You have come upon a meeting ground for creative spirit on a transformational path. As an artist, I found it intolerable to live in the world the way it is, and I wanted to find people I could relate to. Rosen found such people in L.A., but not right away or all at once.
Visual artists spend so much time in self.
Inspired by the Garden Theater Festival in Barnsdall Park, a free performing arts festival that flourished from 1970-1979, and by Songwriters Resources and Services, which provides a network for its songwriter clients. Rosen rented a theater space and a slide projector in July of 1980 and advertised an evening during which artists could show up and display slides of their work. Thirty people showed up to see the work of eight artists. Rosen encouraged audience participation, and artists exhibited a variety of art forms, from fine art to costume design and computer graphics. Owing to the overwhelmingly positive response to this first effort, Rosen re-booked the theater for a total of 13 events representing more than 70 artists, and in the fall of 1982, acquired the support of the Hollywood Arts Council.