LA ART NEWS A R T S A N D C U LT U R E F O R A L L O F L O S A N G E L E S VOLUME 6 NO. 2
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MAY 2018
TACKLING ARTS AND CULTURE FUNDING FOR A CHANGING CITY It’s budget season in the City of Los Angeles. The Mayor and City Council are grappling with how to allocate almost $10 billion. The obvious priorities have risen to the top—public safety, infrastructure, and homelessness. But there are also many line items in the budget of a cultural bent. More than six and a half cents of every dollar in the city budget go to programs that fall under the general heading of Culture, Education, and Recreational Services. The City’s allocations to its cultural and artistic needs—arts centers, public art, libraries, historic preservation—may still go to the expected agencies, but priorities have changed over the years to reflect the City’s diverse nature and possibilities for arts in the City’s unique neighborhoods. The budget process begins with the Mayor’s office. Mayor Eric Garcetti released his budget proposal in April and sent it to the City Council. The Council’s budget committee is currently having its go at it, after which it will be sent to the full City Council and then back to the Mayor for ultimate approval. Here is a summary of what to expect in fields of arts and culture.
Terry Braunstein, Ladders (installation) Photomontage, found objects, mixed media, and sound (detail) Los Angeles Municipal Gallery
Department of Cultural Affairs Over the past five years, according to City Council Budget Committee Chair Paul Krekorian, the Department of Cultural Affairs has stabilized its Los Angeles City Council Arts Committee Chair Mitch operations, almost doubling its O’Farrell, COLA recipient Guillermo Bert, Department of budget and it number of staff Cultural Affairs General Manager Danielle Brazell, Gallery positions. Director Isabelle Lutterodt However, Councilmember Krekorian added, the previous baseline was pretty low, and so the department is still not where it ought to be. “But at least we’re moving forward now,” said the Councilmember. The department is largely supported by the Transient Occupancy Tax, which is a fluctuating source of revenue. Therefore, a new feature of the department’s budget in the past couple of years is a reserve fund to hedge against revenue fluctuations. Key funding areas for FY 2018-19 include: The Community Arts Division, for the provision of arts instruction in underserved communities. Baseline staffing at each community arts center is included in the budget. continued on page 5
BEYOND THE STREETS “Beyond the Streets,” a massive exhibit of street art, opened for a two-month run on the edge of Chinatown in early May. The exhibit features some 100 artists in more that 40,000 square-feet of space. Major figures from Los Angeles and New York are each given a good allotment of space to showcase their work—spaces ranging from whole walls to room-size installations. The exhibit is curated by Roger Gastman, graffiti historian, urban anthropologist, and collector. Mr. Gastman co-founded Swindle Magazine with Shepard Fairey, co-authored The History of American Graffiti, and coproduced the Academy Award-nominated Banksy documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” This is not a street art goes upscale exhibit. Mr. Gastman has consciously remained true to the art form and its spirit of rebellion. He refers to the artists as having helped expand the landscape. Beyond the Streets Through July 6 Werkartz 1667 North Main Street tickets: $25 www.beyondthestreets.com
Guerrilla Girls
Maya Hayuk Ron Finley, “Gangsta Gardener”
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SWOON
CHAZ Bojórquez
John Ahearn, “Swimmers”
Mark Mothersbaugh
LADY Pink continued on page 5
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MORE BEYOND THE STREETS continued from page 3
Ron English
DAZE
Gajin Fujita John Ahearn
Shepard Fairey
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Mister Cartoon
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STAFF Publisher/ Creative Director Cathi Milligan Managing Editor Margaret Arnold Intern Vince Caldera Contributors: Margaret Arnold, Cornelius Peter, Brian Mallman, Amy Inouye, Stuart Rapeport, Cathi Milligan, Jennifer Hitchcock, Tomas Benitez, Harvey Slater, Kristine Schomaker, Madame X, Larisa Code, Margaret Rozga, Linda Kaye, Iris de Anda LA Art News is published monthly at the beginning of each month. LA Art News is available free of charge. No person may, without prior written permission from LA Art News, take more than one copy of each monthly issue. Additional copies of the current issue are available for $1, payable in advance, at LA Art News office. Only authorized LA Art News distributors may distribute the LA Art News. Copyright No news stories, illustrations, editorial matter or advertisements herein can be reproduced without written consent of copyright owner.
WHY DO YOU CREATE? I’m one of those people that really needs to make things. Sometimes it’s art, sometimes jewelry, and sometimes design, but I’m always needing to make something. Making feeds my soul. This is a very important thing in my life and I think it should be the foundation for everyone. You have to do something that feeds your soul. What is it that really gets your juices flowing? that’s what feeds your soul. What do you create to give you that feeling? Now how can you pass this feeling along so that others can know and learn to understand the importance of this? If more people treated themselves and their lives in a way that enriches themselves, while enriching the community, our world will be a whole lot better. So think about what it is...that makes you happy. Create it. Thanks, Cathi Milligan Publisher, LA Art News
How to reach us LA Art News 5668 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 323-387-9705 Contributions cathi@laartnews.com Calendar information margaretnelaart@gmail.com Sales - cathi@laartnews.com sign up for our newsletter at laartnews.com Where’s Monica?
Monica Alcaraz and Deputy Chief Robert Arcos create opportunities for the homeless at Lincoln Park.
continued from page 1 Funding is provided to mitigate deferred maintenance at community arts centers and city-owned theaters. A Management Analyst will be brought on board to help manage the department’s capital portfolio and oversee a facility master plan process. The department is continuing efforts to reconstitute its Performing Arts Program, especially in communities with limited offerings. The program oversees operations of four city-owned theatres, community cultural festivals, and place-based events. The proposed budget includes sufficient resources to bring the management of the four theaters in house, in turn maximizing rental income and activating the theatres on a more regular basis. With theatres up to full staffing, it is anticipated that staff will be able to turn more attention to building a comprehensive festival program, providing technical assistance on the many festivals held throughout the City. Grants for families and youth are allotted a modest increase, leading to additional cultural events. In anticipation of the 2028 Olympics, the department is being funded to produce an International Collaboration Concert Program, creating 15 collaborations between Los Angeles based artists and global partners. The programming will foster exchanges between the international community and local communities. The Olympic Art Murals, created for the 1984 Olympics, will be restored. Conservation on three murals will begin in the coming fiscal year. One time funding is provided for a City Hall Lighting Public Art Project. City hall is currently lit up for historic, cultural, and solidarity events and purposes. The current lighting system, which is expensive and changed by hand, will be replaced with LED components with far splashier capabilities. “At the crossroads of culture,” Department of Cultural Affairs General Manager Danielle Brazell wrote to the City Council Budget Committee, “Los Angeles demonstrates how a multiethnic city thrives in the 21st century.” Los Angeles Public Library Probably no city entity serves as a barometer of change in our society so much as the Los Angeles Public Library system. The public library has always been a place to access information and to find great novels and poetry. It has been a place for children to do homework and has served as a refuge for young people. But in recent years, the scope of the library’s services has broadened to include
an initiative serving immigrants. It has partnered with the school district to issue library cards to all school children. It has introduced young people to STEAM, interrelated science, technology, engineering, arts, and math learning, through such tools as robotics and virtual reality. It has experienced a high demand for electronic resources such as audio books and streaming movies. It provides internet access to large numbers of patrons. Libraries often serve as the City’s point of contact with its large homeless population. Councilmember Mike Bonin pointed out at the budget hearing that library staff are being asked to serve as social workers without training. City libraries connect patrons with agencies and services such as social security, Metro, the DMV, transitional housing, and the Department of Mental Health. “I’m pleased to say,” City Librarian John Szabo told the City Council’s Budget Committee, “that the Mayor’s budget supports the extremely broad scope of services that the Los Angeles Public Library provides.” In 2011, voters passed Measure L, mandating a restoration of services cut from the library during the recession. The mandated appropriation to the Library Department for 2018-19 is $178.5 million, an increase of $10.7 million. This includes increases in security, acquisitions, programming, technology, utilities, and maintenance. Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Michael Shull told the Budget Committee that the department is very pleased with the budget’s recreational staffing component, which will have a large impact on the provision of sports and fitness activities. He singled out the success of the department’s gender equity program through which participation by females has moved from about 24% to 40%. Many challenges remain for the department, however, including maintenance and cleaning of restrooms and playgrounds. Inspection and cleaning are currently done once a day in many places and twice a day in some of the most heavily trafficked places. The need is for three to four times a day in the busiest places. Further, homeless encampments continue to provide a stress that the department is not funded to deal with. “They [parks] are the backbone of our communities— of every single community,” Councilmember Mitchell Englander said at the department’s budget hearing. “It is the place where people gather, or should be gathering, on a regular basis—after school, on weekends, families, birthday
