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"In every culture and throughout history the  importance of libraries as repositories of history, knowledge and recorded achievement is unquestioned. Very often the libraries themselves are wonderful places. In noisy cities they become a warm and quiet retreat to read and study in calm. In remote regions they are a welcome oasis offering connection to a wider and richer world. The digital age delivers all this in a qualitatively different way. Instantaneous and inexhaustible, isolated and impersonal. A library, in contrast, is a real place and fosters community. Running your eye along a shelf of books, all varying in size and color, texture and design, is a sensory pleasure and a mode of discovery very different from scrolling through a list of Google search results. The importance of libraries is undiminished but as cultural outposts, like great old book stores, they are becoming rare.
​Happily, the Art Division library is still a vital presence.”

- John Nava, Artist

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"The Library is the foundation of artistic knowledge at Art Division. It is inspired by the library at Instituto de Graphicas de Artes Oaxaca (I.A.G.O) founded by Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo. The library introduces an oasis of vast individual artist monographs, as well as books on photography, design, film, and international art from Mexico to China. We have held various events such as a Women’s Artist Book Drive and panel discussion featuring wonderful LA based women artists, abstract painter June Edmond and ceramicist Claudia Solorzano. 
The sheer amount of book donations that we receive have allowed us to increase our own library catalog as well as create satellite libraries in under-served areas around Southern California. We started this initiative to provide other non profit organizations with well curated collections of art books, creating the foundation for starting or expanding their libraries, inspiring artists of all incomes, backgrounds, ages, and races to thoroughly navigate the arts.”

- Melissa Soriano, Art Division Librarian

Art Division’s success is built on the generosity of its supporters. As the organization embarks on its next chapter, it invites the community to invest in the future of young artists by making a donation, becoming a sustaining member, or participating in its fundraising events.
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Art Division is more than an arts program—it’s a home for young creatives, a place where talent is nurtured, and careers are launched.