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On Main Street and Griffin Avenue in Lincoln Heights, behind the facade of the 1926 San Carlos Theatre, a large complex houses an eclectic mix of small, family-owned shops: a party supply store, an upholsterer, a screen printing company and, in the back, down a dimly lit hallway, the Latino-founded local art gallery Altura.
The art space, which first opened in 2021, is typically filled with an array of Latino art—from airbrushed Cortez sneakers to abstract paintings of childhood memories—with a special focus on emerging, local artists.
Altura’s founders hadn’t planned to start a gallery. Artist Eduardo Gomez, civil engineer and record store owner Diego Guerrero, videographer Adrian Huerta and fashion designer John Acevedo were initially looking to share rent on a creative working space where they could be free from the restraints and distractions of home.
They knew they wanted it to be in Lincoln Heights. It was where Gomez was first an artist assistant to Artemio Rodriguez at La Mano Press right out of college and where he, Guerrero and their late friend Nectali “Sumo Hair” Diaz had started their party series, “¡Dinamita!”
The monthly cumbia dance party was held at a neighborhood bar called The Office, a few blocks from where Altura stands today. To them, the northeast neighborhood had always represented their need to create — both community and art.
“The idea for running a gallery came as we were kind of forming it. We just came into this empty space and knew we could make it whatever we wanted,” said Gomez. “It also helped that we were surrounded with folks from our [Latino] community. Lincoln Heights reminds me of home.”
They took the lengthy space and built a lofted area with an attached staircase and several moveable walls — to ensure the space could constantly be altered. The walls currently create an enclosed box in the middle of the floor plan, which Gomez uses as a studio for his own practice.
“We never said, ‘We’re gonna be this self-sustaining gallery space.’ We wanted it to be an artist-run space first,” said Gomez. “But as soon as we did our first show things already shifted without us realizing. We knew this thing was gonna take a life of its own. We just have to make sure we guide it in the right direction.”
Their first show, called “Palindromo 12.11.21,” was a group show that featured L.A.-based artists. It was curated by Gomez, and featured one of his pieces — a brightly colored succulent planter. On the inaugural opening night as community members poured into the small alleyway studio, it became clear they had unintentionally fulfilled a need in the local neighborhood.
“We always knew the space was big enough for us to be able to share with the community,” said Guerrero. “But none of us had ever done anything like this before.”
Over the course of the next few shows, more artists and curators kept coming to them wanting to exhibit in the space.
In 2024, they hosted a total of four exhibitions, the first being “Guadalupe - Reclaiming Connection to the Divine,” a collection of photos from Amanda Lopez that document people’s modern-day connection to La Virgen. Next, they showcased “Kaleidoscopic Eyes,” a one-day-only exhibition for local high schooler Lynna Doan’s senior thesis project, and a group show called “Por La Sombrita/ Quietly into the Shade” that focused on the healing powers of shade. “Meet Me At The Boulevard,” an ode to Southern California car culture that featured close-ups of lowrider paint jobs and a pixelated portrait of a pink Cadillac closed out the year.
In addition to the countless hours that go into curation and installation, the gallery owners put significant effort into their opening night celebrations to give the community a chance to celebrate new exhibitions and see shows without making an appointment.
“It’s also one of those moments where we are all running around in work mode, but as you walk down the stairs and you see the crowd, you really realize how crazy it all is,” said Gomez.
Nalani Hernandez-Melo, the gallery director and marketing manager who joined the team last year, says these openings bring her a renewed sense of both passion and nostalgia.
“We’re a brown gallery. I see the crowd. I see the faces of who’s showing up. It’s exciting to kind of take that on and to remind us to stay authentic,” said Hernandez-Melo. “On opening nights, it feels like such a huge exhale, because all the effort and energy we put into it is reflected in telling the stories of people that don’t always get the chance.”
After surviving in the art world for more than three years now, Altura is still set on providing artists, curators and the community an unconventional experience. Focused on collaboration and ensuring open communication, the Lincoln Heights gallery will continue to push boundaries by being a “vessel for community,” Guerrero said.
“You still get to have autonomy when you come into this space. And that gets rooted back to the idea that we are artist-built, artist-run and community-driven,” said Gomez. “It helps push a lot of people who want to reach out because it’s a space that respects them. It’s a space where they can see themselves.”
The Altura team is currently working on their next show, set to open in March.
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