A video installation of monkeys in a Hindu temple, a feast in a historic downtown cafeteria, and an art marketplace in a former karaoke studio. Your week in design events from DnA.
1) Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination at LACMA
The video artist Diana Thater explores nature and the cosmos in her immersive film installations. Her first U.S. retrospective, “Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination,” opened this week at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and is also the museum’s largest solo exhibition for a female artist. The group of 22 film and video installations ranges from the early 1990s through 2015. It features an architectural environment that she created for her most recent piece in the show, Life Is a Time-Based Medium (2015), which replicates the facade of a Hindu pilgrimage site in India that’s partly dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman. After passing through the arched entrance, another screen plays footage of wild rhesus macaque monkeys. Swim with dolphins, dance with honeybees, and ponder the mysteries of the universe and man’s connection to animals in this unique exhibition.
When: Now through February 21, 2016
Where: LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets: Buy $15 general admission tickets here or at LACMA
2) Eating turkey, walking off the calories
Are you a Thanksgiving orphan, looking for like-minded strangers to share in a delicious seasonal meal? The Los Angeles Visionaries Association is welcoming you to join them for their traditional Thanksgiving gathering in the newly re-opened Clifton’s Cafeteria. Enjoy your turkey and mashed potatoes (or the famous Jello) and bask in the glow of the renovated waterfall and taxidermic animals that will transport you from downtown’s urban grit to a fabulous wonderland. Make sure to RSVP as space is limited. And if you want to burn off those carbs the following day, join up with some ambitious pedestrians for a 12-mile, half staircase, half trail walk through LA.
When: Thursday, Nov. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Where: Clifton’s Cafeteria, 648 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Tickets: You can RSVP here for the Thanksgiving meal
3) Work in Progress art market
There is no shortage of craft and art sales popping up this time of year. Here’s a unique idea: pop-up galleries with each room devoted to one contemporary artist, set in a prominent but now defunct karaoke club in downtown Los Angeles. Work In Progress is the brainchild of cultural curator and urban anthropologist Roger Gastman, and co-curated with entertainment entrepreneur and philanthropist Doug Davis. The art marketplace features a slate of up-and-coming contemporary artists, including POSE, REVOK, Richard Colman, Shawn Kolodny, neon sculptures by Cleon Petersen, Tasyavan Ree and Sage Vaughn. Select prints by Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari will also be on display and available for purchase. Paying homage to the building’s legacy, there will be one functioning karaoke room outfitted by artist Adam Wallacavage, which will be open to the public as part of the experience. Check out their calendar for art-driven lectures, discussions, book-signings, and performances featuring artists and thinkers, and a gift shop will sell street art ephemera.
When: W.I.P. opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 27th and remains open through Dec. 27th
Where: 317 S. Boylston Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tickets: Regular exhibition hours are Tuesday-Sunday 1-9 PM, with extended hours the week of Christmas. More info here.
4) North Hollywood “NoHo” Historic Walking Tour
Looking for a way to walk off that Thanksgiving stuff, while exploring a historic neighborhood? The Museum of the San Fernando Valley has organized a tour of North Hollywood that promises to touch on “real cowboys, pioneer families, movie television and recording stars, the Spanish conquest, Mexican ranchos, great steam trains, vast ranches and orchards, land barons, wars, architecture, and much more!” Some of the highlights of the tour include the Amelia Earhart Library, El Portal Theatre and Lankershim Elementary School (attended by Marilyn Monroe).
When: Saturday, Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Tour meets at Amelia Earhart Statue; NW corner of Tujunga St. & Magnolia Blvd. (at corner of Library)
Tickets: $10 per person donation, RSVP here or by calling 1-818-347-9665 or email at events@theMuseumSFV.org.
5) Make It Mar Vista
Forget about the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and invest your hard-earned cash back into your community. Here’s one Small Business Saturday event in the West L.A. community of Mar Vista that we can get behind. Make It Mar Vista (a project of the Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce) will include a pop-up protected bike lane along Venice Blvd. from Centinela to Grandview, a temporary parklet, interactive mural painting, live performances, an art exhibit, and, of course, plenty of holiday shopping at featured local small businesses. Here’s a complete list of events and list of participating companies.
When: Saturday, Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: The corner of Venice Blvd. and Centinela Ave. in the Vineyard Christian Fellowship parking lot at 3838 Centinela, Los Angeles, 90066
Tickets: Free and open to the public