parties. They don’t feel safe in our parks, we got a problem. And this has to be one of the cornerstone issues in funding to make sure that people are safe and our parks are clean.” The Councilmember asked for a report back on what it would take to fill the 175 vacant gardener/caretaker positions, and to add additional homeless clean-up crews citywide. The department will also be reporting back on what resources would be necessary to keep city pools open for a longer season and into evening hours. The Venice Beach Pier is a cause for concern. The pier was retrofitted in the 90s, but the ocean causes a beating, and concrete is falling off, exposing rebar. If unchecked, the damage could eventually lead to closure of the popular and handicapped-accessible fishing pier. Planning “This is going to be a great amount of work,” Planning Department General Manager Vincent Bertoni said of the task of updating the City’s 35 community plans by 2024. Community plans establish goals and policies for land use that are specific to the wants and needs of neighborhoods. “It’s going to require us to not just be able to move things through quickly,” said Mr. Bertoni, “it’s going to have to require us to move things through thoughtfully, and we’re going to have to really, really think how we’re doing our community plan process…to make sure that our plans are really being visionary and anticipating what the future of LA is really going to be like.” The City’s Planning Department was hit hard by cuts during the recession and for the past couple years has been in a process of being brought back. Planning teams have completed the plans for West Adams, San Pedro, South Los Angeles, and Southeast Los Angeles, and are moving ahead on more plans at the fastest rate in years. The teams of specialists who work on the plans are financed through a 7% development fee. The department has a consultant working on mapping wildlife corridors in conjunction with community plan updates in anticipation of a coming ordinance creating linkages of the maps and zoning in a pilot area. Meanwhile, as more communities are looking at safeguarding their historic attributes through the establishment of Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs), with five new HPOZs established in just the last year, the Planning Department is working on streamlining the HPOZ ordinance. Boards may be consolidated, leaving continued on page 8
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THE BUDGET continued from page 5 21 boards overseeing 35 HPOZs. This year’s budget fully funds HPOZs. Department of Transportation The City’s Department of Transportation is establishing its priorities in light of a number of mandates. The revised transportation element of the city general plan puts an emphasis on safely moving motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists, rather that prioritizing cars and speed of travel alone. The Vision Zero initiative commits the City to eliminating traffic deaths by 2025, with an emphasis on protecting the most vulnerable road users such as children, seniors, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Meanwhile, technology is bring transportation into a new era, including the arrival of self-driving vehicles. “This budget is going to help us continue to expand the choices that Angelinos have no matter where they live citywide to help solve some of the tremendous mobility challenges,” said Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds. Last year, the City invested heavily in Vision Zero, and, according to Ms. Reynolds, it was able to make improvements at over 1,100 locations. This year’s budget allows that work to continue. But Ms. Reynolds also addressed some of the challenges in getting neighborhood-level, quality of life projects done. “New crosswalks are one of the number one requests we get from communities,” said Ms. Reynolds. “They’ve got a library across the street from a school, and they want a new crosswalk, and we’re really the department that needs to deliver it. But more and more, those projects are more complicated and more robust than simply paint. We go out there and say, ‘Yup, this is a good place for a crosswalk,’ but the curb ramps are not up to code, and so a lot of people won’t be able to use it, and we can’t legally put it in. Or we really need to put in a pedestrian refuge island there in order to make it safe.” “A lot of times a simple thing like a crosswalk can take a lot longer and be more expensive than it out to be, because we are doing it in an inefficient way across multiple departments,” said Ms. Reynolds. While the General Manager said that her department had no interest in supplanting the large scale work of the Bureau of Engineering or Bureau of Street Services, she did propose exploring a “leaner, nimble way” of delivering small-capital projects by moving some work into her department. Councilmember Mike Bonin, who chairs the City Council Transportation Committee, asked for a report back on the feasibility of moving Vision Zero concrete crews to Transportation. At the same time as it is attempting to address immediate quality of life issues, the Department of Transportation is looking ahead to a changing urban reality. The City is experiencing an explosion of transportation options. The Mayor’s proposed budget allocates $1.5 million toward strategizing to prepare for such game-changing events as the arrival of autonomous vehicles on City streets. “We are going to have to as a city radically change the way that we map and route and think about our role, and price access by centrally managed shared fleets of autonomous vehicles and unmanned aerial systems in our city,” said Ms. Reynolds. “…We need to start now, making those
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investments now, so that five years from now, we are ready when those fleets really become a major part of the way all Angelenos get around the City.” Los Angeles Department of Convention and Tourism Development Tourism is strong in Los Angeles. The City’s goal of 50 million annual visitors will probably be met within one or two years. For the first time in its four years of existence, the Department of Convention and Tourism Development is funded to develop a strategic plan. The Tourism Board already does an annual marketing plan. The strategic plan will go beyond that to look at issues of infrastructure and capacity. It will look at how the City should prepare for even more tourism and will address wide-ranging issues such as transit, way finding, impacts on neighborhoods, short term rentals and even cannabis. The Convention Center itself is slated for a $500 million remodel, creating a large, continuous hall. The goal is to have this ready by 2022 for the Super Bowl Fan Fest. According to department Executive Director Dionne Liu, there is much interest in a bigger convention center, with potential bookers for as far in the future as 2030 waiting in the wings. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument is near the site of the early Los Angeles pueblo where 44 settlers of Native American, African and European heritage who had journeyed more than one-thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico established a farming community in September 1781. The site attracts over two million visitors annually from across the U.S. and the world and encompasses Olvera Street and historic buildings such as the Avila Adobe, Plaza Firehouse, Pico House, Sepulveda House, La Plaza United Methodist Church, and Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. It includes such cultural sites at The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, the Chinese American Museum, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and David Alfaro Siqueiros’ América Tropical mural. El Pueblo generates $5 million of its own revenue through parking, concessions, special events and filming. One of the parking lots is about to be taken for the shelter of homeless residents, but General Manager Christopher Espinoza reported to the Budget Committee that filming has been strong, and is expected to compensate for the loss of parking revenue. The site also has a wealth of historic information on the history of Los Angeles, and points up a need for the City to develop a means of pulling all of its historic information together in a catalogued and accessible way. Great Streets Initiatives The Proposed Budget provides $4.9 million across multiple city departments for advanced planning and construction improvements on designated Great Streets corridors. The Great Streets Program was created by the Mayor in 2013 to focus on streetscape and roadway improvements in fifteen transportation corridors. The Great Streets Initiative activities transitioned from the Mayor’s Office to the Department of Transportation in 2015-16.
Vision Zero and Complete Streets The concept of the Vision Zero Initiative is to achieve the goal of zero traffic fatalities in the City by 2025, prioritizing safety over faster traffic flows when planning and restructuring roads. The Proposed Budget appropriates $37 million across multiple city departments for activities that support the Vision Zero Initiative, which includes funding ($7.3 million) for six Complete Streets projects approved by the Council in 2017-18 that combine street reconstruction, Vision Zero elements, green street elements, and sidewalk improvements. Funding provided to the Vision Zero Program is a 44% increase from 201718. Sixth Street Bridge $28.1 million is proposed for landscaping, public art, and contaminated soil remediation as part of the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement project. Heritage Month Celebrations and Special Events Funding is provided for annual celebrations such as African American Heritage Month, Latino Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Islander Month, and other important calendar periods that celebrate diversity and culture throughout the City of Los Angeles. $240,975 is appropriated. Councilmember Mitch Englander has asked that Jewish Heritage Month be specifically added to the list in future years. Councilmember Mike Bonin has noted that the annual LGBT celebration is missing and has asked for a report back. Destination Crenshaw Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson visited the Budget Committee to ask for funding for Destination Crenshaw. Destination Crenshaw is a community-driven effort to turn a 1.1 mile stretch of Crenshaw into an open air museum. It would run between 48th and 60th Streets, along an at-grade stretch of the coming Crenshaw/LAX rail line, and would include public art and a celebration of Black Los Angeles. Councilmember Harris-Dawson told the Budget Committee that the project is underway with private funding, but needs city support to be seen through. Summer Night Lights (SNL). $1,688,000 funding is requested for the highly successful SNL program, which provides extended recreational, cultural, educational, and resource-based programming between the hours of 7 and 11 p.m. SNL provides youth and families with a safe recreation space, employment opportunities, programming, and linkages to local services. Partial funding ($288,000) is provided by the Arts and Cultural Facilities Trust Fund for the arts component. The City Council Budget Committee will resume its deliberations on Monday, May 7, when the committee will be weighing answers on the great many questions it has asked department heads. From there, the budget will head to the full City Council.
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ARBOLES
by Iris de Anda rolling up on a skateboard on the cement sea wide eyed and headphones Van Horne Ave and Via Marisol meet me at the border under dusk and street lamps everything is different crossing over except the trees come sunrise and alarms everyone wants pan dulce there is only one side effect the brick wall won’t let you see scan elephant hill for treasures beneath a full moon reveals the water under our feet continues to bloom as coyotes take a bow listen to howls which echo both places at one even when the path is divided the trees continue to grow as the hawks fly above us ignoring the fences below Copyright Avenue 50 Studio. From “Trees of Life,” a publication and event in support of traffic safety and an end to pedestrian fatalities on North Figueroa Street and in Los Angeles.
