians in Los Angeles and internationally. Bruce passed away from Covid-19 complications on December 31, 2020.
Monica Vielman, Kitchen Team Member, Skirball Cultural Center, 2021
Monica Vielman works in the kitchen at Zeidler’s Cafe at the Skirball Cultural Center. She is a service worker who has suffered personal loss during the pandemic. As a food service worker, she understands the need to create a nurturing and friendly space for people and manages the fear of getting sick with the need to make people feel cared for, respected and valued. Monica and the kitchen team are grateful to the Skirball for providing them with the stability and a safe space to work. She appreciates the opportunity to work in a cultural space that is inclusive and gives her the support she needs to provide for her family.