Lake View Terrace Community Bulletin
HomeGrown in Lake View Terrace Volume 1, Issue 1 December 2016
Lake View Terrace Makes it on the Map! STORY MAP: A COMMUNITY’S VIEW OF ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE by Bia Gayotto Since early in my career I’ve been using an interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of documentation, fieldwork, performance and collaboration to translate the complex relationships among people and places. Over the years my artistic practice evolved from collaborating with friends and colleagues to members of diverse communities worldwide. My “ethnographic strategies” of interviews, observation and fieldwork allow me to meet and collaborate with a wide array of people whom I would not have met otherwise. No matter where I go, it’s amazing to see how citizens can be so receptive and willing to share their stories. Unlike my previous video installations where I explored a sense of place and cultural identity by interviewing and filming residents in their own environments, this time I wanted to tell stories from inside out, through the voice of its own inhabitants. During Fall 2015, I approached Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga, California to propose a project that I was working on. Director Regina Clark kindly received me and included Little Landers Historical Society members Sheri Smith, Bill Skiles and Gerardo Barrientos. After reviewing, they believed the project fell within the scope of their mission statement “…. to collect, preserve and display artifacts, records and landmarks of the history generally of Rancho Tujunga area ….” In September 2016 with the support by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, I offered a four-part workshop called STORY MAP, a multigenerational collaborative community project that investigated the physical and cultural landscape of City of Los Angeles District 7 including Sunland, Tujunga, La Tuna Canyon, Lake View Terrace and Shadow Hills. Through an open call to people who either live or work on District 7, participants were invited to bring items that illustrated their past, present and future views of their neighborhoods. To cover the relationships between memory, reality and imagination, each week we focused on a topic including an introduction, residents’ past memories, their present experiences and future expectations, hopes and disappointments. Before starting the project I wondered: What sorts of objects are special in the life of people in this neighborhood? What will these items reveal about the community? A total of fifty-one people attended the workshops and nineteen participants, who were present in one or more workshops, brought a total of sixty-six items. The items they brought were as fascinating and diverse as can be. Printed material included photographs, catalogues, stereo view cards, newspaper articles, library card and a poem. Participants also brought 3-D objects including a badge, beaded necklace, signature book, rock from a local mountain, seed packets, service dog, stuffed bird and a potato chip in the shape of a heart, to name a few. In an attempt to figure out the meaning behind these items, I arranged them in different categories including landscape, architecture, portraits, cherished objects, animals, art, science and social activism. Ultimately the strength of this project relies on the stories behind each item and in how they reveal the importance of place and relationships with who we are as people. Real or imaginary, objective or personal, tangible or immaterial, the collection of items invites us to consider particular ways of perceiving and representing the world. Story Map brought people together for a positive dialogue and exchange, creating an opportunity for diverse groups to meet and learn about each other. Participants’ feedback includes: “I enjoyed the project immensely and wished for it to continue on a long term basis.” (Marlene Hitt); “I learned so much about my community during this workshop. Besides being an important asset to our history, Bia made it fun through engagement." (Pat Kramer); “This was a very unique idea providing an opportunity to meet with individuals in our community that I don’t normally cross paths with. The stories we all had to tell provided new insight to the other attendees about past and present events and their place in our community’s history and beyond. Thank you to Bia Gayotto for providing a creative way to bring us all together to share our thoughts.”(Sheri Smith) The final large-scale map (150 x 40”) [please see page 2] made in collaboration with graphic designer Yuju Yeo mix past, present and future stories into one. By changing the role of the public from a passive observer to an active collaborator, each individual had an important voice contributing to a collective view of his or her city. The result is a “living archive” that collects, preserves and displays artifacts of the local history. A wrap-up party on October 16th ended the project on a sweet note. The collective energy was warm and positive, completed by a wonderful performance by Kate Fredericks, and her talented McGroarty Arts Center ukulele students, accompanied with delicious chili by renowned local chef Al Timins. This project was made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Special thanks to Bolton Hall Museum, Little Landers Society and all the participants in this project (In alphabetical order by first name): Al Timins, Christian Kasperkovitz, Cile T. Borman, Corey Stein, Craig Durst, Dawn Jenkins, Don Ray, Gail Carlson, Lili Singer, Lloyd Hitt, Marlene Hitt, Meredith Kiyomura, Michael Callahan, Pat Kramer, Pati McArdle Potter, Regina Clark, Sheri Smith, Scott Froschauer and Vanessa May.