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GOVERNMENT NOTES
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CONGRESSIONAL ARTS CAUCUS Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine has been named co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus. She replaces Rep. Louise Slaughter who held the position of 23 years until her recent death. “Chellie profoundly understands the power of the arts to revitalize and inspire communities across the nation,” said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “Serving on the House Appropriations Committee and Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, she has fought relentlessly for robust investments in the arts and in arts education, and has been a fierce champion of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. We are confident that she will bring great passion, vision and joy to this important Caucus.” BIG READ The Los Angeles City Council declared April to be Literacy and Poetry Month in the City of Los Angeles. It has also launched the Big Read Program in the City, with this year’s featured book, “Citizen, An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine. In announcing the Big Read program, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, chair of the City Council’s Arts Committee, said that this year’s focus is, “racial understanding, acceptance, and the belief that each of us can make a difference.” “Citizen” recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in 21st century daily life and in the media. The book The launch of the Big Read program for 2018 at Los is told through essay, Angeles City Hall (photo: Los Angeles Public Library) poetry, and image. Councilmember O’Farrell referred to “Citizen” as, “a timely read to reflect on our perspectives on political , social, and cultural life in Los Angeles in the early 21st century.” “Ultimately,” said Councilmember O’Farrell, “the program will promote greater understanding among people, offering possible alternatives to violence and intolerance.” The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. It is conducted in partnership with Arts Midwest, and, on the local level, in partnership for the tenth year with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs with the support of the City Council and the Mayor. Over 50 public libraries are involved in hosting discussion groups and related activities, and almost 3,300 copies of “Citizen” have been distributed. Sony Pictures and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) are partnering to enable students to make short animated films in response to the book. Councilmember O’Farrell and Department of Cultural Affairs head Danielle Brazell were joined at the Big Read kick-off and city hall by delegations from Lincoln High School, West Adams Preparatory High, Dr. Maya Angelou Community High, Metropolitan Continuation High, Los Angeles Mission and the Anne Douglas Center for Women, and the Lincoln Heights Youth Arts Center. PUBLIC LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS HONORED The 6,166 people who volunteer at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library and 72 branches were honored with a proclamation at City Hall on April 17. “Knowledge is power,” said City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. “Stoking the imagination fortifies the spirit. And where can you gain both of these principles? In our public libraries.” Library volunteers provided 168,268 hours of service to local libraries in 2017. According to the Los Angeles Public Library, that service would monetize at $4,780,913.83. City Librarian John Szabo said of the volunteers, “They are helping people take the first step on the path to citizenship in our New Americans Centers. They are helping the youngest Angelenos develop a life-long love of reading through all of our early childhood literacy programs. They’re supporting the library through Friends groups all across the City, helping to raise funds and support our branch libraries and advocating for them. And
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we offer over 18,000 programs a year in our libraries, and they are helping our amazing library staff conduct those programs.” LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMEMBER PAUL KREKORIAN AT THE CITY COUNCIL C O M M E M O R AT I O N OF THE BEGINNING OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: “Every year this council comes together to commemorate the commencement of the Armenian Genocide, which began on April 24, 1915. And this gives us an opportunity to mourn together an almost In 2017, volunteers of the Los Angeles unimaginable loss, but also to Public Library provided more than 168,268 honor and celebrate those who hours of service, valued at more than survived and the generosity of $4,788,913.83. (photo: Los Angeles Public this city in giving them the Library) ability to do so. It also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the lessons of injustice and impunity—and what that means to us today. “April 24, 1915 marked the beginning of a deliberate and carefully planned campaign of extermination, torture, and destruction through which the Armenian people were violently uprooted from their historic homeland of over 2,000 year. In a matter of a few years, an ancient culture that had enriched the world long before Aristotle was born was eliminated from its historic lands. Churches that were centuries old when Columbus set sail were desecrated and destroyed. The brutal campaign of extermination would be the first genocide of modern times. And it would become the blueprint for the Holocaust and other genocides that would disgrace our humanity throughout the 20th century. “Armenians, of course, suffered the unimaginable pain of losing children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends in unfathomable numbers. But the entire world suffered loss as well. The loss of the unfulfilled potential of those who might have inspired us through their art, those who might have altered our view of the world through science, who might have saved countless lives through medical discoveries, but who instead breathed their final breath in the desert sand of Syria.” JEWISH HERITAGE MONTH
11 Jewish Heritage Month was kicked off at Los Angeles City Hall on May 4. Taking part in the celebration were Mayor Eric Garcett; Consul General of Israel in LA, Sam Grundwerg; City Controller Ron Galperin; the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California; the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies; and The Ellis Island Band celebrates the Jewish City Councilmembers Bob Heritage Month kick off at City Hall (photo: Blumenfield, David Ryu, Paul Councilmember Bob Blumenfield’s office) Koretz, Mitchell Englander, and Paul Krekorian. Through the month of May, an exhibit is on view on the City Hall Bridge celebrating 150 years of Jewish cultural heritage in Los Angeles. “Judaism is not just a religion,” said Councilmember Koretz. “It’s a heritage. It’s a legacy. It’s a fabric made up of many many threads, that heredity, community, history, and spirituality weave together. But is isn’t a spirituality based on pure faith, it’s also based on asking questions. When we ask questions about the quality of the world and society around us, we look inward to decide what our responsibility is today.”
Wallace; and series creators Kyle Long and Anthony Hemingway. LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB DAY April 27 was declared “Los Angeles Football Club Day” by the Los Angeles City Council. The celebration took place leading into the weekend of the first home soccer game in the new, 22,0000 seat Banc of California Stadium located in Exposition Park in Counci District 9, represented by Curren Price. In celebration, a number of iconic buildings across Los Angeles were lit up in the team’s gold and black colors. On Sunday, LAFC beat the Seattle Sounders, 1-0.
CITY COUNCIL HONORS U.S.A. NETWORK SERIES City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the Los Angeles City Council, and the African American Film Critics Association honored the talent behind the USA Network series “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” at the council’s April 27 meeting. Banc of California Stadium Councilmember HarrisDawson referred to the event as part of an ongoing effort on his part to honor those who show South L.A. in a way that respects residents’ dignity. Among those present in City Hall were Marci Rose, who plays City Councilmember Marqueece HarrisTupac Shakur; Wavyy Dawson honors “Unsolved: The Murders of Jonez, who plays Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” (photo: Christopher “Biggie” Councilmember Harris-Dawson’s office)
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles Union Station
(photo: Councilmember Curren Price’s office)
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CITY CELEBRATES ARTS FELLOWS
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Works by the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA) recipients are on display at the City’s gallery in Barnsdall Park through June 24. The COLA fellowship is a prestigious award, accompanied by a $10,000 grant with which to produce a new body of work. The 2017/18 C.O.L.A. Fellows in design/visual arts are: Dave Hullfish Bailey, Guillermo Bert, Terry Braunstein, Cassils, Sandra de la Loza, Michelle Dizon, Tim Durfee, June Edmonds, Michele O’Marah, Julie Shafer, and Doris Sung. 2017/18 literary fellow is Peter J. Harris. Performing arts fellows are d. Sabela Grimes and Kristina Wong. “C.O.L.A. Fellows represent the spectrum of LA’s exemplary mid-career artists,” said Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Grants Administration Division Director Joe Smoke. “The C.O.L.A. grants allow these accomplished, influential, and not yet ultra-famous artists to create new work that the City of Los Angeles will premiere for the general public in one or more group presentations accompanied by a promotional catalog as well as educational artist talks.” The works presented represent a wide range of artistic mediums and styles. The exhibit includes several roomsize installations. Sandra de la Loza presents the Pacific Electric Railway strike of 1903, through which an understanding of the past correlates to an understanding of the present. Cassils invites his audience to experience the park at night, an erotic, charged world from the near past that invites the view to reflect on lifestyle restrictions today. Guillermo Bert uses the tumble weed as a metaphor for journeys of the Latin Americans diaspora, evoking the American west, European invasion, border crossings, and reasons for migration. Michelle Dizon presents a conversation across six generations of her family—from an ancestor who never left her province in the Philippines, to a descendant who is leaving a depleted planet for the the stars. Artistic sensibilities presented range from the stark nature of Dave Hullfish Bailey’s pigment prints of Slab City, a squatters’ camp near the Salton Sea, to June Edmonds’ vibrant acrylics inspired by Adinkra symbols from Ghana, the female body, and personal and national identity. Individually and collectively, the art pieces in this year’s COLA exhibition are works of great power. The show not only honors some of the talent that makes Los Angeles an arts capital, it invites viewers to reflect on the status of the City in a country in turmoil and on the role of the arts in promoting reflection, awareness, and activism.
June Edmonds, Unina Acrylic on unstretched canvas
COLA Through June 24 Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery 4800 Hollywood Boulevard www.lamag.org The literary and performance recipients will be featured June 15 and 16, 8 p.m., at Grand Performances. www.grandperformances.org
Terry Braunstein, Ladders (installation) Photomontage, found objects, mixed media, and sound (detail)
Dave Hullfish Bailey, Working Approximation of a Conventional Form 56 pigment prints on paper documenting Slab City, a squatters’ camp near the Salton Sea
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Front: Doris Sung, Fuller, product of over ten years research to develop a nine-foot heat-sensitive, metal sphere, designed to be lightweight and strong Rear: Tim Durfee, Capitol, comprised of hundreds of miniature picket signs, and Flag, glass neon light
Michele O’Marah, Women’s Rights are Human Rights Mixed media video installation
ART AND MEDICINE MEET-UP
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For “Artist & Researcher 2” at Hoyt Gallery, artist-in-residence Ted Meyer paired teams of visual artists and medical researchers to illustrate concepts in the researchers’ work. “The academic research institution can lead the way in democratizing the conversation around breakthrough medical research and present it in a way that captures the public imagination,” reads the curator’s statement. Dr. Solani Saluja and her colleagues conduct face-to-face interviews with safety-net patients to learn about the challenges they face. Artist Rosalyn Myles created a lab coat that reveals both the clinical and the human side of the situation. Dr. Tai-Wei Wu’s research centers on trying to save an infant’s dying brain cells through the use of a “cooling blanket.” Artist Monica Wyatt was struck by the use of the blanket to cool rather that warm the baby. She make tow cooling blankets into a baby quilt, evocative of the fragility of life. Dr. Francesca Mariani studies bone repair with the goal of identifying the stem cells and molecular pathways that can heal large-scale skeletal injuries. She uses tiny mouse bones in her work. Artist Emily Elisa Halpern makes Dr. Mariani’s work visible, from the crisis through healing. Artist & Researcher 2 Hoyt Gallery 1975 Zonal Avenue in the basement of the Keith Administration Building, Keck School of Medicine
Dr. Tai-Wei Wu and artist Monica Wyatt
Dr. Solani Saluja and artist Rosalyn Miles
Dr Francesca Mariani and artist Emily Elisa Halpern
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On the Secon Elysian Valley, art and eateri the updated l
Northeast Los Angeles Arts Organization, Inc.
