Oasis 2018 by Skirball Cultural Center

Credit

Ben Gibbs

OUR MISSION The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society.

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SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER BOARD OF TRUSTEES Peter M. Weil, c hairman Uri D. Herscher,

founding president and ceo

Arthur H. Bilger, v ice chairman Richard S. Hollander, vice chairman

Lee Ramer, v ice chairman Howard M. Bernstein Martin Blackman Philip de Toledo Evelyn Feintech Howard I. Friedman, founding chairman

Melvin Gagerman Marc H. Gamsin Leslie Gilbert-Lurie Jeffrey L. Glassman Vera Guerin Dennis F. Holt Robert C. Kopple Marlene Louchheim Orin Neiman Kenneth A. Ruby Jay S. Wintrob Marvin Zeidler John Ziffren

Skirball Cultural Center 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 440-4500 skirball.org

Muppets © Muppets/Disney, Photo by Timothy Norris

Ken Ziffren

IN THIS ISSUE President’s Message

A New Lens on LA

Expanding Horizons

A Citywide Celebration

The Art of Community

Feeling at Home

For the Love of Teaching and Learning

“There’s a Place for Us”

Hometown Sounds

Left: Summertime visitors were delighted to revisit their childhoods in The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, a traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of the Moving Image in cooperation with The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets Studio, and Sesame Workshop, and toured worldwide by Flying Fish. skirball.org

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

It was a crisp fall day in 1981. On a hill overlooking the 405 Freeway, the mighty urban artery that connects Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley, I spotted a vacant strip of land on Sepulveda Boulevard. For months I had been scouting for a site upon which to build a Jewish cultural center—one that would serve greater Los Angeles in all its diversity. This property was occupied only by weeds and refuse, but the location held great promise. I called my mentor Jack Skirball, in whose honor the institution would later be named, and said to him, “I think we found it.” The pioneering vision of the Skirball was to serve as a bridge. In a far-flung and balkanized city, it was to be a place of meeting. This was quite an ambition, and some called it foolish. But for me, then and now, it is crucial to our collective well-being. It calls upon us to transcend social and cultural divides, to forge connections that weave and strengthen the fabric of community. Since opening to the public in 1996, the Skirball has welcomed literally millions of visitors. They have come to our “oasis in the city”—to quote the Skirball’s architect, Moshe Safdie— to participate in educational and cultural experiences engaging mind and heart. As we have extended welcome, so too have we reached out beyond our campus, partnering with organizations that share our values and aspirations. More than a location, the Skirball is an experience of community, where people are invited to encounter and appreciate each other. In this issue of Oasis, you will read about recent exhibitions and programs that illuminate our City of Angels and urge us to build an ever more just society. In a metropolis as vast and complex as Los Angeles, progress is never easy. But I believe more than ever in the potential of our community provided we embrace it all—especially its many immigrant populations—and work together for the common good. I have always been inspired by the farewell address of Moses, in which he affirms the dignity of every person: men and women, elders and youth, “hewers of wood and drawers of water”— and perhaps most remarkably, the strangers among us. It is an inclusive vision undimmed by the ages. At the Skirball Cultural Center, it inspires us still.

Uri D. Herscher Founding President and Chief Executive Officer Skirball Cultural Center

skirball.org

LA ci

EW LEN

n e d e a ro f th b Av n o o isua i s t i e b i lly com v h i x t pelling e c e p s r e p our

Stella Kalinina

O S

ty .

