An Artist, a Community and a Well of Inspiration
About a mile east of the bright lights and modern design of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood sits an old convenience store that doesn’t seem like it’s in the same city as the eye-catching $5.5 billion arena, much less the same neighborhood. The building is relatively small, with a white exterior and awnings off either side. A faded red sign on a tall metal pole in front reads “Crenshaw Dairy Mart” as an asymmetrical yellow space-age arrow directs patrons to the store.
Though the sign still promises milk, ice cream, beer, wine or groceries, the place it advertises now provides different sustenance: art, community and connection. Founded by three graduates of the USC Roski School of Art and Design, the Crenshaw Dairy Mart artist collective and art gallery aims to bridge the divide between cultural work and advocacy.
To artist and co-founder noé olivas, the space is a vessel for his passion for labor rights and immigrant, working-class communities.
“A lot of my work is very much responding to where I come from, with my family immigrating here, but also where I’m living right now in South Central, and Crenshaw Dairy Mart being in Inglewood,” olivas says.
“It’s inspired by my daily drives, what I see on the street and the people I interact with, but mostly by my community and collective.”