May 12, 2018 - 7pm - 10pm
(Individual Gallery Hours May Vary. CHECK Gallery web sites for individual information. Just because a gallery is listed does not mean it’s open this month)
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21. Kinship Yoga/Wonder Inc. 5612 Figueroa St.
39. Kindness and Mischief 5537 N. Figueroa St. www.kandmcoffee.com
3. Namaste Highland Park 5118 York Blvd. www.namastehighlandpark.com
22. Tierra de la Culebra 240 S. Ave 57
40. Civil Coffee 5639 N. Figueroa St.
23. Cactus Gallery @ Treeline Woodworks 3001 N. Coolidge Ave
41. Possession Vintage 5119 York Blvd. www.possessionvintage.com
24. Huron Substation 2640 Huron Street Los Angeles, CA 90065
42. The Situation Room 2313 Norwalk Ave.
4. Offbeat 6316 York Blvd www.offbeatbar.com 5.Twinkle Toes 5917 N Figueroa St (818) 395-3454 6. Future Studio 5558 N Figueroa St. 323 254-4565 futurestudiogallery.com 7. Collective Arts Incubator 1200 N. Ave 54 collectiveartsincubator.com 8. The Art Form Studio 5611 N Figueroa St. Suite 2 www.theartformstudio.com 9. Vapegoat 5054 York Blvd. 323.963.VAPE 10. ETA 5630 N. Figueroa St. 11. Adjunct Positions 5041 Coringa Dr. 12. Matters of Space 5005 York Blvd www.mattersifspace.com 323.743.3267 13. Mi Vida 5159 York Blvd. 14. Vintage Tattoo Art Parlor 5115 York Blvd. 15. Antigua Coffee House 3400 N. Figueroa St. www.antiguacoffeehouse.com 16. Align Gallery 5045 York Blvd. www.aligngallery.com 17. Leanna Lin’s Wonderland 5204 Eagle Rock Blvd. www.leannalinswonderland.com 18. The Rental Girl 4760 York Blvd. http://therentalgirl.com 19. Mindfulnest 5050 York Blvd. 323.999-7969
MAY 2018
25. Ball Clay Studio 4851 York Blvd. ballclaystudio.com 26. MAN Insurance Ave 50 Satellite 1270 N. Ave 50 323.256.3151 27. TAJ • ART 1492 Colorado Blvd. www.tajartinc.com 28. The Greyhound 570 N. Figueroa St.
43. Bookshow 5503 Figueroa St. www.bookshow.com 44. Vroom Vroom Bitsy Boo 5031 B York Blvd. 45. The Quiet Life 5627 N. Figueroa St. thequietlife.com 46. The “O” Mind Gallery 200 N. Ave 55 theomind.com
29. Urchin 5006 1/2 York Blvd.
47. Apiary Gallery at The Hive Highland Park 5670 York Blvd. www.thehive.la
30. Arroyo Arts Collective @ Ave 50 Studio 131 North Avenue 50 arroyoartscollective.org
48. Rock Rose Gallery 4108 N. Figueroa St. 323.635.9125 rockrosegallery.com
31. Living Room 5807 York Blvd. livingroomhome.com
49. Leader of the Pack 5110 York Blvd. www.leaderofthepackvintage.com
32. Vapeology 3714 N. Figueroa St. 323.222.0744
50. Pop Secret 5119 Eagle Rock Blvd.
33. Pop-Hop 5002 York Blvd. www.thepophop.com 34. Social Studies 5028.5 York Blvd. 35. Occidental College 6100 Campus oxy.edu 36. The Glass Studio 5668 York Blvd. www.theglassstudio.net 37. Earth Altar Studio 1615 Colorado Blvd earthaltarstudio.com
51. Curve Line Space 3348 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90065 52. Green Design Studios 1260 N. Ave 50 53. Checker Hall 104 N. Ave 56 checkerhall.com 54. Baldry Studios 401 Mt Washington Dr.
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nd Saturday of every month galleries, businesses, and artists in Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, , and Lincoln Heights open their doors a little later in the evening and welcome visitors. Use this map for locations of ies, grab someone you love, get some dinner, and enjoy some art. Friend NELA Art Gallery Night on Facebook for last minute list.
50
37
27
17 20 42
35
25
11 44 12 16
41 48 14 31 13
31 36 47
4 29 34 9 9 3 4 26 33 19 52 38
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1
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5 40 5 538 4 10 46 39 28 43 6 21 2 2
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Visit us at NELAart.org LA ART NEWS
16
NELAART GALLERY NIGHT SECOND SATURDAY APRIL 2017
Loteria! IV Group Show at Cactus Gallery
Loteria! IV Group Show at Cactus Gallery
Loteria! IV Group Show at Cactus Gallery
Michael Amescua, Psychopomp #12 Lowrider at Avenue 50 Studio
Ron Garcia Dreams, Reflections, & Memories at Avenue 50 Studio
Juan Solis Cruz Centavo Bohemio at Avenue 50 Studio
SHOP ART +
FUN GIFTS IN
EAGLE ROCK
& ONLINE! 5024 EAGLE ROCK BLVD, LOS ANGELES, CA 90041
LeannaLinsWonderland.com
MON - THUR: 12 -7PM FRI - SUN: 11AM -6PM
MAY 2018
17
Thomas Voorhies, Off York Thomas Voorhies, Escarpa Night Walks, The Arroyo Arts Collective at Avenue 50 Studio
Ignacio Gomez, L.A. Zoot Suit Lowrider at Avenue 50 Studio
Ron Garcia Dreams, Reflections, & Memories at Avenue 50 Studio
Corynne Pless, Untitled Namaste Highland Park
Selena Tribute Group Show Mi Vida Erich Sayers at Vapegoat
FEATURED CLASS
Design, Blast & Fire Saturday, June 9 Learn the basics of sandblasting in 2.5 hours—and make yourself a plate!
Bullseye Glass Resource Center Los Angeles 143 Pasadena Ave, Suite B, South Pasadena 323.679.4263 bullseyeglass.com/losangeles
LA ART NEWS
18
LIFE CHANGING COLLARD GREEN WRAPS I have been growing a particular variety of collards in my garden called Green Glaze Collard Greens. I acquired the seedling from a fantastic local edible gardener, Loretta Allison. Unlike the collards we are used to, this plant produces tender leaves that are a perfect round shape for making collard green wraps or rolling up ingredients. They have a delicate, well balanced, slightly sweet flavor that complements their filling without overwhelming the dish. I have also been on a fermented food kick lately, and I had some kimchi calling out to me from the refrigerator. This got me thinking of Korean bbq and how good it would be to use those collards to hug some Asian-inspired ingredients. And this is what I ended up with. green glaze collard green wraps with shrimp, coconut-curry rice & kimchi For the Shrimp: 12 each decent-sized (like jumbo) wild shrimp 2 halved and juiced large mandarins or small tangerines 1 lime, juiced 1 clove garlic (or more if you love garlic), minced 1/2 tsp. dried ginger (or 1 tsp. fresh, chopped ginger) 2 tsp. tamari For the Rice: 1/2 cup sprouted calrose brown rice (or other sticky-style rice) 1 cup water 1 tsp. curry powder 1/2 cup coconut cream* Pinch salt Equipment needed: Standard counter-top rice cooker For the Wraps: 6 green glaze collard leaves, washed and patted dry 1 cup Sinto Gourmet Mild White Napa Cabbage kimchi First make our marinade by mixing all the shrimp ingredients, except for the shrimp, in a small mixing bowl. Peel, devein, butterfly, and rinse your shrimp, and remove the tails. Place the cleaned shrimp in the marinade and let sit for at least one hour. To make the rice, place the rice and water in the rice cooker and set to cook. After the cooker finishes and clicks off, remove the top and let slightly cool for about 10 minutes. Then, stir in the coconut cream, curry powder, and pinch of salt. Return the lid to the cooker, and let the ingredients settle together into a sticky rice consistency. While the rice is settling, preheat a griddle, grill pan or bbq grill. Grill the shrimp on all sides until it’s cooked through. Place the shrimp marinade into a small saute pan and cook over medium heat until the marinade has reduced by half. To make the wraps, place the collard leaves flat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the rice to each leaf, and smash the rice down into a flat pad. Place a spoonful of kimchi on top of each rice pad, and then top each kimchi pile with a couple shrimp. Spoon some of the marinade reduction over the top of each wrap and garnish with some cilantro and scallions before serving. For an extra kick serve this with your favorite condiment like chile oil, sriracha, or seasoned vinegar. Harvey Slater is a chef and holistic nutritionist residing in Highland Park. You can find more healthful recipes like this one on his blog: thewholedishblog.com
MAY 2018
19
CLASSES IN NELA
Besides being a haven for artists and creative types, Northeast Los Angeles is the home of a fine array of arts classes, especially the industrial arts, but not limited to them. Below is a list of some of the businesses in the area that have classes. Do check with the facility to verify times and prices of their classes. As we find more places we will bring that information to all of you. Adam’s Forge 2640 N. San Fernando Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90065 Adamsforge.org You may email Nancy with questions at blacksmithclasses@gmail.com Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events. Check out a Discovery class. The Glass Studio 5668 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 323.387.9705 info@theglassstudio.net Check www.theglassstudio.com for a list of glasses ranging from glass blowing and torchwork to fusing and slumping and jewelry making. Toros Pottery 4962 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041 323.344.8330
Molten Metal Works 3617 San Fernando Rd Glendale, CA 91204 moltenmetalworks.net Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events. They’re in a new location next to Community Woodshop. Cool new space! Rock Rose Gallery 4108 N. Figueroa Street Highland Park, CA 90065 (323) 635-9125 www.rockrosegallery.com Visit: Rock Rose Gallery News, Instagram & Twitter Ball Clay 4851 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 310.954.1454 ballclaystudio.com Intermediate Ceramics Pottery Class 6 class sessions $240 Check web site for start date
Blue Rooster Art Supply Company blueroosterartsupplies.com blue@blueroosterartsupplies.com 4661 Hollywood Blvd LA, CA 90027 (323) 302-5613
A Place to Bead 2566 Mission St San Marino, CA 91108 626.219.6633 aplace2bead.com
They offer a variety of art classes. Check their web site for more information about their classes and events.
