Los Angeles
August 5, 2020
Letter from the editor:
Over the summer, Hyperallergic received a grant from the Sam Francis Foundation to commission four articles from Los Angeles-based writers. It became an exciting opportunity to envision a series about Los Angeles artists and its art movements. It has been one of my favorite projects over the past couple of months, and I've learned so much from each of the writers who contributed.
- In a reported piece, Matt Stromberg surveys the many art projects and spaces in South Los Angeles that are doing the rare, important work of really engaging with their communities. This work is far from new in the neighborhood, as artists have been active there since the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s.
- Rosa Boshier takes a deep dive into the history of Chicanx punk in Los Angeles. Emerging on the heels of the East LA walkouts, the punk movement of the late 1970s and early ’80s created its own universe, "one that held room for multiculturalism and its contradictions."
- As we reflect on monuments across the country, Caroline Liou looks to the region she grew up in: the San Gabriel Valley, home to the largest concentration of Asian Americans in the country. She asks: "Which monuments and cultural landmarks represent the Asian American community, here?"
- Finally, Jennifer Remenchik reflects on how art has given us spiritual sustenance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. She looks at the work of four artists: Edgar Fabián Frías, Hayley Barker, Julie Weitz, and Patrisse Cullors.
I hope you will take the time to read these special pieces.
In South Los Angeles, Art Is a Force for Community Empowerment
The Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Residency Art Gallery, and new community center Summaeverythang are part of a lineage dating back at least 50 years to the Black Arts Movement.
Matt Stromberg
‘‘We Paid For This Town”: The Legacy of Chicanx Punk in LA
In the 1970s and ’80s, the Bags, Vaginal Davis, Nervous Gender, and Los Illegals used music and performance to express their dissent of racism and gender violence, imagining punk as a possible utopia.
Rosa Boshier
In America’s “First Suburban Chinatown,” Asian Americans Have Negotiated Cultural Representation
In the San Gabriel Valley, home to the largest concentration of Asian Americans, cultural landmarks tell a story of the formation of a collective cultural identity.
Caroline Liou
Turning to Art for Spiritual Sustenance
“A lot of people have been turning to art, needing space to process,” says the artist Edgar Fabián Frías, who, along with Haley Barker, Julie Weitz, and Patrisse Cullors has been discussing their art as spiritual practice.
Jennifer Remenchik
Event Pick
A “Healing Blanket” Against Gender Violence, Created by 600 Women Around the World
The moving results will soon be on view in a virtual gallery by California’s Social and Public Art Resource Center.
Elisa Wouk Almino | August 8, 4pm (PDT)
Support Hyperallergic
As arts communities around the world experience a time of challenge and change, accessible, independent reporting on these developments is more important than ever.
Please consider supporting our journalism, and help keep our independent reporting free and accessible to all.
All new sustaining members receive an exclusive Hyperallergic Tote Bag and more!
News
Getty Responds to Open Letter Accusing Museum of Racial Bias and Insensitivity
In its response, the Board writes that they “acknowledge the historic gravity of the moment following the brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among other Black Americans” and that they “stand united behind the declaration: Black Lives Matter.”
#SayHerName: An Illustration of Breonna Taylor Will Cover September’s Oprah Magazine
The portrait will be the first cover of the magazine to not feature Oprah Winfrey in its 20 year history.
Meet LA’s Art Community: Chon Noriega Is Working on a Social Justice Sci-Fi Film Series and So Much More
An interview series spotlighting some of the great work coming out of Los Angeles. Hear directly from artists, curators, and art workers about their current projects and personal quirks.
Elisa Wouk Almino
From our partners at KCET
"Southland Sessions," a new multiplatform project by L.A. public TV station, KCET, connects you to SoCal’s resilient arts scene one session at a time.
Change(Makers): The Future of Arts and Culture
Key cultural leaders from around Los Angeles gather to discuss the role of arts and culture in shaping the world’s future.
Echo Park Pottery Studio POT Centers POCs
POT feels inviting to those that might feel most unwelcome at other pottery studios in Los Angeles — people of color, queer people and people who have never picked up clay or sat down at a wheel.
Forward this newsletter to a friend!
If this email was forwarded to you, click here to subscribe
 |  |  |  |
