Renaissance & Rebellion - Flipbook - Page 80
“The rebirth of Chouinard was the result of a serendipitous daydream conspiring with
a terrible cultural hit and run. I happened to 昀椀nd myself at the intersection and helped
to stop it all from continuing the way it was going when I acquired the Chouinard
House in 1998. I didn’t know who Nelbert Chouinard was then, but when I found out,
I began inviting Chouinard alum over to kick things around and we soon incorporated
as the Chouinard Foundation in 1999. As the Foundation grew, we had high-昀氀own
ideas of starting an art school, which we did. We had a gallery with auctions and
many openings. We mounted a major museum show. We discovered the lost
masterwork by David Alfaro Siqueiros – the mural Street Meeting which was his 昀椀rst
in North America, and in the end, we partnered with the City of Los Angeles, bringing
our program to underserved inner city youth. As our funds dwindled during the
economic collapse of 2009, I executive produced the 昀椀lm Curly for the Foundation,
which served to tell our story in 昀椀lm festivals around the world. If we didn’t do all
of that, with the help of many great people from the original school, then Chouinard
would most likely be a forgotten ghost by now – another lost urban legend.”
–Dave Tourjé
RENAISSANCE
155
REBELLION