Find a variety of jewelry making classes, including stringing and wirework.
Ave 50 Studio 131 No. Avenue 50 323. 258.1435 avenue50studio.org Guitar Lessons. Salsa Lessons too! Check their web site for more information for this and other classes. Center for the Arts Eagle Rock 2225 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock, CA 90041 info@cfaer.org (323) 561-3044 www.cfaer.org
Community Woodshop 3617 San Fernando Rd Glendale, CA 91204 626.808.3725 www.community woodshopla.com These guys offer a wonderful selection of classes from beginner to advanced, membership, and private lessons. Please check their web site for more information and a list of classes. Stained Glass Supplies 19 Backus Street Pasadena, CA 91107 626-219-6055 Classes are ongoing Barndall Art Park 4800 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027 323.644.6295 http://www.barnsdall.org Check they’re web site for upcoming classes. Los Angeles County Store 4333 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039 / 323-928-2781 Please check their web site for a listing of all of their classes and special events.
Bullseye Glass 143 Pasadena Ave. South Pasadena, CA bullseyeglass.com
Sugar Mynt Gallery 810 Meridian Ave. South Pasadena, CA 626.222.7257 sugarmynt.com
They offer a full range of kiln forming glass classes as well as regular free artist talks.
Paint and Pinot Twice a month. Check their web site for more detail.
Leanna Lin’s Wonderland 5024 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041 323.550.1332 leannalinswonderland.com Check Leanna’s web site for a current list of workshops and events.
Holy Grounds Coffee & tea 5371 Alhambra Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90032 323.222.8884 Check out their workshops!
Check out their web site for a wide variety of fun classes for all ages.
MORE BEYOND THE STREETS
Guerrilla Girls
INVADER
SLICK
LA ART NEWS
INTO THE ART OF POETING
20
by Margaret Rozga
In the poetry workshop I teach, the class likes me to give them a prompt each week. There is no obligation to write to the prompt, but it is there if needed to approach the empty page with some clue about how to start. In our last meeting, the class had worked from a particularly challenging prompt. It required using several words from a list, a song title, and one sentence twice, once as a question and once as a statement. The process, everyone said, was frustrating. The results, we agreed, were amazing. One person whose draft was one of her best poems to date said, “I started with one word, scribbled, crossed out, tried pairing a few words, and felt I was getting nowhere, but then something about the word combination I tried triggered a memory, and suddenly I had a line that got me going into this draft.” Where poems come from seems mysterious. The process seems unproductive until it produces. In the end, the poem may recall a past experience, though in the poem it might be seen from the vantage point of the present. The past shows itself as embedded and meaningful in what is happening now, and at the same time, may look forward to the future. The poem weaves together disparate places and times in the service of a perception, often a timeless one. In the process of writing a poem, time is an ocean, fluid, waves over boundaries. As the poem begins to coalesce, what time is it? Where are you? And most important, how do you get there? It is early Sunday morning as I write. I’m in a state of prose, writing this essay. I may or may not go to church. I may or may not write a poem. I am grateful for the way I’ve experienced an inner eternity, an inner heaven, the timeless place where I am when deeply into the writing of a poem. But I often puzzle over how to get there, there to the poetic now, from the mundane here where I sit at my prosaic computer, still in pajamas and my feet getting cold. One way I found that often works is the observation journal. First thing most mornings I write to fill up a notebook page. I don't record the ups and downs of my emotional life; I don't introspect. I look outward—the dad with the coffee cup in hand walking his daughter to the corner school bus stop; woman with the Irish setter, the sparrow perched on the edge of the garden bed, chirp, pause, chirp, pause, chirp, chirp—whatever is around me. The items I observe do not have to connect to each other. I don’t impose any length requirement for any one item, not even a requirement to write a whole sentence, but overall I go for thirteen items and filling up at least one page. By the time I get to observation six or seven, the writing often starts to flow more easily. Sometimes I find myself jumping into a past experience, one I’m surprised I remember. I write in that past, its colors, scents, sounds, and/or textures. Sometimes I find myself gliding out of the numerical structure and into that more flowing feel of a poem. Sometimes I feel I've noticed everything out there, but I still have the 13th item to do, and then when I finally see some 13th thing, it unfolds in a wonderfully boundless way, and I can't stop writing. There are, of course, times when no poem happens, but that doesn’t frustrate me. Not every day is game day, but I want to be in practice for game day. In the meantime, I enjoy finding words for what I see and hear. I also enjoy discovering how words add up and sprout new thinking. Sometimes the observations lead not to a poem but to an idea for an essay. Essays are prose, but prose too, I hope, has its place. --Margaret Rozga’s latest book is Pestiferous Questions: A Life in Poems (Lit Fest Press 2017), written with the support of a Creative Writer’s Fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society.
MAY 2018
Madam X
MOTHERS DAY
21
By Jen Hitchcock
Mother’s Day became less painful for me the moment I decided to stop looking, each year, for a card that remotely came close to saying how I felt about my mom. All the poetry and placing of “mother” upon a pedestal, mother as your best champion, as a guide, a bastion of unwavering love and support. I decided one year that I could no longer go through the motions. And Mother’s Day became less painful. It felt wonderful to honor my truth over what society was telling me I needed to do every second Sunday in May. When I stopped letting the unthinking “she’s your mom, she gave you life” people tell me I should feel guilty, this day became just another day. Mothering begins outside the womb. My mother gave me breath, but she also took it away every chance she could. One of my earliest memories is of me standing, facing my mother. We are in the bathroom. I am just out of the bath. She is sitting on the lid of the toilet, and has me wrapped in a towel, drying me off. I sneeze, and when I blink back into focus and look at my mom, there is disgusting and large slimy snot that had flown out of my nose and landed on her glasses. I am four, and of course I think this looks hysterical, and start to laugh. My mom slaps me. I feel shock and look into a face full of rage. Confused, frightened and hurt I start to cry. She wipes off her glasses and after a few minutes tries to comfort me. Over the years this memory has come back often, not surprisingly when I became a mother and was drying my daughter off after a bath. I would try to envision being angry enough to slap this beautiful little new-to-life-and-discovering-the-world person, and couldn’t imagine getting to that point. Don’t get me wrong. My daughter has pissed me off. But I couldn’t imagine the level of rage needed to hit her for something out of her control and harmless. Feeling this love for my own daughter is the only way I have been able to get past some hurt and to a more empathetic place that allows me to wonder what my mom had experienced that triggered her that evening. And it is the love I feel for my daughter that helps me to be okay with my decision to not have my mother be a part of my life. I’m sure there were nice moments with my mom. I just don’t remember them. When I try and recall good memories with her, I come to a picture I used to stare at in one of our family photo albums. It is of my mother reading to me. I am about the same age, four, in this picture. I am tucked in the blankets of my bed and she is lying beside me, a beehive hairdo and fully dressed. Throughout my life I have dug this album out and flipped it open to this page, fixing my eyes on the picture, trying desperately to feel this moment. Trying to remember it in my body. But I never can. The photo is documentation it happened, but it remains a picture of strangers.
