Legacy on Central
Nine Artists | The Historic Dunbar Hotel, Los Angeles | February – March 2026
Nine artists. One historic address. A conversation between Central Avenue's past and its living present — presented as part of La Mancha Gallery's monthly exhibition series at Delicious at The Dunbar.
Keeping the Legacy Alive
When La Mancha Gallery brought Legacy on Central into the Dunbar, the curatorial intent was clear and simple: we are not here to commemorate. We are here to continue. The Dunbar has never needed a museum — it has needed artists willing to walk through its doors and add to what is already there. That is what nine artists did this February. They kept the legacy alive.
Working across photography, painting, and mixed media, Bart Ross, LPAE38, Nina Syii, Christen Austin, Jimmy Velarde, Mario Hernandez, Sam Pace, X. Darvi, and Skira Martinez each contributed to a larger dialogue on artistic leadership, cultural continuity, and the sustained creative excellence that has always defined the Central Avenue corridor. The exhibition was timed to Black History Month — not as a calendar obligation, but as a refusal of it. Legacy, as this exhibition argues, is not behind us. It is active. It is present. It is being made now.
What emerged across the walls was a continuum. Work rooted in lived experience sat alongside images of cultural memory and present-day vision. There was no single style, no single medium, no unified aesthetic — and that was the point. Black artistic excellence has never been monolithic. It has always been plural, contested, generative, and expansive. Legacy on Central reflected that truth without apology, and on select evenings, live jazz filled the room — a reminder that Central Avenue's sonic and visual traditions have always moved together.
These nine artists walked into a room charged with history and added to it. They did not defer to the past. They spoke with it. That is what keeping the legacy alive looks like. That is what this exhibition is.
"The Dunbar has never needed a museum — it has needed artists willing to walk through its doors and add to what is already there. That is what these nine artists did. They kept the legacy alive."
— Omar Holguin, Curator & Director, La Mancha Fine ArtsLegacy on Central at a Glance
| Exhibition | Legacy on Central Group Exhibition — Nine Artists |
| Series | Arts at Delicious at The Dunbar — Chapter II Curated by La Mancha Gallery |
| Run | February – March 2026 |
| Venue | Delicious at The Dunbar 4229 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90011 Historic Dunbar Hotel |
| Format | Group exhibition — photography, painting, and mixed media Free to view with dining · Works available for purchase |
| Live Jazz | Select evenings throughout the run |
| Artists | Bart Ross, LPAE38, Nina Syii, Christen Austin, Jimmy Velarde, Mario Hernandez, Sam Pace, X. Darvi, Skira Martinez |
| Presented By | La Mancha Gallery Curator — Omar Holguin, Director & Owner |
| Contact | Exhibition inquiries: lamancha.events@pm.me Dining & reservations: deliciousatthedunbar.com |
What the Exhibition Presented
Nine Artists, One Continuum
Bart Ross, LPAE38, Nina Syii, Christen Austin, Jimmy Velarde, Mario Hernandez, Sam Pace, X. Darvi, and Skira Martinez — working across photography, painting, and mixed media to form a dialogue between Central Avenue's past and its living present.
Black History Month — Reframed
The exhibition refused the convention of Black History Month as calendar obligation, insisting instead on the ongoing vitality of Black artistic excellence as plural, generative, and expansive — not behind us, but active and present.
Activation, Not Honoring
The curatorial intent was clear: treat the Dunbar as alive and capable of generating new meaning in the present. These artists did not defer to the space's history. They added to it — speaking with the past rather than about it.
Live Jazz on Select Evenings
Jazz musicians joined the exhibition on select evenings throughout the run — a reminder that Central Avenue's sonic and visual traditions have always moved together, and that the Dunbar's legacy is audible as well as visible.
Chapter II of the Dunbar Series
Building on the foundation established by the Jimmy Velarde inaugural exhibition, Legacy on Central deepened the curatorial program's commitment to placing art in genuine dialogue with the Dunbar's century of cultural significance.