In a sprawling metropolis like Los Angeles, where freeways make it all too easy to bypass entire neighborhoods, one can feel disconnected. The sheer size of the city, coupled with all the complexities of modern living, poses a real challenge to bridging the divides between communities. Last fall/winter at the Skirball, the exhibition Surface Tension by Ken Gonzales-Day: Murals, Signs, and Mark-Making in LA called upon us to look beyond our own city blocks. It invited homegrown Angelenos and LA transplants alike to re-examine our surroundings, venture off familiar paths, and visit parts of town we haven’t yet encountered. Depicting the LA landscape across more than 450 square miles, the photographs on view were shot over ten months by prominent LA-based artist Ken GonzalesDay. Conceived as a companion to Another Promised Land: Anita Brenner’s Mexico (see p.12 for more about this concurrent exhibition), the project aimed to link modern Mexican muralism to LA’s own tradition of murals, street art, and sign painting—from the celebrated to the humble, the historic to the contemporary. “It’s a portrait of the city,” the artist explained. For him, the series of images was meant to spark curiosity about LA, especially neighborhoods too often overlooked. “We wanted the exhibition to be a starting place.” The gallery design intrigued visitors to see the city anew. On the main wall was a stunning grid of Gonzales-Day’s photographs, more than 140 in all. Each one depicted a work of art that the public can view somewhere in LA—on building facades mostly, but also under freeway overpasses and on vehicles, tree trunks, and light poles. Whether a grand mural commission or a storefront sign, these one-of-a-kind works reflect the struggles, triumphs, and concerns of the communities in which they are sited. Spanning the gallery floor was a wall-to-wall map that pinpointed each mural location—from East

LA to Venice Beach, from Pacoima to Watts. Step by step, visitors could make the connections between what each mural depicts and where it was painted. In the hope that visitors would head beyond the Museum walls, a printed version of the map was available to take home. Visitors let us know that the maps came in handy. One weekend afternoon, a family of three who had visited the exhibition put their map to good use and set out for Mural Mile in Pacoima. Even though they are longtime Valley dwellers, they had never visited the landmark before. “I couldn’t believe how many beautiful and interesting works of art are on that one stretch of Van Nuys Boulevard,” remarked the mother. “They are such a gift to the community.” Citing his Mexican ancestry, the father said that it was particularly moving to see so many Latino/a figures portrayed “monumentally.” Their daughter echoed the sentiment; her favorite mural featured the legendary Frida Kahlo, much to her delight. After marveling at the art, the family decided to take in more of Pacoima’s local culture—in fulfillment of the exhibition’s purpose. With a new appreciation of how art can bring message and meaning to our LA streets, they dined at a family-owned restaurant nearby. It was a memorable meal to cap off the first of many urban excursions in the city they call home.

Mural close-ups on facing page (left to right): Mural by George Yepes, detail from Tikkun Olam—To Repair the World, at E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave. at N. Boyle Ave., 1997; Mural by Eliseo Art Silva, detail from Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana (Filipino Americans: A Glorious History, A Golden Legacy), Beverly Blvd. and Union Ave., 1995; Mural by Levi Ponce, detail from Pacoima Kahlo, Van Nuys Blvd. at Ralston Ave., 2015. All photographs by Ken Gonzales-Day. skirball.org

EXPANDING

HORIZONS

Local excursions offer eye-opening experiences for adult education students.

It’s not unusual to see a bus pulled up to the Skirball’s front steps. Throughout the year, Pre-K–Grade 12 students come from across Los Angeles County for school tours and performances. But the shuttle that arrived one morning last December wasn’t dropping students off; it was picking them up. And the bus riders were not kids but adults. Led by Skirball Curator Emerita Barbara Gilbert, PhD, these lifelong learners embarked on a journey to view art across town and immerse themselves in LA culture.

Touring LA has long been a focus of the Skirball’s

Velazquez. As he pointed out works by famed artists

teach skills but also to expand horizons. In 2006, one

Velazquez spoke of how the art and artists of Mural Mile

adult education curriculum, which strives not only to class dined at restaurants that serve the cuisines of

countries where Jews have lived—from Brazil to India. A few years later, another bus tour brought participants to an exhibition on civil rights at the California African

American Museum. And more recently, a group ventured

have changed over time. The large-scale works, striking

in both subject matter and style, called attention to the

walls of shops and school buildings that might otherwise have been overlooked.

