Occidental College Exhibit to Honor Arroyo Arts Collective Founder

An Occidential College exhibit set to open on Thursday, Sept. 13, will honor the life and work of Hendrik Stooker, a longtime resident of Highland Park and founder of the Arroyo Arts Collective.

In addition to founding the Arroyo Arts Collective in 1989, he played a key role as president of the Highland Park Heritage Trust in urging the city to create the Highland Park Historic Preservation Overlay Zone.

From 1987 to 1997, Stooker worked as the slide curator and director of the Weingart Galleries at Occidental College. 

Carol Colin, a longtime colleague of Stooker's who now runs a private gallery on Monte Vista Street, said his greatest contribution to NELA's art culture were the connections he fostered.

"So many people here knew each other because Hendrik welcomed them to the neighborhood and introduced them to other people," Colin said. "He would see someone in their yard and invite them to joint the Heritage Trust or, if they were an artist, to join the Arroyo Arts Collective. He just wanted people to know each other, he was a community builder, and he did it in the simplest way, by talking to people."

"Celebrating Hendrick Stooker" will run Sept. 13 to Oct. 29 at the Weingart Galleries at Occidental College, 1600 Campus Rd. The exhibit will feature his work as well as the work of artists he supported. The opening reception will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.