Art Free to View with Dining
Every work free to view for all diners — no admission, no gatekeeping. Works available for purchase with a certificate of authenticity, with QR codes linking directly to artist bios, edition details, and secure purchase options.
Nine Artists, One Continuum
Working across photography, painting, and mixed media — nine artists whose practices engage questions of cultural memory, artistic leadership, identity, and the sustained creative excellence that has always defined Central Avenue.
Bart Ross
Painter and visual artist whose practice engages questions of presence, perception, and the art of seeing what others walk past.
LPAE38
Contemporary artist celebrated by a devoted following that includes prominent figures in entertainment — work that pulses with urgency while remaining rooted in craft and conceptual integrity.
Nina Syii
Multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores identity, cultural memory, and the visual language of lived experience.
Christen Austin
Visual artist working at the intersection of community, narrative, and the ongoing conversation between past and present.
Jimmy Velarde
Twelve-time Emmy Award recipient and inaugural artist of the Dunbar series — photographer, cultural historian, visual chronicler of jazz and Chicano community in Los Angeles.
Mario Hernandez
Artist whose work engages the textures of urban experience, cultural identity, and the visual traditions of Los Angeles.
Sam Pace
Painter and mixed media artist whose practice draws on personal narrative, community memory, and the expressive power of color and form.
X. Darvi
Visual artist exploring questions of identity, representation, and cultural continuity through a distinct and evolving studio practice.
Skira Martinez
Multidisciplinary artist working across wearable art, installation, and object-making — a practice that refuses easy categorization and expands the boundaries of what art in a cultural space can be.
How the Exhibition Was Built
La Mancha Gallery developed Legacy on Central as the second chapter of the Arts at Delicious at The Dunbar series — building on the curatorial foundation established by the Jimmy Velarde inaugural exhibition and deepening the program's commitment to placing art in genuine dialogue with the Dunbar's history.
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Phase 01
Curatorial Framework & Theme Development
Exhibition concept developed around the idea of activation — treating the Dunbar not as a space to be honored from a respectful distance, but as a living site capable of generating new cultural meaning. Black History Month identified not as a constraint but as a refusal: legacy as present-tense commitment, not historical archive.
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Phase 02
Artist Selection & Roster Development
Nine artists selected across photography, painting, and mixed media — each chosen for the alignment between their practice and the exhibition's curatorial argument. Deliberately plural in medium, style, and approach, reflecting the conviction that Black artistic excellence has never been monolithic.
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Phase 03
Installation & Programming
Works installed across the dining room walls of Delicious at The Dunbar — larger pieces anchoring the main walls, smaller works inviting intimate viewing. Live jazz programming integrated on select evenings, placing the visual exhibition in direct dialogue with Central Avenue's sonic tradition.
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Phase 04
February – March 2026 Run
Exhibition open to all diners throughout February and March 2026, free to view with dining. Works available for purchase with certificate of authenticity. QR codes at each piece linking to artist bios, edition details, and secure purchase options — with staff serving as cultural guides for first-time collectors.
What Legacy on Central Adds to the Record
Legacy on Central stands in the La Mancha Gallery archive as one of the clearest expressions of what the Arts at Delicious at The Dunbar series is building: not a rotating gallery program, but an ongoing cultural argument — made month by month, artist by artist, on a street that has been making the same argument for nearly a century.
By bringing nine artists into the Dunbar during Black History Month and insisting that their presence was not tribute but continuation, the exhibition set a curatorial standard for every chapter that follows. Legacy is not behind us. It is active. It is present in the work being made today, in the communities being built, in the stories being told and refused to disappear. Legacy on Central made that argument visible — on the walls of a building that has always known how to hold it.
the Exhibition
Dunbar Series
Founded
March Run
Legacy is not behind us. It is active. It is present. It is being made now — on the walls of a building that has always known how to hold it.
La Mancha Gallery
Curator & Founder — Omar Holguin
Legacy on Central | Group Exhibition — Nine Artists
February – March 2026 | Delicious at The Dunbar, 4229 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90011
Arts at Delicious at The Dunbar — Chapter II · Historic Dunbar Hotel