From Pacoima, the bus headed to the exhibition

to downtown LA and Boyle Heights to step into landmarks

The Great Wall of Los Angeles: Judith F. Baca’s Experimen-

to its cultural sites, the city has been a locus of discovery

Galleries at California State University, Northridge. A

central to Jewish Angeleno history. From its culinary scene for Skirball students.

For this year’s bus tour, a group of twelve art aficio-

nados climbed aboard to visit institutions participating

in the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative (to learn more about PST: LA/LA, see p. 12). The excursion

was not the first to be facilitated by Gilbert, who has led

multiple trips to LA galleries. Her expertise on the local art scene attracted many of the enrollees. “I wanted to take

tations in Collaboration and Concrete, on view at the Art 2,754-foot-long mural in the San Fernando Valley, The Great

Wall of Los Angeles, as curator Mario Ontiveros explained, portrays a history of California that highlights the stories of marginalized communities. For the final stop on the tour, the class visited the Great Wall in person, viewing

sections ranging from “Women in the War Industry” to “Migrant California.”

By the time the bus returned to the Skirball, the

a class with someone knowledgeable about art, artists,

adult learners were pleased to have learned so much

Jane Blumenfeld, one of Gilbert’s many repeat students.

and understand a much wider variety of what art can be,”

art history, and how they all developed in LA,” explained

Blumenfeld’s classmate Carole Weiner shared a similar

sentiment: a class taught by Gilbert was not to be missed. The first stop on the PST: LA/LA bus tour was the

area dubbed Mural Mile, a stretch along Van Nuys Bou-

about their hometown. “[The class] made me appreciate reflected Blumenfeld. Weiner added, “I was introduced

to so many artists that I knew nothing about.” An LA

transplant from the East Coast, Weiner is already looking

forward to the Skirball’s next bus tour. With admiration, she noted, “This city is incredible.”

Elena Bonomo

levard in Pacoima, where the class met muralist Manny

Elena Bonomo

Levi Ponce, Kristy Sandoval, and himself, among others,

Facing page: Mural by Manny Velazquez, detail from LA Lady Liberty, 2013. Photo by Ken Gonzales-Day. Above: During the three-session Navigating Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA bus tour, the adult education class visited a range of museums, galleries, and public art spaces. skirball.org

Last fall/winter, Angelenos headed to museums, galleries, libraries, universities, performing arts venues, and public spaces to engage in Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA—a farreaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino/a art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Led by

the Getty, PST: LA/LA was a collaboration of more than

seventy cultural institutions across Southern California, including the Skirball. Here in the Museum, the exhibition Another Promised Land: Anita Brenner’s Mexico introduced

visitors to a fascinating cultural trailblazer: Anita Brenner

(1905–1974), the Mexican-born journalist, art historian, and anthropologist of Latvian Jewish descent. By illumi-

nating her lifelong efforts to foster goodwill across the US-Mexico border, the exhibition was an inspiration to PST: LA/LA audiences, who museum-hopped in the spirit of advancing cultural understanding through the arts.

Robert Wedemeyer

A CITYWIDE CELEBRATION

Right: The gallery included a dramatic re-imagination of Sanborns, a popular hangout for Mexico City’s artists and intellectuals in the 1920s, where Anita Brenner and her circle of luminaries often met to exchange ideas. Above: Among Brenner’s efforts to promote Mexican art and culture to US audiences was the tourist magazine Mexico / this month, which she founded and published from 1955 to 1971.

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THE ART OF

COMMUNITY Mural designs express studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hopes for their Northeast Valley neighborhood and society at large.

For years, the students’ teacher, Jeanette

Ramirez, had been curious about the Skirball and

its ongoing work with LAUSD schools and various educational nonprofit organizations. When she

learned that in 2017–2018 the residency program would center around Los Angeles muralism—in-

cluding works on Pacoima’s famed Mural Mile—she

decided to apply. In her application Ramirez wrote, “I try to instill in my students the importance of

valuing art and artifacts from their own community, [which] are often overlooked because they aren’t displayed in museums… but instead on walls.”