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Lake View Terrace
The Terra Vista Equestrian Staging Area Update by Kit Paull *The following is an update of the coming Terra Vista Equestrian Staging Area. It will be a place where equestrians can park their trailers and ride their horses up to the trails. A community meeting was held on November 16, 2016 to discuss the latest developments Dan Denerring, Superintendent at the Lopez Canyon Landfill, Adriana Borrayo, who is in charge of the Equestrian project, and Manuel Gomez, who will be taking Dan’s place when he retires in March, visited the gun club, which had objected to the equestrian trail plan. In 1949 land was sold partly from the Southern California Gas Company to become a shooting range. There is 1,000 feet between the shooting range and the equestrian trail. The current Panorama Gun Club had concerns about bullets ricocheting and affecting riders on a ridge. However, a solution to the situation is move a part of the trail away from the ridge line. A representative from the gun club was present at the November 16 meeting at the Lake View Terrace Rec. Center. He is in favor of the change. The Mitigated Negative Declaration should go to City Council in the first quarter of next year. Community members should attend the meeting to support the project. Dan thinks that the staging area should start in March and will take 2 to 3 months to complete. He feels that maintenance of the trails can be taken care of by the landfill staff.
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The Race for the LA City Council District 7 Seat by Vanessa May There are 30 people vying to run in the March 2017 election for the Los Angeles City Council District 7 seat. It is refreshing to see so many people stepping up to represent and advocate on behalf of the citizenry. Those who pursue public service are to be commended. It is an arduous task and a vulnerable position to place oneself in. So, first and foremost, kudos and thanks to all those who are willing to expose and give of themselves in service to the people. The next public servant has the opportunity to bring to this councilmatic district much needed productive and progressive improvements. This is a grand opportunity to elect someone who really cares about the communities that comprise CD7. Those of us who have been working in the neighborhoods to better quality of life and socioeconomic conditions are looking forward to working with a proactive councilmember and their staff. Listed below are the people who are collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot:
1 2 3
Anthony Rodriguez Art Miner Benny “Benito” Bernal
11 12 13
Fred Flores Jaime Herrera John T. Higginson
4 5
Bonnie D. Corwin Carlos Lara
14 15
Jose G. Castillo Juan Salas
6 7
Carlos O. Chavarria Connie Saunders
16 17
Karo Torossian Krystee Clark
8 9 10
Dale Gibson David Jesse Baron Frankie Marie Bacerra
18 19
Louie Anthony Mendoza Mark Reed
20
Martha “Marlin” Medrano
Saying Good Bye for Now to Phyllis Hines In Memoriam
21
Michael Venore Mosby
22
Mike Shaefer
23 24
Monica Ratliff Monica Rodriguez
25 26
Nicole Chase Olga Ayala
27 28
Ricardo Benitez Robert C. Soriano
29 30
Terrence “Terry” Gomes Venessa Martinez
HomeGrown in Lake View Terrace
If Lake View Terrace is where you live, work and/or play, it behooves you to know what’s going on in your neighborhood. Listed immediately below and to the right are some community organizations and volunteer opportunities you can get involved in.
Community Corner: Civic Organizations “Get Involved! Get Into It!” The Lake View Terrace Improvement Association WebSite http://www.lvt-ia.org/ twitter @LVTIA FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/LVTIA-564090273734867/
Join the LAPD Foothill CPAB - 818-756-8866
The Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council
WebSite http://ftdnc.org/
Happy Holidays
twitter @FTDNC FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/FoothillTrails/
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Be safe Take care Have Fun Enjoy!
Call the numbers listed below for more 411 Lake View Terrace Recreation Center (818) 899-8087 Lake View Terrace Friends of the Library (818) 890-7404 Discovery Cube Science Center (818) 686-2823 Phoenix House (888) 671-9392