Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
At left, an IEMA exhibit in Sasse's studio (photo: Cassandra Caldwell). Above, Sasse speaks to the media at the 2015 show at L.A. County's Fairplex (photo: Derrick Yazzie). Above, Giants of the Swamp by Milford Zornes, in the IEMA collection. to traveling shows or special exhibits, there wasn't anywhere locally that housed a permanent collection. And as I thought some more, I realized I had met dozens of fine artists in the Inland Empire — painters, sculptors, printmakers, photog- raphers and others — whose works were seldom seen. at's when I came up with the crazy idea of starting a museum that would focus on art by Inland Empire artists. I saw this as a way to inspire and educate, as well as get people to appreciate what a wealth of locally produced art was being done right in our own backyard." Sasse started putting together the paperwork. He contacted a number of artists and collectors, and before long had amassed a collection of over 250 pieces. In 2016 IEMA received its recog- nition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. e collection has now grown to more than 800 pieces. "It has turned out that it's not exclusively Inland Empire artists and not always contemporary work, either," Sasse says. "Certainly, the overwhelming majority of the collection fits that description, but we even have some pieces from the Renais- sance, and noncontemporary but modern works as well." e one thing the museum has lacked is a home. Since the founding, Sasse has been using his own photography studio in Upland as home base for the museum. He and his stalwart band of volunteers and board members curate rotating collections, organized according to theme. Shows are mounted on a reg- ular basis, always with openings and often enhanced by panel discussions of the works on view. Turnout for the openings and discussions is small but enthusiastic. And growing. Sasse has been able to put the show on the road, assembling various collections for display at venues in the Inland Empire. The largest to date was held April 2015 at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, which attracted hundreds of view- ers and was featured on the local PBS station. Since then, Sasse has provided showings at San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College, the two campuses of the San Bernardino Community College District. SBCCD Chan- cellor Bruce Baron says, "I was frankly surprised at the depth and breadth of the IEMA collection. e quality of the art on display was a revelation to me and, I'm sure, to the hundreds of students and community members who came to view the work at our two college galleries." Both shows were completely different in subject matter and served to showcase the museum's diversity. Just recently Azusa Pacific University let Sasse know that it will host an exhibit of IEMA's collection of Edward Weston prints in 2019. Sasse schedules regular "Art Talks" — an extension of IEMA's education and exhibition programming to inform, educate and engage, which also includes the museum's contemporary art 62 cta.org CTA & You