The ESMoA Experiment: An unconventional art museum founded by Manhattan Beach residents sets its sights on Lawndale
by Alex Khatchadourian The dense blocks of Hawthorne Boulevard nestled between Marine Avenue and Rosecrans Boulevard are littered with the familiar businesses that have long inhabited the distinct six-lane roadway, which stretches over twenty miles, coursing from Palos Verdes through Torrance, Lawndale, Hawthorne, and Inglewood. A bustling Jack in the Box, a two-story WSS shoe store, a few dental and medical offices, clusters of insurance and tax service companies, budget motels, and nail or beauty salons with hand-painted signage. It’s an unlikely setting for an art museum. But nothing about ESMoA has ever been like most art museums. The cutting-edge, community-based art institution – and yes, those two qualities can coexist, much like El Segundo itself is both at the innovative edge while still a homespun small town – recently relocated to Lawndale. In so doing, the El Segundo Art Museum also reinvented itself, becoming the Experimentally Structured Museum of Art. Once housed in the tall, architecturally intriguing former post office building on El Segundo’s Main Street, ESMoA now stands out on the 14900 block of Hawthorne Boulevard. The museum’s recent move to Lawndale marks a…
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