The art on these walls, located just minutes from

SJHA, provided a framework for the residency’s inves-

tigation of LA street art. To guide the students in this

process, the Skirball paired Ramirez’s Museum Studies class with an artist whose work is featured on Mural

Mile, Kristy Sandoval. An accomplished muralist—with more than thirty public works on view in the city, from

Van Nuys Boulevard in the Northeast Valley to Slauson

Avenue in South LA—Sandoval is a Pacoima native and dedicated community organizer. She has deep roots

in the place that she and the students call home. For

Mercie Ghimire

As the school day began, the high school students huddled around their works of art. Some of them drew or painted quietly, concentrating on their craft. Others fine-tuned their compositions. A few in each group focused on their artist statements. This was the scene over many weeks—at Pacoima’s Social Justice Humanitas Academy (SJHA)—as part of the Skirball’s annual in-school residency program. Together with their beloved Museum Studies teacher and a noted local muralist, the thirty-two teens designed murals of their own, inspired by the art and activism of their tight-knit community.

Facing page: Teaching artist Kristy Sandoval showed the residency class her 2012 mural Mi Vida, Mi Cultura, a commission she completed with fellow artist Ramiro “Rah” Hernandez, in collaboration with El Nido Family Centers’ Gang Reduction and Youth Development program. Above: Featuring the declaration “We are just as strong,” one of the students’ mural designs was inspired by Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, by Joe Rosenthal. The teen artists used the iconic wartime photograph as a basis for illustrating the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ equality.

Mercie Ghimire

Above: According to the students’ artist statement, the mural design Roaming Butterflies “addresses the discrimination against the undocumented and how they are able to fight it together.”

Sandoval, the murals in Pacoima help to beautify and

instill pride in the neighborhood. More importantly, they’re a way to engage the next generation. “I wanted

to work with youth, put messages out there for them. And I wanted them to tell their stories,” she explained.

Early in the ten-week residency, Sandoval led

the eleventh and twelfth graders on a walking tour of

Mural Mile. As they moved from block to block, Sandoval emphasized that none of the larger-than-life works could have been achieved without the ardent support

and hands-on participation of the people who live, study, volunteer, work, organize, and govern there. It is

Pacoima’s communal spirit that she and fellow muralists seek to capture—not only in the final imagery but in the creative process itself.

Back in the classroom, the students learned about

color theory and composition, as well as how to use the grid method, projection, and other techniques to create their mural designs. They drew inspiration from

the rich mural tradition of their hometown, as well as masters of Mexican muralism such as David Alfaro

Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. Organized into six groups, the aspiring artists identified the personal experiences and social issues that concern them most as young Angelenos.

skirball.org

Mercie Ghimire

The residency students reconvened at the Skirball to unveil how their separate designs would appear as a single work. They hope to secure approval and funding to paint this composite mural at SJHA. >> continued from page 16; please open flap

One group addressed the struggles of migrants

worldwide by illustrating monarch butterflies, an oft-used symbol of the immigrant rights movement. By depicting

the butterflies breaking free from a jar, the students projected their wish for migrants and immigrants to live free

from discrimination. Another group depicted interlocking arms of different skin colors, with the word unity spelled out in multiple languages. As group member Matthew

explained, “We believe that we should be in unity with each other no matter what we speak or our ethnic background.” Yet another group of teens delivered a dramatic

critique of gun violence in America and abroad. In their mural design, a list of cities where mass shootings have taken place surrounds a map of the world, and the words

“Pray for peace” are crossed out in favor of the far more

about practicing art as social commentary. In her appli-

this imagery, the prevalence of gun violence calls for ac-

often ask my students to reflect on what art created

Ultimately, through their works of art, the SJHA

class demonstrated over many weeks—collaborating

most to them and their hopes for the world. For them,

perspectives—the future of Pacoima, LA, and beyond

urgent plea “Demand peace.” For the artists who created

cation to the Skirball program, Ramirez pointed out, “I

tion, and it is our shared duty to effect change.

during our lifetime will tell future generations.” As her

students gave expression to the causes that matter

on mural designs that illuminate their experiences and

as well as Sandoval and Ramirez, the residency was

provided compelling inspiration.

