Born in Bremen, Germany, a city in the northwestern part of the country that was founded circa 900 A.D., La Jolla Athenaeum director Erika Torri knows a thing or two about appreciating history. The nonprofit membership library that houses books, art, music and related items — the youngest of only 16 such establishments remaining nationwide — has been around since 1899. On June 25 it will launch its first-ever Secret Sale event and a special commemorative display to celebrate 20 years filled with 234 exhibitions. “The Athenaeum is the oldest cultural institution in town,” Torri said. “All of us are working to keep this history alive.” Torri has served as the Athenaeum’s director since 1989 and has overseen special exhibitions since she helped expand the building in July of 1990 to create the Main Gallery — which she considers one of her greatest accomplishments. “The expansions have been very rewarding,” Torri said, adding that another was completed in 2007. “Also, we’ve become a sort of cultural hub and I am very proud of the atmosphere we have here.” The Athenaeum, whose name is derived from the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, offers a host of events and activities, from exhibitions and receptions to concerts, lectures, discussions and art classes. Torri attends nearly every event to personally greet artists and guests. “We have something going on almost every night,” Torri said. “There are different audiences for each event, so there is something for everyone.” A popular series has been the Athenaeum’s 30 annual free mini concerts. Another series will feature four piano performances by Gustavo Romero to commemorate composer Frederic Chopin each Sunday in July. One of Torri’s primary responsibilities involves selecting future exhibitions, with the help of a committee of leaders within the local art community. She also manages the Athenaeum’s 14 staff members and oversees six independent consultants as well as budget and finances. “I feel very strongly that we should be supporting our local artists because they don’t have a lot of venues of this sort,” Torri said. The committee meets regularly to discuss potential artists who might contribute future exhibitions. Once they make a decision, they approach the artist and usually give him or her a year or year and a half to assemble the contents of the display, Torri said. “We don’t necessarily curate, which means we do not dictate what the artist has to show,” Torri said. “But their work usually pertains to our mission; that is, books and music, and quite often they become influenced by the Athenaeum itself and their work changes because of it. We don’t have a ‘white box’ sort of space like many galleries. The Athenaeum has its own personality.” Artist Genie Shenk created a series of 365 small plates in 2009, called “Dreams and Other Lost Languages,” inscribed with sayings and varied color schemes which, when assembled, created a book representing the past year. “She measured the plates exactly so that they could fit perfectly in between the windows and the other features of the Athenaeum,” Torri said. “It meandered all throughout the gallery, and it was really created specifically for that space.” Another artist, Jay Johnson, filled a large wooden crate with objects from his studio and both recent and dated artwork in a late 2008 installation called “Smoking Room.” “He then created slits in the side of the crate so the only way to see the exhibit was by peering through the cracks,” Torri said. “It was very inspirational.” One recent exhibition in March 2010, which Torri called “phenomenal,” came from David Adey and was called “John Henry.” The installment included a free-floating Roman arch made of books. “It was such an engineering feat,” Torri said. “There wasn’t anything supporting it at all.” What distinguishes the Athenaeum from mainstream libraries, Torri said, is a tighter-knit, more personal experience. “We’re like the green grocers of the past,” Torri said. “We have 2,200 members and we try to know each one of them.” Torri, who lived in Germany and Boston before moving to La Jolla, said she has always been involved with libraries and the arts, running galleries and co-ops and working at museums. When her two daughters were younger, Torri spent much of her time creating miniature weavings. She became involved with the Athenaeum once her children grew up. “Once I took on this job and I realized what an important institution it was, I sort of threw all my passion into it,” she said. “It becomes your whole life. If it’s not your life and it’s not your passion, then you probably can’t do all the things that are required.” Torri’s husband, Fred, is a nuclear engineer who shares his wife’s appreciation for the arts. The couple has amassed a personal collection of works from mostly contemporary artists from San Diego and Europe that include John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Kim MacConnel and Jean Lowe. Torri invites the public to explore the Athenaeum’s collection and consider becoming members. “I’m always surprised, since we’ve been here for 111 years, how few people — even native La Jollans — really know about us,” she said. “I think they would realize we’ve become a very culturally rich community center.” The Athenaeum is funded exclusively by memberships and private donations, Torri said, with the exception of special grants from the city and county for events. Annual membership costs $40 per individual or $50 per family. Non-members can visit the Athenaeum free of charge and browse materials — including books, CDs, DVDs, records, cassettes, sheet music art and more — within the building, but only members can check out resources. For more information visit the La Jolla Athenaeum at 1008 Wall St., call (858) 454-5872 or visit www.ljathenaeum.org. Secret Sale and Special Exhibition Professional artists who have been featured at the Athenaeum commissioned 8-by-10-inch works of art to be sold anonymously for $200 each. The identities of the artists will be revealed after all pieces have been purchased at the sale, which begins tomorrow, June 25 at 6:30 p.m. A special display, “It All Adds Up: Celebrating Twenty Years of Exhibitions,” will run from June 26 to July 31 and will feature invitations, artists’ portraits, exhibition photos, reviews, internal staff notes and previously unrevealed materials from an insider’s perspective. TIMELINE: 1899: Athenaeum is founded with La Jolla philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps as its first president 1921: Scripps provides partial funding for construction of first building, designed by William Templeton Johnson; begins first exhibitions 1921-1930: Second building designed by Thomas Shepherd; Athenaeum later acquired the building in 1965 1957: Rotunda Gallery, designed by William Lumpkins, opens; now hosts music events 1989: Erika Torri becomes director of the Athenaeum 1990: Main Gallery opens in July, marking new era of exhibitions 2007: Second expansion provides more space with the North Reading Room and another expansion of the Main Gallery; North Reading Room showcases the “Artists’ Book” collection