Oct. 12, aims to showcase the “rich and dynamic Black cultural heritage of Altadena,” curator Dominique Clayton said. It surveys the town’s enduring legacy, despite loss, through the work and stories of a diverse group of “artists and culture bearers that have called it home.”

“Altadena has a very strong, rich, historic African American community of professionals, artists, writers and musicians … and unfortunately, many of them lost these really special things that they built,” Clayton said. “Ode to ‘Dena” is her first curated exhibit with the California African American Museum.

“It was really important to share the tragedy, but also to enlighten people about who is really affected there,” she added.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Altadena became known as an epicenter of Black arts activity in L.A. County. Though this later shifted to South L.A. following the Watts riots, Altadena and its neighboring Pasadena continued to develop as a vibrant, creative haven with a distinctive Black cultural imprint, museum officials said. The area remained a hub of creativity for Black artists, educators, musicians, entrepreneurs and activists.

The multimedia exhibit features 25 globally known and local artists showcasing the Altadena community through the lens of photos, paintings and sculpture.

Altadena resident Michael Chukes has one sculpture in the exhibit, entitled “Protector of the Next Generation.” The piece shows a man holding and kissing the head of a young child, and is also on the cover of his art book “Identity Theft.”

“It’s important for me to let younger artists know that even in the midst of devastation, there must be resilience,” Chukes, 64, said.

Chukes lost his art studio in the fires, which contained decades of his life’s work.

“Watching all my years of work go up in flames has been heartbreaking, but I had to look over at my neighborhood and most places you look, there’s nothing there now,” he said. “It’s a mix of (feeling) grateful that my house is still up but also, unbelievable loss.”

Chukes said his sculpture perfectly encapsulates his new priorities: showing resiliency through loss, and looking out for the next generation of creatives.

“We must do everything we can to let the world know how wonderful and how powerful the art scene, and community of Altadena, is,” he said. “Altadena is a jewel.”

The exhibit also features two Black multigenerational families, with artists who lived and lost in Altadena and Pasadena. One is the Davis family.

Keni “Arts” Davis is a community artist who has been painting Altadena and Pasadena for decades before the fires. In hopes of processing the loss of his home and his artwork — and the works of many family members — to the Eaton fire, Davis started a series, “Beauty for Ashes,” which documents the locations as they are now, post-fire — showing the burnt wreckage of community landmarks.

Around half of these pieces will be featured in the California African American Museum exhibit, with others on display at the Altadena public library this month.

Three generations of Davis family artwork are part of the show, including art from the youngest. Davis’ wife, Mildred “Peggy” Davis, is a craft quilter whose work honors the legacy of African American quilting.

A vintage map of Altadena was created by daughter Kenturah Davis, a contemporary artist with three pieces displayed. Her 2-year-old, Micah Zuri Davis-O’Connor, also started learning watercolor and will have two paintings as part of the show.

The exhibit will also feature a selection of books and merchandise from Octavia’s Bookshelf, named after Octavia Butler, a prominent Black writer of the area.

The California African American Museum is located in Exposition Park, 600 State Drive. in Los Angeles. For more information on the “Ode to ‘Dena’ exhibit, open through Oct. 12, visit www.caamuseum.org.