Good afternoon, Los Angeles readers and beyond. For those who don’t already know me, my name is Elisa Wouk Almino, and I am the Los Angeles Editor at Hyperallergic.

Starting this week, we’re trying a new newsletter style that we hope you’ll enjoy. In addition to drawing out the week’s highlights, I will be making an effort to share pieces from our archives that are relevant or worth revisiting. Occasionally, I might also share a fun image or Tweet to brighten or enlighten your day.

This week, LACMA shares its winners of the Art + Technology Grant, an artist discusses ableism in the art world, meet artist Cauleen Smith, and the escalating debt crisis at private art colleges.

– Elisa Wouk Almino, Senior Editor, Los Angeles

This weekend, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) is hosting artist Panteha Abareshi, who will be discussing the rampant problem of ableism in the art world. Abareshi will focus on specific museum spaces in Los Angeles, the role of curators, and the important work of disabled artists like herself. Visitors will have the option to participate in these special events either virtually or at the ICA LA (with limited capacity).

Since 2013, the Art + Technology Lab at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has been offering yearly grants to artists working with emerging technologies. The four winning projects this year are truly imaginative — and fun. One of the grantees, Agnieszka Kurant, is inviting us all to collectively care for a Tamagotchi (remember those?).

Every other week, we interview a different artist or art worker living in Los Angeles. It’s a really wonderful opportunity to hear about what they are working on and what is important to them at this time.

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the artist Cauleen Smith, who talks about being in “sponge mode” during quarantine and reflects on her love for Los Angeles:

Read the full interview, or check out our past interviews here.

Reporter Sam Lefebvre takes a closer look at the institutional borrowing practices that led the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) to almost close. Lefebvre argues that the decisions that led SFAI to mounting debt are “actually commonplace” among private colleges, including at the California College of the Arts (CCA), where a number of former SFAI students are transferring to next year.

“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.