Activism, art and adventure are the subjects of an inspiring exhibit to open Friday at Malibu City Hall. The City’s Cultural Arts Commission’s latest presentation, “The Journey is the Destination,” features the prolific work of a young man, Dan Eldon. At 22, Eldon was the youngest photojournalist at Reuters when, in 1993, he and three other journalists were attacked and killed by a mob in war-torn Somalia. In his short life, Eldon was an activist raising money, awareness and providing aid to the needy in Africa where he was raised.
Eldon left behind 17 journals that were packed with artifacts, photos and art that will be on display. Four books have been published featuring the works that the artist’s mother Kathy Eldon said inspired “countless people around the world to do things they might otherwise not have thought they could do.” Two well-known examples are Blake Mycoskie’s successful company Tom’s Shoes, which donates shoes to needy children, and Jason Russell’s eye-opening film “Kony 2012.”
Calling her late son a “noisy spirit,” longtime Malibu resident Kathy Eldon launched the foundation Creative Visions to celebrate the spirit of what she termed “creative activism.” Creative Visions is known around the world for incubating more than 260 artists and their work and for its human rights-based curriculum it provides to schools.
“I see Malibu as a bubbling cauldron in the best possible way of creative activism,” Eldon said. “We have more famous names who most people know because they’re wearing Prada or are in super-cool movies, but actually these people are committed to causes that are very, very important. Our belief is that everyone has a spark that can be used not only for ourselves, but for others in the world.”
Dan Eldon’s work first gained attention after a successful gallery showing in New York. Local Julia Roberts and other celebrities including Madonna, Heath Ledger and the Rockefeller family became collectors with profits supporting the foundation.
During a random meeting at Creative Visions headquarters in Malibu, City Arts Commission Chair Catherine Brickman became captivated by the artwork she saw.
“I had been there many times—but I finally had the time to sit and absorb it and I thought this is an extraordinary collection,” Brickman said. “This would be nice to share with the rest of the community.
“When you look at the life of Dan Eldon even if you didn’t know him—it’s so powerful because you’ve got a mix of a very youthful perspective on life,” Brickman continued. “He was in his 20s. You can see that in his artwork. But then you’ve got this great cultural diversity in his work because he’s got European parents and, having grown up in Kenya, he’s surrounded by this multicultural experience and it really flows through the artwork. The Kenya experience really influenced his work.”
Brickman explained how Eldon became the subject of the city’s latest art show.
“We acquire exhibitions in many ways,” she said. “Sometimes ideas from the public will come in. A commissioner will then present the idea to the rest of the five voting members and one ex-officio of the commission.”
Arts Commissioner Alan Roderick-Jones helped design the layout of the show that Kathy Eldon hopes “in this time of turmoil and fragmentation we want to bring people together around the healing of ourselves and our world.
“That sounds grandiose,” the artist’s mother said, “but we’ll have a targeted campaign with young people with the (companion) film as a trigger. ‘The Journey is the Destination’ is on Netflix.”
Brickman was impressed, not only with Dan Eldon’s artwork, but with the foundation that grew out of his unique life.
“Because of Dan’s incredible spirit, Kathy was able to channel her grief and sorrow into something really positive which is an extension of Dan’s energy and a mother’s love for her son,” Brickman said. “The exhibition inspires art for social action. We’re living in a time now where it’s coming to a local grassroots level where people can take action any way you believe in.
“If you believe in something that strongly, get out, have a group, go march, create a concert, get your artwork out there and try to make a difference,” the commission chair continued. “That’s what Dan did. He’s inspired many. I’d like to encourage the school children here in Malibu to see it and hope the schools can tie in the exhibition with their curriculum and make it age appropriate for what they’re studying.”
An opening reception will be held Friday, Feb. 2, at 5:30 p.m. at Malibu City Hall.