BOOK SHOW EVENTS Sunday May 6th 4pm Memoir Mixtapes Reading Tuesday May 8th 7pm doors Your Mythic Journey Storytelling night Wednesday May 9th 8pm Historia Storytelling night. This month’s theme: “Mommy Dearest” Saturday May 12th 6pm-8pm Pierogi Open Mic & Launch Party Tuesday May 15th Comedy Open Mic Sign up at 7pm 7:30 start Wednesday May 16th 8pm-9:30pm Angry Nasty Women Feminist writing group All women welcome. Five dollar donation Thursday May 17th 8pm Laughterhouse 5 Stand up comedy show Friday May 18th 8pm Friday Night Poetry One hour open mic One hour of featured poets
from the Box with Donatien Grau, Mara McCarthy, Paul and Karen McCarthy Subverting rules by Highland Park artist Stuart Rapeport
Friday May 25th 7pm Hello, We’re Still Alive Reading series May 20th – May 26th LAZF Zine Week Events! Check our calendar on the website for more info Saturday May 26th Writers Together Outrageously Featuring: Moon Unit Catherine James Mercy Fontenot Pamela Des Barres ONGOING EVENTS and WORKSHOPS COLLAGE & CRY Every 1st Tuesday of the month 7pm-9:30pm Collage art night Open to all five dollar donation EAT ART OPEN MIC Every 1st Friday of the month 8pm sign ups Poetry and Prose open mic free
LA ART NEWS
22
ART HAPPENINGS AROUND LOS ANGELES PRESENTED BY SHOEBOX PR UPCOMING OPENING: Acid-Free Los Angeles Art Book Market Blum & Poe 2727 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, 90034 May 4th, 6-9pm ESMoA Photo Festival: This is Awkward ESMoA 208 Main St, El Segundo, 90245 May 4th and 5th, 10-5pm Group Show Reception McGinty’s Gallery at the End of the World 869 E Mariposa St, Altadena, 91001 Opening May 4, 6-9pm A.M. Rousseau, Lines of Inquiry Jason Vass 1452 E 6th St, Los Angeles, 90021 Opening May 5, 6-9pm Art Opening- Devon Tsuno Theodore Payne Foundation Arts Program 10459 Tuxford Street, Sun Valley, 91352 Opening May 5th 1-4pm Color Vision public reception Huntington Beach Art Center 538 Main St, Huntington Beach, 92648 Opening May 5th, 630-9pm Durden and Ray presents Emulations at MuzeuMM MuzeuMM 4817 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, 90016 Opening May 5, 7-11pm Foundation | Susan Feldman Tucker + Melinda R. Smith Art Share-LA 801 E 4th Pl, Los Angeles, 90013 Opening May 5th 7-10pm Francisco Alvarado and Robert Soffian at Shoebox Projects Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 Opening May 5, 2-5pm Graduate Exhibition and Open Studios CSUN Art Galleries 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, 91330 Opening May 5th, 4-7pm J Fredric May - Solo Exhibition at CA Center for Digital Arts California Center for Digital Arts 310 W 5th St, Santa Ana, 92701 Opening May 5, 5-9pm Joshua West Smith - The Autumn, and the Violet, and Orion Elephant 3325 Division St, Los Angeles, 90065 Opening May 5th, 7-9pm KÀN opening at Durden and Ray Durden and Ray 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, 90021 Opening May 5th, 4-7pm Martin Cox’s Museum of Ennui at The Closet in Shoebox Projects Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 Opening May 5, 2-6pm Nature: Human Nature, Art Show Opening in Hollywood The Loft at Liz’s 453 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 90036 Opening May 5, 7-10pm Perfectly Imperfect: May 5 -26, 2018 TAJ • ART 1492 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, 90041 Opening May 5, 6-9pm Stripes, Opening Reception Gestalt Project Space 3009 b Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 90405 Opening May 5th, 5-8pm
Chas Schroeder Two Man Show at Chimento Contemporary! Chimento Contemporary 622 South Anderson Street, Space 105, Los Angeles, 90023 Opening May 12th, 4-7pm
Claes Oldenburg: Selected Works Gemini G.E.L. 8365 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, 90069 To May 11
Nonagon Santa Monica Art Studios 3026 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405 Opening May 12th, 6-9pm
“INK” Open Mind Art Space 11631 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 90025 To May 11
Painting Installation at MOAH High & Dry: Land Artifacts Opening Sant Khalsa - Prana: Life with Trees Lancaster Museum of Art and History - MOAH 665 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, 93534 Opening May 12th, 4-6pm
Shoreline Symmetry Work by Karen Hochman Brown The MAIN 24266 Main St., Santa Clarita, 91321 To May 11
Paper Giants L.A. & Erica Entrop Lois Lambert Gallery & Gallery of Functional Art 2525 Michigan Ave Ste E3, Santa Monica, 90404 Opening May 12th, 6-9pm Recess ShockBoxx 636 Cypress Ave, Hermosa Beach, 90254 Opening May 12th, 7-9pm Mothers, Eggshells, and the People Who Birth Us Keystone Art Space 338 S. Ave 16, Los Angeles, 90031 Opening May 12th, 2-5pm Karen Hochman Brown - Metro, Poster Signing Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden 301 N Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, 91007 Opening May 15th, 11-1pm The Beverly Hills artSHOW Beverly Gardens Park Beverly Hills, 90210 May 19th and 20th 10-6pm Carbon Art Exhibit opening Fellows of Contemporary Art 970 N Broadway, Ste 208, Los Angeles, 90012 Opening May 19th 5-8pm Hox Zodiac Opening Reception Building Bridges Art Exchange 2525 Michigan Ave, Ste F2, Santa Monica, 90404 Opening May 26th 7-9pm ONGOING EXHIBITION Art History, Interrupted CMay Gallery 8687 Melrose Ave, Ste B226, Los Angeles, 90069 To May 4 U.B.U Last Projects 206 S Ave 20, Los Angeles, 90028 To May 4 Bye, Bye - a solo exhibition by Makan Negahban Radiant Space 1444 N Sierra Bonita Ave, Los Angeles, 90046 To May 5 Do You See What I See? Situation Room 2313 Norwalk Ave, Los Angeles, 90041 To May 5 Dosshaus + Alessia Iannetti, Erika Sanada & Tarntara Sudadung Sky Solo Exhibition Opening Reception COREY HELFORD GALLERY 571 S Anderson St, Los Angeles, 90033 To May 5 Johnny Naked Solo Show & Mystery Milestone Birthday Celebration! LACDA Los Angeles Center for Digital Art 104 E 4th St, Los Angeles, 90013 To May 5
Susan Lizotte and Trine Churchill Castelli Art Space 5428 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, 90016 Opening May 5, 7-10pm
Kim Schoenstadt Context vs Perspective Cole Case Chimento Contemporary 622 S Anderson St, Spc 105, Los Angeles, 90023 To May 5
Vision Valley: The Glendale Biennial Opening Reception Brand Library & Art Center 1601 W Mountain St, Glendale, 91201 Opening May 5th, 6-9pm
Nicolas Grenier: Dumbfounded Prophet Luis De Jesus Los Angeles 2685 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, 90034 To May 5
Requiem: Aching for Acker Opening Reception Mike Kelley Gallery 681 Venice Blvd, Venice, 90291 Opening May 6, 3-6pm
Art in a New Place Opening Exhibition ArtExchange - ArtX 356 E 3rd St, Long Beach, 90802 To May 6
Sculptures by Six + 1 Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts 5131 Carnelian St, Rancho Cucamonga, 91701 Opening May 6th 1-4pm
Citrus Grand Cherry: MFA Exhibition 2018 UCR ARTSblock 3824 Main St, Riverside, 92501 To May 6
FINE ARTS FILM FESTIVAL Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center & Theatre 681 N. Venice Blvd, Venice, 90291 May 11th 1030 to May 12th 1200
Disparate Sources: Los Angeles Collage / Opening reception Keystone Art Space 338 S. Ave 16, Los Angeles, 90031 To May 6
April Bey - Made in Space Band of Vices 5376 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, 90016 Opening May 12th, 6-midnight
Melting Point Craft and Folk Art Museum 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036 To May 6
BoldPas: An Art Takeover of Old Pasadena Old Pasadena 23 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, 91105 Opening May 12th, 12-8pm
A Feminist Perspective 4.0 - Presented by We Choose Art The Montalban 1615 Vine St, Los Angeles, 90028-8802, To May 11
MAY 2018
Alison Saar and Evie Shockley L.A. Louver 45 N Venice Blvd, Venice, 90291 To May 12 Borderless: Latin America Opening Gabba Gallery 3126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, 90057 To May 12 Construction - A Group Show About Memory + Fabrication Arena 1 Gallery 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, 90405 To May 12 Christopher Page at Baert Gallery Baert Gallery 2441 Hunter Street, Los Angeles, 90021 To May 12 In Pursuit of Beauty, Los Angeles South Bay Contemporary SOLA Gallery 3718 WEST SLAUSON AVENUE, Los Angeles, 90043 To May 12 Jesse Stecklow - Staging Grounds M+B 612 North Almont Drive Los Angeles, 90069 To May 12 Force of Nature Steve Turner Contemporary 6830 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 90038 To May 12 Megan Cotts: Proprius Opening Reception Klowden Mann 6023 Washington Blvd, Culver City, 90232 To May 12 Anna Stump: Nudes / A Solo Show Sparks Gallery 530 Sixth Ave, San Diego, 92101 To May 13 Bodies of A Different Mass Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles 1206 Maple Avenue Ste 523, Los Angeles, 90015 To May 13 ODEON - Philip Newcombe Monte Vista 1206 Maple Avenue, 5th floor, #523, Los Angeles, 90015 To May 13 Opening event for “Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs” and more! Pomona College Museum Of Art 330 N College Ave (At Corner of College and Bonita), Claremont To May 13 Reclaimed Landscapes: The Art of Jarod Charzewski Begovich Gallery Fullerton, 92831 To May 17 Co/Lab III Dreams & Fevers TAM Torrance Art Museum Torrance, 90503 To May 18 The Relative Sharpness Of Boundaries Of Nature & Stardust Building Bridges Art Exchange 2525 Michigan Ave, Ste F2, Santa Monica, 90404 To May 18 2018 International Co_Works Opening Tieken Gallery, Los Angeles 961 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, 90012 To May 19 Laura Heit and Janie Geiser – Opening Reception Track 16 1206 Maple Ave, #1005, Los Angeles, 90015 To May 19 Junghwa Hong “Veiled” Tomorrowland CB1 Gallery 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, 90021 To May 19 Kelly Berg & Ned Evans Craig Krull Gallery 2525 Michigan Avenue, B3, Santa Monica, 90404 To May 19 Marina del Pedro Angels Gate Cultural Center San Pedro, 90731 To May 19
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Wine of the Month Larisa Code
