5 design things to do this week

Written by

A conversation on “queer spaces,” a celebration of automotive design, a tour around Santa Barbara’s luscious gardens, photographs of Brazilian brutalist architecture, and a chance to hear from British designer Tom Dixon. Here are DnA’s hand-picked events for the week.

Gay Space
Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, NY, is the original ‘queer space’. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

1) PSSST Monthly Conversation: QUEER SPACE

The 1969 riots at New York’s Stonewall Inn are widely considered to mark the beginning of the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. If Stonewall was the original ‘queer space’, what does ‘queer space’ look like now in 2016 and why is it still so important? Following the Orlando nightclub shooting in June, DnA spoke to writer Kyle Fitzpatrick about the role that gay bars play today, even in a time of far greater acceptance of LGBT rights.

The new PSSST gallery in Boyle Heights is hosting a conversation about this topic, led by James Rojas, Daveed Kapoor and Kaucyila Brooke.

When: Tuesday, July 19, 7 – 9 pm

Where: PSSST, 1329 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA  90033

Tickets: FREE and open to the public. More information here.

Earth Kitchen
Earth Kitchen in Milan is a collaboration between Tom Dixon and Caesarstone. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

2) Tom Dixon Talks with Frances Anderton at his new showroom in Platform

Veteran British designer Tom Dixon has opened a showroom in Platform, the new residential and lifestyle hub at Culver City’s Expo Line station. This Thursday he will talk with DnA’s Frances Anderton about his work, what brings him to Los Angeles and the “Earth Kitchen” he designed with Caesarstone, makers of quartz counters. This is part of a series called Color Conversations with Caesarstone LA with Architectural Digest.

When: Thursday, July 21, 5 – 8 pm

Where:  The Platform,  8850 Washington Blvd,  Culver City, CA 90232

Tickets:  Free. To register, click here.

mullen2
Mullins stylish automobiles honor the art deco period of French automotive design. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

3) Indulge Classic Car Love  at the Mullin Automotive Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum

Peter Mullin’s collection of classic French cars can be seen at the Petersen Automotive Museum and his private museum in Oxnard. This Thursday Herzog Wine Cellars will host a wine-tasting event for members and non-members at Mullin Automotive Museum. Sample good food and wine as you view these most stylish Art Deco vehicles.

When:  Thursday, July 21, 6pm-9pm

Where: Mullin Automotive Museum – 1421 Emerson Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033

Tickets: $45-$60. Get tickets here.

And there’s more.  On Saturday the Petersen Automotive Museum will throw a party to celebrate 30 years of work by Chip Foose, legendary hot rod designer.  Show off your own hot-rod, view Chip’s top project models, including Green Hemisfear, Imposter and ’39 Cadillac.  The program will include a discussion panel with Jay Ward, Pixar Animation Studios; Don Voth, Owner of the Imposter, and Stewart Reed, Instructor at Art Center.

When: Saturday, July 23, 8am-1pm

Where: Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Tickets: FREE.  More information an event schedule.  RSVP here.

Santa Barbara Riviera
Santa Barbara Riviera classic Mediterranean landscape. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

4) Santa Barbara Field Day – Exploring Gardens in California’s American Riviera, with picnic lunch at the County Bowl

The Landscape Architecture Alumni Connection of UCLA Extension is leading this tour of luscious gardens in Santa Barbara, exhibiting the best in blending modern landscape design concepts with the natural elements of the terrain and climate of the Riviera.

Make a long weekend of it, and catch the Mullin Automotive Museum wine-tasting Thursday night in Oxnard (above) en route to Santa Barbara!

When: Saturday, July 23, 8:30am-4:00pm

Where: San Marcos Growers – 125 S. San Marcos Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93111

Tickets: $35-$45.  Get tickets here.

Tropical Modernism
Veronika Kellndorfer’s ‘Tropical Modernism: Lina Bo Bardi’ at the Christopher Grimes Gallery in Santa Monica (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

5) Veronika Kellndorfer ‘Tropical Modernism: Lina Bo Bardi’

Brutalism is made dreamy in Veronika Kellndorfer‘s photographic images of Lina Bo Bardi’s tropical modernist buildings in Brazil, silk-screened onto reflective glass panels. Kellndorfer’s images — pairing details of Bardi’s iconic SESC Pompéia in São Paulo with an individual plant species found in the Royal Botanic Garden in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil —  have contributed to a renaissance of interest in the work of Lina Bo Bardi.

When: Through September 2.  Gallery Hours.

Where: 916 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Tickets: Free