5 design things to do this week

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This week, learn more about LA’s Measure S, see art in the desert near Palm Springs, learn about property rights and zoning codes, stroll through galleries in Mar Vista, and find out how the garment industry has changed in LA over the past 100 years.

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Policy on LA housing and development will be decided at the ballot boxes on March 7 with Measure S. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

1 ) Measure S (in 3 parts): KCRW’s Press Play Live; de LaB’s poster show; and Christopher Hawthorne talk at A+D Museum

Measure S is a Los Angeles ballot initiative to impose a two-year moratorium on any development projects requiring a zoning variance from the city’s General Plan. It would also require a public review of the city’s general plan every five years. Supporters of Measure S say the planning process is broken, and that the measure would give planning control back to neighborhoods. Opponents say it would halt growth in the city and limit the availability of housing, both affordable and at the market rate.

Here are three FREE events to get you more informed about the impact Measure S would have on Los Angeles.

—Press Play Live: Breaking Point: Housing, Density and the Future of LA.  Los Angeles residents head to the polls again on March 7. And one ballot initiative – Measure S – lays bare the fight over the future of LA. Should LA build higher, denser developments near public transit? Or should the city try to maintain its character as a network of neighborhoods with single family homes and small apartment buildings? Join KCRW’s Madeleine Brand on February 28 for a special broadcast of Press Play live from Hollywood to explore how the housing crisis in LA has caused an identity crisis for Angelenos.

When: Tuesday, Feb 28, 7 pm

Where: Live Broadcast, KCRW and KCRW.com. More information here.

—de LaB presents: No on S, Yes on LA.  To ensure that LA becomes an even more creative, sustainable, and inclusive place, this event encourages Angelenos to vote NO on Measure S.  Posters, postcards, and lawn signs will be available. See who’s coming and invite people on FacebookRead deLaB’s reasons for voting No on SVolunteer or get involved with the official No on Measure S campaign.

When: Tuesday, Feb 28, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Where: A+D Museum, 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

—The Politics of Housing: Measure S and the Future of Growth in Los Angeles.  Christopher Hawthorne will lead a discussion considering what gave rise to the controversial measure and what its approval or rejection by voters March 7 will mean for development and the production of new housing.

When: Wednesday, Mar 1, 7:30 – 9:30 pm

Where: A+D Museum, 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

And while you’re at the A+D Museum, check out cityLAb Times 10, which explores a decade of design and research by UCLA’s cityLAb and its visionary ideas for Los Angeles housing, transportation, and public space.

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The “Great Street” segment of Venice Blvd, between Beethoven and Inglewood in Mar Vista, is aptly named for its inspired art, eats and shops. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

2 ) Mar Vista Art Walk

While Venice Blvd. may be best known as the fastest way from the 405 to the beach, organizers of the Mar Vista Art Walk are trying to change that. Every four months since December 2015, the Mar Vista Art Walk is helping to create community and inspire creative growth along this stretch of Venice Blvd. With a funky vibe, the event gets neighbors out to walk, explore galleries, taste food and experience the art. Expect live painting (including mural art with street artist DJ Neff and canvas painting with artists Mitchelito Orquiola and Ryan Gilden), live music and performances.  

When: Thursday, Mar 2, 6 – 10 pm

Where: Venice Blvd, between Beethoven and Inglewood, Los Angeles, 90066.  More information and list of participating businesses here.

Tickets: FREE

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3 ) The Back 9: Golf and Zoning Policy in Los Angeles

The non-profit theater and advocacy group Los Angeles Poverty Department – the other LAPD – is hosting a series of free conversations and workshops, co-organized by artist Rosten Woo and the Silver Lake-based Materials and Applications. And they’re using mini-golf to help us understand why city zoning codes and land use law are important in our lives and for the future of Skid Row.

As part of a series of educational sessions, Jonathan Crisman will lead a workshop called “Know Your Property Rights!” Crisman is a research affiliate at the UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative, a trained architectural designer and urban planner, and is currently doing his PhD in urban planning at USC. The workshop will provide an overview of “property rights as ownership, the mortgage, and property taxation.”

When: Saturday, Mar 4, 1-3 pm

Where:  Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), 838 E 6th St., Los Angeles CA 90021            

Tickets: FREE

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Women in the garment industry circa 1964 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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Women have been at the forefront of the LA garment industry for over 100 years. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

4 ) 100 Years of  L.A. Garment Work

Throughout history, women have spun fiber into cloth and turned cloth into clothing.  The world is no different today, as women make up most of the garment industry labor force.  In conjunction with International Women’s Day, “100 Years of Garment Work in L.A.” explores the history of garment work in Los Angeles and the struggles for economic justice that continue in this city today.  Beginning in 1907, when a group of Jewish tailors organized the city’s first branch of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU), continuing today in the work of the Garment Workers Center, immigrant women have played a leading role in the struggle to rid Los Angeles of sweatshops.  The afternoon will include multilingual music, art, and testimony.

When:  Sunday, Mar 5, 2 -5 pm

Where: UCLA Downtown Labor Center, 675 S. Park View St., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Tickets: FREE. More information here.

Andrea Zittel’s A-Z West: Experimental living near Joshua Tree, CA

5) Desert X

Artists take over the Coachella Valley through April 30 with site-specific installations that reflect global and local issues.  See more about Desert X here.  Here are some highlights for this week.

—Sant Khalsa: Confluence.  An exhibition of photo-based art by Sant Khalsa, whose work for more than 25 years has focused on the theme of water and its relationship to the American West. 

When: Mon-Thurs, 11-4, Sun 11 – 1

Where: Marks Arts Center at College of the Desert, 43500 Monterey Avenue, Palm Desert, 92260

Tickets: Free.

—Spiritual America: Architecture and Music.   Presented by Palm Springs Art Museum in partnership with Palm Springs Life, this private event in collaboration with the Infinite Palette collective features new chamber music, performed against the San Jacinto Mountains, by Spiritual America composers William Brittelle, Missy Mazzoli and Daniel Wohl. Prior to the performance, guests can tour two new architectural masterpieces in “Palm Springs’ last hillside development,” The Chino Canyon Project: Desert Palisades, including Al Beadle House 1 and the O’Donnell House. F10 Creative will provide cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

When: Wednesday, Mar 1, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Where: Chino Canyon, Palm Springs

Tickets: $250 (includes this event and the March 3 reception and special seating for the Spiritual America performance at Palm Springs Art Museum’s Annenberg Theater.)

—Spiritual America After Party with guest DJ Helado Negro

Join Infinite Palette, Palm Springs Art Museum, and special guests for an after party featuring a special appearance by guest DJ Helado Negro, sponsored by the Ace. After party included with Spiritual America ticket.

When: Friday, Mar 3, 10 pm

Where:  Ace Hotel & Swim Club,  701 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

Tickets: Included with Spiritual America Ticket (see above).

—Andrea Zittel’s A-Z West.  Tour the A-Z West house, Studio, Wagon Station Encampment, Homestead Cabin, Regenerating Field, and shipping container compound on more than 50 acres next to Joshua Tree National Park. Since 2000 the grounds have been ever evolving as Andrea Zittel’s test site for designs for living, where all aspects of day-to-day living – home furniture, clothing, and food – become the sites of investigation in an ongoing endeavor to better understand human nature and the social construction of needs.

When: Saturday, Mar 4, 11 am – 1 pm

Where: A-Z West, located on over fifty acres in the California high desert next to Joshua Tree National Park

Tickets: Reservations available on first come first served basis, upon a donation of $45 for adults and $35 for students. For more information, visit zittel.org or email azwest@zittel.org