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Mark Steven Greenfield
Artist and former arts administrator with the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles

Cal State LA

M.F.A, Painting and Drawing (1987)

CSU Long Beach​

B.A., Art Education (1973)
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  • For five decades Greenfield’s artwork has explored the complexities of the African American experience. He has had 15 solo exhibitions and numerous international exhibitions. In 2014 the California African American Museum presented a forty-year retrospective. In 2022 his 147-foot mural will be unveiled at a downtown Los Angeles Metro station.
  • Before retiring in 2010, he worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, the Harbor Art Centers, and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. He also headed the US delegation to the World Cup Cultural Festival in Paris, France, 1998.
  • He serves on the board of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Side Street Projects, and the Harpo Foundation. He was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association and the California African American Genealogical Society. Prior board service includes the Armory Center for the Arts and the Watts Village Theatre Company.
  • He was a visiting professor at Cal State LA in 2016, teaching intermediate drawing and graduate seminars. He’s taught Studio Arts and Social Practice at the California Institute of the Arts and for 29 years has taught design and drawing at Los Angeles City College. In 2006 Mark received L.A. Artcore’s Chrystal Award.
  • A turning point came in his life when he was 16. He was running with a rough crowd and his high school art teacher, John Riddle Jr. (Cal State LA alum), told Mark, “You could be pretty good artist, if you live that long.” Mark said, “His intervention saved my life”.

Notable CSU Alumni in artists & authors

artists & authors
Los Angeles