The American Society’s reopening gala on Saturday, November 18 drew nearly 100 people, who milled about enjoying the art, snacks and each other’s company.
One striking aspect of this event was that about 80 percent of the attendees were under 40 years old and about half of them were under 30. Much of this was due to word of mouth and help from Armelle Cloche of TWIG (This Week In Guadalajara), who now rents a space at Amsoc and did a lot of social media work to get folks to show up for the event. Sixteen new members signed up that night.
Five local artists hung their works, four of whom were still exhibiting on Amsoc’s revamped walls this week.
The Amsoc library has been parsed to make the area bright and inviting. The bathrooms, kitchen and all other spaces have been repainted and murals by Liza Gonzalez of Dreamsink Murales now adorn the walls.
The artists included Michael Baker, Laura Jew, Oskar “Iskr” Olivares, Violeta Color and Francisco Medina. Photos by Alicia Reyes and Louis “Luigi” Cotto are also displayed.
Board members Cam and Cliff Esser and Bruce Newby led the charge to revamp the clubhouse and are hoping that new members and a pull from TWIG will bring Amsoc into the 21st century. Amsoc is open five days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.