BeBe Jacobs

Peter Turman

BeBe Jacobs

FEELING AT HOME

Los Angeles is one of the most culturally diverse big cities in America, and Skirball educators draw inspi-

ration from that distinction. Each year, third graders

come on field trips to participate in the school tour At Home in LA, a longtime teacher favorite. During

the gallery-based experience, students and educators

celebrate LAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notable diversity and the universal values of teaching and learning, extending hospitality, and

caring for the earth. The young Angelenos make music together, discuss their own familiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; customs around a

Jewish Shabbat table, explore how lifecycle events are marked in different cultures, and create a take-home project related to community service.

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FOR THE LOVE OF TEACHING AND

LEARNING

Mercie Ghimire

Teacher programs turn to the arts to inspire LA educators.

More and more across the US, teachers are integrating the arts into their curricula. The research on this approach is clear: employing the arts in the classroom is associated with higher academic achievement and a deeper understanding of core subject matter. It also does so much more, experts say. It makes learning more joyful and active, sparks a sense of hope and discovery, and connects kids to the world around them. By fostering creativity among those entrusted to educate the young people in our lives, the Skirball is investing in the future of Los Angeles.

Mercie Ghimire

Now in its tenth year, Teaching Our World Through the Arts (TOWTA) is the Skirball’s flagship teacher professional development program, enrolling nearly 200 teachers each year. Through four “strands” that encompass the visual, performing, and media arts, TOWTA trains K–Grade 12 teachers in arts-centered techniques that boost critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and civic literacy skills among schoolchildren. When registration opens each year, the TOWTA strands fill up fast. Each four-session strand kicks off with a day of community-building. The teachers start out sitting in a big, wide circle while Skirball educators and expert facilitators model the kind of open dialogue and interaction that the teachers seek for their own classrooms.

Facing page: LAUSD educators from South LA, Hollywood, and Bell presented their group mural design during the visual arts strand. Above: A high school science teacher took part in a movement and dance exercise.

Before long, everyone is up and about, whether to make art and music, co-write poems on the spot, try hip-hop dance steps or choral reading, or other activities that promote kinesthetic and collaborative learning. “I came away a better theater artist, educator, and human, and it was only day one!” commented one elementary school teacher, energized after the first day of the theater and movement strand. With each session, the teachers’ learning only gains momentum. Guest artists join sessions on artistic technique and practice. In 2017–2018, the Skirball invited master storytellers, puppeteers, songwriters, and photographers, among others, to demonstrate how the arts can make content more accessible to students. Camaraderie and trust bolster the supportive environment. As the teachers roll up their sleeves to create fresh new lesson plans, they rely on each other for ideas and encouragement. “It really feels like a teaching family,” explained one TOWTA participant, who has enrolled a few years now. “It’s what brings me back.” Back at school, the lesson plans come alive. Inspired by the TOWTA strand he had attended, one math teacher performed rhythmic drumming to teach fractions to his third graders. In her Grades 4–6 classroom in Highland Park, a special needs teacher used dance to help students with autism better understand how seeds grow. Teachers report that every subject is reinvigorated by the strategies they’ve learned at the Skirball. Whether addressing language and literature or science, topics in history or community issues, arts-integrated teaching has helped LA teachers and students breathe new life into learning. skirball.org

Timothy Norris

“THERE’S A PLACE

FOR US”

A symphonic and choral performance underscores the power of music to uplift LA communities. On a busy Sunday in May, a special collaboration brought new meaning to the song “Somewhere,” from the beloved musical and romantic tragedy West Side Story. On stage were vocalists from the downtown neighborhood of Skid Row, site of the highest concentration of Angelenos experiencing homelessness. On the floor were more than forty teenage string musicians from high-need schools in Koreatown and Mid-City. Their rousing performance of the classic tune earned a standing ovation, inspiring the audience to imagine an LA in which “Somewhere, somehow… / We’ll find a new way of living.”