Note: Create joy, one sip at a time. Featured Wine: O.V.N.I. ) (Objet Viticole Non Identifié) Vintage: 2016 Color: Pale gold/white Varieties: 80% Sauvignon Blanc & 20% Chardonnay Price: Under $20 Country: France Region: Loire Valley Where to buy: Silver Lake Wine, 2395 Glendale Boulevard The one time I truly fell in love, I stopped reading my horoscope. I was content; nothing else mattered. I was no longer looking for surprises, mysteries, or messages. This love was a big surprise, and it smashed into my life, taking no prisoners. But, alas, like a lot of the best things in life, it ended, and true to its start, it didn’t merely end, but, exploded, into a billion pieces, which not only contained my heart, but every single thing that this love had touched. Yet, here I am, still a romantic and still loving all little surprises and mysteries that come my way—and yes, reading my horoscope once again. Mysteries and messages still happen, all the time, I wish I never stopped paying attention to them, not even for that brief moment of love… For example, the other day, I received an anonymous letter in the mail that contained only pictures of my dear deceased (pet dog) Oliver. On my last birthday, nearly a year ago, I had flowers delivered to my home, with no card. I still don’t know who sent them. Some may think these things are creepy, but, I do not, as I love surprises. Maybe that is why I love wine so much, I always find so much mystery and romance in this complex yet simple beverage, always a surprise waiting, first, when you pour, then as the aroma reaches you, and finally as it hits your lips, your tongue—it really does awaken so much. O.V.N.I. (which simplified, means non-conformist wine in French) is that perfect surprise, waiting for you to experience. Honestly, the label is the first draw. It is the universe in bright colors, moons, stars, planets—lovely. Upon opening the bottle, the main aroma is very much of sauvignon blanc (s.b.) grapiness (which is not my favorite), but once you take a taste, you get the grapes of s.b. but also lime, grapefruit, and a hint of raspberry. For me, not being a big fan of s.b., the chardonnay opens it up to a very welcome taste. It is a very clean drink, very light, and at the finish, the dryness will embrace your tongue like a chenin blanc; it lingers in dry acidity. So sleek is this wine, that it could be used as an aperitif, but I found it to be the perfect match with a Moroccan dish I threw together in my Tagine, chicken with apricots, honey, chili peppers, onion, ginger, and fresh basil (from my garden) and an artichoke on the side (from my garden). Alas, I had no time to pair it with seafood but feel that would be a great fit. I also had it with some Swiss chard (from my garden) and soft tofu, sautéed with onion, served with cous cous and enjoyed the slight, acidic bitter of the chard with the fruit of the wine. Music, strangely, I pulled out some oldies but goodies, a little John and Yoko, as well as some George Harrison. Or go a little further back and throw on some Fats Domino, “I want to walk you home…” That is romance! For flowers, I ask, what is blooming in your garden? Maybe you planned well and have some cosmos…a little fennel? Maybe not…so you buy some lilacs and dogwood…even better. Yes, I would love to receive an anonymous bouquet of flowers or a random anonymous letter for my birthday (which is this month, in case you are in the market to send flowers), but, I will settle for the subtle romantic surprise of this wine or another wine, to make my day just right. To non-conformists!
Ali Prosch, Come Undone | Opening Reception Bed & Breakfast 1912 Cimarron St, Los Angeles, 90018 To May 20 Louise Bourgeois. The Red Sky Mark Bradford New Works Greta Bratescu The Leaps of Aesop Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90013 To May 20 It Passes like a Thought Beall Center for Art + Technology at UC Irvine 712 Arts Plaza, UC Irvine Campus, Irvine, 92697 To May 26 Amir Zaki: Getting Lost Raúl Cordero with Alma Ruiz Edward Cella Art & Architecture 2754 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, 90034 To May 26 Extent - opening reception 410 S Spring St, Los Angeles, 90013-2002, To May 26 Fay Ray: I Am The House Shulamit Nazarene 616 N. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 90036 To May 26 Opening: Maren Hassinger: The Spirit of Things
Art + Practice 3401 W. 43rd Place, Los Angeles, 90008 To May 26 CONSTRUCTED: Recent Works by LA Artists Saatchi Art 1655 26th St, Santa Monica, 90404 To June 1 Multiple Feeds | Solo Shows: Rob Grad, Tom Lamb, Sun Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825 825 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, 90069 To June 1 Mary Little | Opening Reception and Artist Talk Craft in America 8415 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, 90048 To June 2 Mokha Laget and Knopp Ferro Louis Stern Fine Arts 9002 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, 90069 To June 2
To June 2 The Feminine Sublime at the Pasadena Museum of CA Art Pasadena Museum of CA Art 490 E Union St, Pasadena, 91101-1790 To June 3rd ABOUT-FACE: Opening Reception San Diego Art Institute 1439 El Prado, San Diego, 92101 To June 3 Martin Cox’s Museum of Ennui at The Closet in Shoebox Projects Shoebox Projects 660 South Avenue 21 #3, Los Angeles, 90031 To June 3 Museums
Roland Reiss Solo Exhibition Diane Rosenstein Gallery 831 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, 90038 To June 2
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA) Hidden Narratives: Recent Acquisitions of Postwar Art To January 6, 2019 A Universal History of Infamy: Those of This America To October 6, 2018
SoCal MFA 2018 Millard Sheets Art Center 1101 W. McKinley Ave, Pomona, 91768
UCLA HAMMER Hammer Projects: Molly Lowe JAN 20–MAY 6, 2018
Hammer Projects: Lawrence Abu Hamdan JAN 20–MAY 20, 2018 Unspeakable: Atlas, Kruger, Walker: Hammer Contemporary Collection JAN 20–MAY 13, 2018 Stories of Almost Everyone JAN 28–MAY 6, 2018 BROAD Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ Feb 2018 to May 2018 MOCA Adrián Villar Rojas: The Theater of Disappearance To May 13, 2018 Real Worlds: Brassaï, Arbus, Goldin March 4 - September 3, 2018 Lauren Halsey: we still here, there March 4 to September 3, 2018 MOAH PASADENA MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART Testament of the Spirit: Paintings by Eduardo Carrillo to June 3, 2018 The Feminine Sublime to June 3, 2018 Ana Serrano: Homegrown to June 3, 2018
LA ART NEWS
WHAT’S NEXT, BOOK BURNING?
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BY TOMAS J. BENITEZ
In 2001 the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan, 1,700-year-old monuments. In WWII the Nazis in Egypt were using the face of the Sphinx for target practice for their tanks. In Germany, they sent thousands of writers, poets, musicians, actors and dancers to death camps. The Spanish fascists killed Garcia Lorca. The Chilean dictatorship cut off Victor Jara’s hands so he couldn’t play guitar and sing his songs. In this country, short of actual art destruction, art has been subject to censorship and oppression since the birth of the nation, and has become a favorite political football in the past forty years, including Trump’s latest attempt to defund the National Endowment for the Arts. Most of it is a distraction, a deflection, taking a bloviated stand against naked pictures or some such offense. The punitive campaign has never been a serious deterrent to artists creating new art. In some instances, censorship and oppression of art and expression even fuels the creation of protest and agit-prop artwork. Destroying art, culture, is a different matter. Repression, censorship, oppression and destruction of art and artists is not anything new. Most of the time it is in the hands of the extremists, right or left, religious or political, revolutionary or reactionary. What is the difference between these annotated acts of desecration and throwing red paint inside a gallery and destroying artworks on exhibition? Even for a righteous cause, even to justify a protest against the ongoing racist and classist gentrification of a community? I don’t think there is much difference. It is wrong. It is stupid, it is counter revolutionary, and useless. I see the impact of gentrification in my neighborhood on a daily basis. Such as pleasant word, gentrification is really a war on class and race, and it is the brutal wholesale displacement of entrenched communities for the sake of others and economic benefits of the others and not the entrenched communities. And you can keep your damn increased property value if it means I can’t afford to live in the house I grew up in anymore. And please, if you think gentrification is only an economic issue, just look at who is being forced out and who is moving in. I am not interested in a debate. I have long resolved in my mind it is war of class and race. The incident in a local gallery recently of protestors attacking an art exhibition by willfully and wantonly spreading red paint on the walls and damaging art underscores a very sore point in the battle for neighborhood territories. The developers have solicited art galleries as the shock troops on the beachhead to lead the effort to gentrify a community, and in most cases the gallery owners and operators have been willing conscripts in this strategy. There have been some who have tried to engage the local community, but the instances of actually inviting local artists and audiences and of doing community based projects is spare compared to the creation of islands and outposts, ignoring the surrounding environment. In some cases, the drama of conflict has forced out the new galleries, and forces in the community are wise to all the stratagems in play, and are having no part in it. In some cases, major blunders have occurred, such as attacking Self Help Graphics & Art. That aside, the tactics of attacking art and thus artists are mere folly, and will never endear anyone who understands culture to support a cause that relies on such thuggery. Buffing out murals is also destroying art, not only in N. E. L.A, but throughout the city. If we call out the desecration of art in galleries, let us not go easy on those who choose to, at will, destroy murals; protected, historic murals, simply because you don’t like them, have grown tired of their message or whatever reason. Los Angeles is the City of Murals, and murals are all our legacy as well as a history signature of a cultural expression and movement. Destroying public murals and art in private galleries is the same demon, and an attack upon culture is an attack upon our sensibilities and enlightenment, and cannot be and should not be tolerated. (Tomas Benitez was born and raised in front of a TV set in East L.A. His film SALSA: The Movie was produced in 1988. He has also written for Fred Roos, Starz Encore Films, CBS, and several other producers. In recent years he has written extensively about East Los Angeles including an ongoing, online saga about his home life, titled “The Gully”. Several of his stories about East L.A. and The Gully have been published by Blue Heron in an anthology of new American fiction, and he is editing two addition collections to be published in 2018. Tomas is the former Executive Director of Self Help Graphics & Art.)
