Welcome to the LACE Archive

The archives ensure the preservation and availability of an unbroken forty-year record of LACE, the longest-running contemporary artist space in Los Angeles. Many of the historically significant ephemeral practices presented at LACE now only exist as writings, photographic documents, and videotapes. The archives present an irreplaceable collection of these works. The archives also ensure that the work of current artists will remain part of a rich historical record. The archives make the history of LACE accessible to the public and link the organization’s rich past with a vibrant future. 

Searchable Online Archive: 1978 - Now

A comprehensive list of exhibitions, performances, events, screenings, benefit auctions, lectures, and news, are searchable here through the LACE Online Archive. Most participating artist and curator names are also tagged. Images, videos, reviews, and other documentation are continually added.

The Getty and the LACE Archives

In celebration of our 40th Anniversary in 2018, The Getty Research Institute (GRI) acquired the physical archive of LACE. The LACE Records, 1978 to today, covers the first four decades of exhibitions and programs at the institution; future records of the active contemporary art site will be added to the GRI’s collection. The LACE Records include photography, ephemera, correspondence from artists, promotional materials, video documentation of events and performance, and other records. The archive will ultimately be cataloged and digitized by the GRI and made available to researchers.

Letter of Aquisition

Materials Available on Site at LACE

Currently on view in the Project Room is The Archival Impulse: 40 Years at LACE. Researchers and visitors are invited to see the installation during regular gallery hours or by appointment. Contact LACE at info@welcometolace.org. The exhibition is packed with original and printed materials, and we invite visitors to take home examples of publications and ephemera from our 40-year history.