On the east side of the L.A. River in historic Lincoln Heights, a group of ambitious artists with complimenting art practices and a vision for the community founded Altura Los Angeles.

By Trina Calderón

Published May 11, 2023 9:00 AM PST

Just over a year old, friends Eduardo Gomez, Diego Guerrero, Adrian Huerta, and John Acevedo created the artist studio space and gallery, empowering a fresh art scene screaming with authenticity. As Los Angeles rides the big wave (it’s been twelve years since MoCA’s groundbreaking Art in the Streets exhibit changed everything), additions like Altura Los Angeles reveal the dynamic intentions inside the visual art cultural metropolis.

Located inside what once was the San Carlos Theater, the team designed and built out their space with movable walls and a small upstairs overlook. Gomez shared, “This is all DIY. We’re learning as we go and the first year flew by.” In their inaugural year, they exhibited exceptional artists and provided space for events with vendors and local businesses. Who is the team behind Altura Los Angeles? They have a strong connection to Long Beach, but for the last ten years they’ve had a presence in Lincoln Heights DJing a monthly cumbia night at local hotspot, The Office.

LBC native, Gomez studied art and earned his BFA from Cal State Long Beach and went to California College of the Arts in San Francisco for his MFA. In the mid ought’s, he assisted master printmaker Artemio Rodriguez at his studio La Mano press in Lincoln Heights. “After grad school, moving back, and burnt out of making art, I got into DJing. Prior to Covid, from 2011 through 2020, for those nine years I was more into DJing. It was new, exciting, fun and it paid. When Covid hit, I couldn’t DJ or do any of that stuff; it was time to go back making art,” he remembered. “I had a show, I did a book, like all this stuff was piling up around me at home. I knew it was time for me to get a studio and I looked around for studio spaces to see what I could find. For the price, the square feet, and after seeing other spaces opening like Tlaloc Studios, that inspired me. We could build our own space, we just got to find the right people to do it with.” Nectali “Sumohair” Diaz, a close friend Gomez grew up with in the LBC, had already began to establish himself as a multimedia artist working as a hairstylist, musician, and filmmaker in Los Angeles. When Gomez came back to southern California, Sumo introduced him to his network and plugged him into the action. After building out the space to reflect their different needs, the challenge became curating the shows, and dreaming up what kinds of events they could throw. Altura Los Angeles is not an art show every month kind of gallery, they alternate with events that compliment their interests and talents.

Guerrerro is a county civil engineer, he knew how to build out space, and DJ’s and helps coordinate music at the events. His background works well with Gomez in organizing and installing shows. Huerta is an Emmy-winning videographer and producer who worked with the Dodgers and the Lakers shooting behind-the-scenes shows. He creates their social media content, records all the events for their Altura LA YT channel, produces the Altura LA Podcast, and manages their website. Acevedo studied fashion at the Academy of Art and is involved with the gallery install and curation. “I think that’s what makes it interesting too, the four of us have different backgrounds in what we study so all our networks come together. It’s all creative so you get a range of different people, personalities, and backgrounds,” Gomez shared. “A place for artists to gather, to share work, and connect, Altura LA is also a place for community events that bring the neighborhood and its creatives together,” he added. With their credibility on the line, their main desire was to be genuine to the community and choose the right people to work with.

Palindromo 12.11.21, their inaugural show in December 2021, was a group exhibition featuring selected works by L.A. based established and emerging artists Sandy Altmirano, Melissa Dueñas, Daniela Garcia, Elmer Guevara, Manuel López, El Oms, Ever Velasquez, The Perez Bros, Josh Vasquez, Bob Dominguez, Rochelle Gomez, and co-founder Huerta. “Getting the first one off our plate was nerve racking, I curated it. I went to school for art, that’s my lane, but still, I’ve never done it before. It’s a lot of work,” Gomez shared.

In March, they debuted Mariscos y Discos, their first daytime event featuring their favorite record vendors, DJ’s, and mariscos treats. In the gallery, they followed with FROM PHOENIX TO SAN ANTONIO, an exhibit and zine release from artists Valerie Bower and Melissa Dueñas documenting the American Southwest and exploring the ideas of Americana through a POC and female perspective. Acevedo and his partner Ricky Esparza brought their clothing brand PRENDAS to the gallery and hosted a new tee-shirt drop with a flea market. The first show I attended was El Album, a collection of colorful small and large-scale paintings by Tijuana-born Chicano artist El Oms. I had not read about this show anywhere, it was a tip from a couple artist friends when I was leaving another opening. Right when I walked in that night, I felt the community vibe, a warm authenticity that reminded me of the L.A. I grew up in, before so much gentrification took hold and the artwork on the walls was fantastic.

Altura Founders | Photo courtesy of Fabiola Franco

Last summer, their friend Sumo passed away in an e-scooter accident in downtown Los Angeles. A huge loss to the guys and the art community, Altura Los Angeles endured. Celebrating his spirit, their last exhibition for the year was dedicated to their close friend. Gomez recalled, “The family came out and gave us their blessing. They let us go through his things and curate what we wanted to display. They were really happy with how everything turned out.” ¡Sumo Presente! was a beautiful tribute to his life and music, featuring an altar of many of his personal belongings and art. For their one-year anniversary, the closing reception included a Street Fighter II tournament event using Sumo’s tabletop arcade version of the game he loved playing.

2023 kicked off with their Cantina el Pachuco event featuring a pop-up with Pachuco Supply and original art by Steve Pineda. In honor of women’s history month, they opened SEEN Women Photographers Exhibit curated by artist Nalani Hernandez-Melo which showcased personal work by photographers Anna Azarov, Brittany Bravo, Lenne Chai, Priscilla Chavez Scott, Rebecca Grant, Amanda Lopez, Enkrypt Los Angeles, Naohmi Monroe, and Michelle Terris. This exhibit brought a new collaborator to the Altura Los Angeles team, with Hernandez-Melo joining forces to strengthen their marketing, fill in a void organizing shows, and add a female voice to their male echo Chamber.

Altura Los Angeles’ next event is their third installment of Mariscos y Discos, on Saturday, May 20th, 2023, in celebration of the grand opening of Correas Mariscos in Lincoln Heights. Featuring live DJ sets, local record shop vendors, and of course, delicious mariscos, the community event is about bringing people together and welcoming the new business to the neighborhood.

Gomez explained, “There’s people worried about it getting gentrified, so it was important for us to claim space there in the community and have a place for people to come and have a platform. And for us, having the studio that we do and sharing the space with others are important. It’s a big deal because we don’t want to be gatekeepers. We want to be inclusive; we want to have people come out and be able to have a place to show their work.

Building the community and getting the approval of your colleagues, contemporaries, and friends, to me, that’s where it starts. Because if you get their blessing, then everything else will come with time. If we’re doing a good job and people are supporting us, that’s probably the biggest compliment.”

Trina Calderón @trinaluz is a film & TV writer/producer and journalist from Los Angeles. She cut her teeth in reality/doc TV with Authentic Entertainment and Pie Town Productions. Her first feature film, Down For Life, premiered opening night at the The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in 2009. She's also known for G4tv's X-Play, BBCAmerica's The Nerdist TV show, the AWM Gracies Awards show, the Legend of the Cool "Disco" Dan documentary, the Wall Writers documentary, and co-writing a massive book about the history of the 9:30 Club.