Why Did It Take a Fire for the World to Learn of Altadena’s Black Arts Legacy?
As Frieze Los Angeles shines a spotlight on art in the city, one community, long facing institutional apathy, calls for marking its memories in the public mind.
By Sam Lubell
Reporting from Los Angeles
Before the Eaton fire raced across Altadena, destroying more than 9,000 of its buildings, many, even in nearby Los Angeles, barely knew of the place’s existence. This sleepy 42,000-person hamlet hugging the glowing foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains is not part of that city but an unincorporated community of Los Angeles County, and just far enough off the beaten track to blissfully avoid notice.