Birdsong
By Linda Kaye the soft cry resonated purposeful alluringly the muted feathers on its plumb opened gently expressing only a hint of shyness looking down at the floor speculating and always measuring it’s fruitful course the cry softens deliberately adjusting it’s tone to whisper as not to frighten any onlookers in its courageous path towards enlightenment she sits perched high on her windowsill feathers glistening in the sun opening and heaving her chest to allow the sun’s heat to dry the wetness on her beak she waits patiently wondering if any one will notice or pay attention to her song Linda Kaye writes poetry and produces poetry events in the local NELA area. Come celebrate this month for Mother’s day, “POEMS FOR MOM” will be shared by a diverse group of local poets at the Rock Rose Gallery Saturday NELA Artwalk May 12 7-9pm. Her most recent book “Sexy Stuff” is available now for purchase. www.lindakayepoetry.com Twitter/Instagram: lindakayepoetry
MAY 2018
MUSEUMS OF THE ARROYO DAY
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Six historic museums along the historic Arroyo Seco will offer special events, free admission, and connecting shuttles on Museums of the Arroyo Day, (MOTA) May 20. Climb into an LAPD helicopter, check out blacksmithing demonstrations, craft a spaceship, see the DeLorean from “Back to the Future,” look through a solar telescope, and discover what continues to make the Arroyo Seco a bustling, vibrant arts-driven community. Participating museums are The Gamble House, Heritage Square, Los Angeles Police Museum, Lummis Home, Pasadena Museum of History and the Autry’s Historic Southwest Museum, Mt. Washington. A complete schedule of the day’s activities and parking info are available at www. MuseumsOfTheArroyo.com
MOTA Day at Heritage Square Museum
CRITTERS GOTTA CRAWL Parade, Puppet Making, Art Exhibit
All manner of colorful, playful, and fanciful critters will process from the Southwest Museum to Sycamore Grove Park the morning of June 2, and everyone is invited to join in. The critters will arrive at the park just in time to help open the Lummis Day festivities. Critters Gotta Crawl is presented by the Arroyo Arts Collective, a 29-year old organization of visual, literary, and performing artists from the communities of Northeast Los Angeles. Critters Gotta Crawl Sunday, June 2, 11:30 a.m. Southwest Museum, 234 Museum Drive Come dressed as a critter, wear your critter mask or hat, or carry your critter puppet. All ages welcome. The procession will be accompanied by popular Latinx folk band Cuñao, and will arrive at Lummis Day just in time for a traditional Tongva blessing. Critters Gotta Crawl pays tribute to the many and varied species that roam and reside along the historic Arroyo Seco. Family Critter Puppet making: Saturday, May 12, 10-noon and 1-3, all welcome Audubon Center at Debs Park, 4700 North Griffin Avenue Puppet-making Soiree, Tuesday, May 15, 5:30-8:30. Audubon Center at Debs Park, 4700 North Griffin Avenue www.arroyoartscollective.org
LAURA AGUILAR, 1959-2018 Photographer Laura Aguilar passed away in April. Ms. Aguilar was born in 1959 and lived in a bungalow that her great grandmother had built in Rosemead. Photography was initially an escape from the auditory dyslexia that Ms. Aguilar suffered from, but she went on to depict marginalized communities and identities. “It took a lot of courage for Laura to devote her significant talents to showing what real Chicana Lesbians looked like,” said County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “And the photographs were very important to our community because it was sort of a demonstration that it’s important to be who you are, to look the way you look, and to be proud of it.” For many of Ms. Aguilar’s photographs, she used her own body as a kind of landscape, highlighting the intimate relationship between herself and nature. She was an artist who was ahead of her time. It was only near the end of her life that her work really began to get the attention it deserved. A large retrospective of her work was shown at the Vincent Price Museum last year as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA.
Laura Aguilar, Grounded # 112 2006/2016 Inkjet print from Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell Vincent Price Art Museum
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LA ART NEWS
13TH ANNUAL LUMMIS DAYS FESTIVAL
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SHOWCASES NORTHEAST L.A. ARTS WITH THREE-DAY EVENT AT FIVE LOCATIONS, JUNE 1, 2 & 3 th The 13 annual Lummis Days Festival, June 1, 2 and 3, will showcase the variety and diversity of the Northeast L.A. arts community with events at five locations presenting music, dance, poetry, film and puppets. Admission to all Lummis Days Festival events is free. The community-organized event will build on the Festival’s multi-cultural tradition with musical performances ranging from the Cuban dance band Orquesta Charangoa to the Louisiana-rooted High Life Cajun Band, the Latino rock of Alarma and the klezmer music of Mostly Kosher. Diversity and eclecticism are guiding principles: The Festival’s four music stages will include power punk from Superbean, son jarocho from Los Jarochicos, country music from Ted Russell Kamp, mariachi from Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas and a kaleidoscopic assortment of other musical styles and idioms. The 2018 festival will also feature an array of diverse dance performances, poetry readings, puppet shows, activities for kids, the Arroyo Arts Collective’s “Critters Gotta Crawl” puppet parade and a free screening of the award-winning film “Dolores” at Occidental College. Hundreds of artists and a legion of community volunteers take part in the three-day Festival. Events are scheduled at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, on Avenue 50 at York Boulevard in Highland Park, Lummis Home in Montecito Heights, Sycamore Grove Park and Mount Washington’s Southwest Museum. The following are the Festival’s locations, dates and activities: -Friday, June 1, Thorne Hall, Occidental College (1600 Campus Road) 7:00pm-9:30pm, “Dolores,” screening followed by a discussion. -Saturday, June 2, Avenue 50 at York Boulevard, Highland Park, 5:00pm-9:00pm. Music on “The Boulevard Stage, featuring the best of Northeast L.A. indie music and entertainment by cirque-style performers. -Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3, Southwest Museum, 234 Museum Drive10am-4:00pm. The Autry Museum of the American West presents “Making a Big Noise: The Explorations of Charles Lummis” and artist Miller Robinson’s multi-media installation, “Of This Body, Of This Earth.” -Sunday, June 3, Lummis Home in Montecito Heights, 10:30 am-noon, poetry curated by Suzanne Lummis and featuring poets Olga García Echeverría, Jessica Ceballos y Campbell, Steve Abee and Jamie Asaye Fitzgerald. The reading will be followed by a poetry workshop led by Lory Bedikian.
The award-winning film “Dolores” will be presented as a free screening on Lummis Days’ opening night, Friday, June 1 at Occidental College’s Thorne Hall. The screening begins at 7 p.m.
-Sunday, June 3, Sycamore Grove Park, 4702 North Figueroa Street, Sycamore Grove/Highland Park, 12 noon-7:00 pm. Music, dance, theatre, puppets and many family activities, including robot demonstrations, crafts tables and soccer games organized by the Anahuak Youth Soccer Association.
Dancers from Louise Reichlin & Dancers/Los Angeles Choreograpers & Dancers, perform on Sunday, June 3 at the Festival’s Sycamore Grove site. Southern California.
A shuttle bus, provided by Council District 1, will ferry guests between Festival locations and parking sites on Sunday, June 3. A complete schedule of events for all sites, parking information, and the location of shuttle bus stops will be found at www.LummisDay.org. Lummis Day takes its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, who joined the L.A. Times as the newspaper’s first city editor in 1884. A prolific writer and photographer, Lummis was also one of the city’s first librarians, founded the Southwest Museum and helped introduce the concept of multi-culturalism to
Participating arts groups for this year’s Festival include the Arroyo Arts Collective, the Highland Park Independent Film Festival, Teatro Arroyo and the Rock Rose Gallery. The Lummis Days Festival is sponsored by Hon. Gilbert Cedillo - L.A. Council District 1, Hon. Jose Huizar - L.A. Council District 14, Occidental College and the school’s Institute for the Study of Los Angeles, the Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance, the Infinity Group, and Poets & Writers Inc. Other supporters include Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council, Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, LA 32 Neighborhood Council, Highland Park Heritage Trust, Home Depot, Anahuak Youth Soccer Association and Las Cazuelas Pupuseria and Señor Fish Restaurants.
Indie band Umm will perform on the Boulevard stage at Avenue 50 and York Boulevard on Saturday, June 2.
Media sponsors are the Eastsider, KPFK public radio 90.7, LA Art News, Brooklyn & Boyle, and Happening in Highland Park. This festival is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs. This festival is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. Lummis Days is presented by the all-volunteer Lummis Day Community Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit California corporation. www.LummisDay.org
Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas will perform on Sunday, June 3 at the Festival’s Sycamore Grove site.
MAY 2018
The “Critters Gotta Crawl” puppet parade organized by the Arroyo Arts Collective will kick off the activities at Sycamore Grove Park on Sunday, June 3.
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LA ART NEWS
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