The concert was inspired by the spring/summer

Student after student spoke of Harmony Project as

to the great American composer, conductor, pianist, and

struggles at school and at home and where they have

exhibition Leonard Bernstein at 100, which paid tribute

humanitarian during the centennial year of his birth. Composed by the maestro, “Somewhere” was recently

re-arranged for youth ensembles, in keeping with his lifelong dedication to music

a second family: it’s where they take their minds off

developed talents to last a lifetime and the skills to

collaborate with their peers. One of the violinists, a seventh grader named Sheyla, said, “Harmony Project

is my source of happiness.”

education for young people.

Likewise, Urban Voic-

As described by his daughter

es Project provides joy and

the song, “combined with

All of them have overcome

Jamie, Bernstein’s music for

respite to its choir members.

Stephen Sondheim’s stirring

or are presently enduring

lyrics, together express our

the hardship of lacking a

deepest longing for a world together in harmony, safety, and peace.”

This aspiration reso-

care. “They’ve been a huge

Timothy Norris

in which all its peoples live

home, a job, and/or healthpart of my healing process,” explained Brian Palmer, who

talked about his hard-won

nated with the values not

recovery from drug addic-

only of the Skirball, but also

tion and the solace he finds

of the two featured com-

in belonging to the group

munity organizations. Part

and knowing he’s not alone.

of the Alexandria Orchestra

No matter their particular

Nova, the student instrumen-

circumstances, the singers

talists represented one of

all attested to the hope they

many ensembles supported

gain by joining their voices

by Harmony Project, which make music together, they help build healthier com-

munities for us all. Similarly, through its Skid Row Choir and other programs, Urban Voices Project practices its

mission to engage disenfranchised individuals and effect

positive change in one of the nation’s largest homeless

As the multigener-

Courtesy of Harmony Project

believes that when children

in story and song.

ational artists took their

places for the grand finale, the standing-room-only crowd seemed humbled

by what concertgoers later

Top: The Urban Voices Skid Row Choir sang a moving repertoire at the Skirball. Above: Before the performance, members of the Alexandria Orchestra Nova visited Leonard Bernstein at 100, organized by the GRAMMY Museum and on view at the Skirball in spring/summer 2018.

populations.

described as a “respectful, inclusive gathering” and

“social practice art at its best!” Banded together at

the Skirball in their first-ever joint billing, the orchestra

First-person testimonials during the show revealed

and the choir performed a poignant rendition of the

and helped to transform their lives—especially as arts

Project co-founder Christopher Mack proclaimed to the

how music has boosted well-being among the musicians

education is on the decline in LA schools and the rate

of homelessness rises sharply throughout the county.

Bernstein and Sondheim masterpiece. As Urban Voices audience, “What you’re witnessing is a miracle of love and a touch of grace.”

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Ben Gibbs

Lindsey Best

editorial

Mia Cariño, editor Elena Bonomo Kathryn Girard Laura Mart Megan Nevels Megan Ro Anna Schwarz design

Picnic Design printing

HOMETOWN SOUNDS

The Skirball offers an idyllic setting for summertime

outdoor concerts presenting the best of Los Angeles. This year, the Sunset Concerts lineup featured up-andcoming LA-based band The Marias, whose core members met during a Laurel Canyon Music Revival series in West

Hollywood years ago. For their debut at the Skirball, music lovers of all ages packed the courtyard to hear their

sultry, 1970s-inspired sound and stuck around late into

the night for a chance to meet the gracious hometown heroes. This year’s Family Amphitheater Performances also showcased stellar performing artists. In a piece

entitled Ba’it, which means “home” in Hebrew, Dana

Maman and her troupe dazzled the crowd with the

music and dance of Israel, Morocco, Iran, and Brazil. By the end of the daytime performances, Maman’s

message and the Skirball’s mission were clear: home is not merely a place, but the feeling of human connection so often inspired by the sounds that move us as Angelenos.

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