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"I was moved by how comfortable and safe I felt to be in my full expression at Sovern."
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On view...
In Rooted, Daeton Oclaray and Zoë Solis share their works produced in Sovern LA’s 2025 Youth Artist in Residency program. The body of work shares the artists’ visual explorations of home as an anchor to navigate personal and collective histories. At the same time, Rooted reflects a shared commitment to their artistic practices strengthened by a foundation of support.
This exhibition is the culmination of the three month program during which Daeton and Zoë received mentorship from artist and Brockman Gallery co-founder, Dale Brockman Davis, Band of Vices founder and creative director, Terrell Tilford, and Sovern LA co-founder and artistic director, Nicole Shostak-Sabourian.
Opening reception, Thursday, December 4th from 7 PM - 9 PM
This exhibition is the culmination of the three month program during which Daeton and Zoë received mentorship from artist and Brockman Gallery co-founder, Dale Brockman Davis, Band of Vices founder and creative director, Terrell Tilford, and Sovern LA co-founder and artistic director, Nicole Shostak-Sabourian.
Opening reception, Thursday, December 4th from 7 PM - 9 PM
A note on accessibility: Sovern LA is committed to creating a space that is welcoming and accessible to all. At this time, our building does not have ramps, which limits physical access for some community members. We recognize this as an area that needs improvement and are actively working toward making the space more accessible. We do our best to accommodate people of varying abilities and encourage anyone with specific access needs to reach out before attending so we can support you as best we can.
News and upcoming events...
Intersectional Arts, Inc., DBA Sovern LA, was founded in October 2020. In August 2021, we achieved 501(c)(3) status and opened the doors of our beautiful building in West Adams. From our beginning, we have centered our commitment to empowering artists, cultivating creative expression, and prioritizing healing for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color and non-binary (BIWOC+) artists and healers.
Our mission is to interrupt exclusion and inequity in arts and wellness by providing a creative incubator for Black and Indigenous Women and non-binary people of color to launch meaningful careers in the arts and creative disciplines. Here, we cultivate a felt sense of belonging and offer opportunities for connecting in loving community while uplifting professional development for BIWOC+ artists. Through weaving together the mental health and wellbeing benefits of ancestral healing traditions (e.g., yoga, movement, sound healing, and more) and the storytelling and narrative shifting power of BIWOC+ art, we not only serve as a platform for professional advancement, but we are one of few arts organizations leveling the playing field within the art world at large.
FIVE YEARS LATER…
Join us on December 6th from 12 PM to 5 PM to celebrate FIVE YEARS of building community-led and culturally-relevant wellness offerings for our community. The Holiday Market is a time to gather and celebrate our community's ongoing commitment to co-cultivating our unique medicines by building trust and safety across diverse backgrounds, united by a shared interest in healing, transformation, and collective care. We continue to center care and healing in all of our programming while providing platforms for sharing stories, traditions, and knowledge, fostering intergenerational connections, and celebrating diverse cultural heritage.
Our mission is to interrupt exclusion and inequity in arts and wellness by providing a creative incubator for Black and Indigenous Women and non-binary people of color to launch meaningful careers in the arts and creative disciplines. Here, we cultivate a felt sense of belonging and offer opportunities for connecting in loving community while uplifting professional development for BIWOC+ artists. Through weaving together the mental health and wellbeing benefits of ancestral healing traditions (e.g., yoga, movement, sound healing, and more) and the storytelling and narrative shifting power of BIWOC+ art, we not only serve as a platform for professional advancement, but we are one of few arts organizations leveling the playing field within the art world at large.
FIVE YEARS LATER…
Join us on December 6th from 12 PM to 5 PM to celebrate FIVE YEARS of building community-led and culturally-relevant wellness offerings for our community. The Holiday Market is a time to gather and celebrate our community's ongoing commitment to co-cultivating our unique medicines by building trust and safety across diverse backgrounds, united by a shared interest in healing, transformation, and collective care. We continue to center care and healing in all of our programming while providing platforms for sharing stories, traditions, and knowledge, fostering intergenerational connections, and celebrating diverse cultural heritage.
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Cultivate Workshop Series
By Friends Plant Shop Thursday, December 11th | 7 PM - 9PM Cultivate is a monthly workshop series exploring plant care, herbal medicine, and the art of tending! Designed to help people slow down, reconnect with plants, and learn through hands-on, sensory experiences. Each session blends education, creativity, and horticultural therapy principles to nurture both people and place. Workshops are led by Friends Plant Shop co-founders Ada Runge and Ray Odeh, who bring their backgrounds in herbalism, horticulture, and community care to create gatherings that are fun and educational. Sip & Sprout November & December 2025: Part workshop, part cozy gathering, Sip & Sprout invites participants to blend their own herbal teas while learning about teas and tisanes, exploring how each herb nourishes body and spirit. Once grounded, everyone will create their own multi-plant potted arrangement to take home. We’ll provide teas, plants, soil, and vessels - all you need to bring is your curiosity and your favorite mug for tea. Each finished arrangement makes a beautiful gift or center pieces to brighten your own space during the winter months. Suggested donation: $25 to help offset the cost of materials. No one turned away for lack of funds. Register here |
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Monday Night Drawing Sessions
Monday, December 15th | 7 PM - 9 PM A welcoming space for people of any drawing level to gather and draw. Featuring a still life setup, ideal for beginners, and a stepping stone toward life drawing. Offering a relaxed environment for a few hours of creative expression each week. Register here |
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Friday Co-Work
Friday, December 19th | 10 AM - 2 PM This month, we continue our bi-monthly co-working hosted by Nordia Simmonds. Bring your unfinished creative projects, laptops for working from home, or a book you’ve been meaning to read. We will have light snacks, tea, and good company! Sign up here |
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Healing Breath Techniques for RestHealing Breath Techniques for Rest
Saturday, December20th | 10:30AM - 11:30AM Healing Breath Techniques for RestHealing Breath Techniques for Rest with Melissa Shah, certified yoga therapist, offers you accessible breathing practices to release physical and mental tension, support your nervous system, and build mental clarity. This practice is designed to help you build a deeper relationship with your breath, explore your relationship to rest, and ultimately connect you with your inner knowing. This session includes: • Community check-in and guided reflection • Pranayama (breath) practices that are adapted to your unique needs and abilities • Gentle movement to help facilitate the breath • Chanting and sound healing to draw your attention inward This is open to all levels, bodies, abilities, and life experiences. Suggested Donation: $25 No one turned away for lack of funds. Register here |
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Light In Love:
Contours of Self The work of Stephanie Brown Curated by Jessica Bethel Opening reception Thursday, January 15th | 7 PM - 9PM Light in Love is a vulnerable experience. This edition of work, Contours of Self, showcases Black women in their rawest form – embracing what they may or may not love about their bodies. Society has conditioned us to love a specific aesthetic about our bodies, especially for Black women. The intent behind the work is self-discovery and self-love through dynamic portrayals of the body’s contours, highlights, and shadows. A narrative of love as light hugging the body, not so polished. Viewers are invited to experience the emphasis on the shadows, contours, and light on the scale of the nearly 4-foot-tall photographs on the walls. With the intimacy of the space and Brown’s poetic words to accompany 15 photographs, each image will emphasize the relationship between light and dark; ultimately expressed as, Light in Love. |
