Paul Cornish: We Were in Santa Monica

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We Were in Santa Monica is a new musical work inspired by and in tandem with the 18SAC Broadway Project, illuminating and celebrating the vibrant Black community that once existed in Santa Monica, California. What happened to said community echoes what has happened and continues to happen to several black communities all over the United States. We Were in Santa Monica aims to shed light on a critically understated part of Los Angeles history and hopes to inspire its spectators to reevaluate the roles we are playing in the history we are allowing to be made today.

This special engagement will begin with an introduction from Carolyne Edwards, Quinn Research Center, about the importance of Historic Broadway and some of its incredible stories.

Following the concert stop by Historic Broadway, Broadway from 14th-20th Street, and use the Snapchat Historic Broadway Augmented Reality experience to learn more about the community and the Broadway to Freeway exhibit at the Santa Monica History Museum.

This program is co-produced by 18th Street Arts Center and the Santa Monica Public Library, Virginia Ave Park.

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The Broadway Project
The Broadway Project is a long-term arts and culture project led by the Quinn Research Center and supported by 18th Street Arts Center and the Santa Monica Public Library. Through public art in Santa Monica, the goal of this project is to develop a Broadway Historic Cultural District that celebrates the Black culture and history of Broadway between 14th and 20th Street in Santa Monica.

Paul Cornish
Los Angeles-based pianist and composer Paul Cornish strives to inspire freedom and collaboration in his music and community. Hailing from Houston where he was a student at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Cornish was one of seven jazz prodigies worldwide selected to be awarded a full fellowship to attend the esteemed Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz at UCLA. Here, he completed his Master’s degree, and studied and performed with such renowned artists as Billy Childs, Herbie Hancock, Bob Hurst, Chris Potter, and Walter Smith III.

Cornish was recently a finalist in the 2023 American Pianists Awards. In 2021, he won 1st prize in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and received 18th Street Arts Center’s Make Jazz Fellowship. He has performed extensively across the globe with such notable artists as Herbie Hancock, Louis Cole, HAIM, Snoh Aalegra, Terrace Martin, and Kanye West.

Photo courtesy of Quinn Research Center