This week: tour a modern, energy efficient homeless housing project; hear how one curator turned an art publishing house’s body of work into a visual exhibition; experience the culture of the Philippines Island of Mindanao; view fashion as art through the non-demographic brand ’69’; and immerse yourself in the robots of our imagination – while they still let you.
1) The SIX Veterans Housing Tour
Housing Available: Modern, energy efficient apartment building with large community spaces, rooftop patio, edible gardens and panoramic views in the heart of MacArthur Park.
This may sound like the latest in high priced multi-family housing developments, but The SIX, designed by Brooks + Scarpa and completed in 2016 is a 52-unit affordable housing project for previously homeless and/or disabled veterans. The ground level contains offices, support services, bike storage and parking, while the second level has a large public courtyard surrounded by four levels of housing units. The uppermost level has a green roof with edible garden, a large public patio and panoramic views.
Organized by AIA Los Angeles’ Committee On The Environment (COTE), Brooks + Scarpa in conjunction with the Skid Row Housing Trust will lead a tour of the building highlighting the emphasis on public space and energy efficient passive design strategies which make it 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.
When: Friday, August 3, 3 – 5 pm
Where: The SIX, 811 S. Carondelet Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Tickets: $35 / $25 for AIA members. More information and registration here.
2) Culture Fix: Sebastian Clough on Gato Negro Ediciones
Building on the legacy of radical independent publishing in Mexico, Gato Negro Ediciones, led by activist designer León Muñoz Santini, creates and produces uniquely identifiable books across genres including art, photography, poetry, political discourse, and new editions of classic texts of resistance.
Fowler Director of Exhibitions and exhibition curator Sebastian Clough discusses the design process involved in transforming an art publishing house’s body of work into a visual exhibition.
When: Friday, August 3, 12 – 1 pm
Where: Fowler Museum (UCLA), 308 Charles E Young Dr N, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Parking available in UCLA Lot 4, 398 Westwood Plaza, directly off Sunset Blvd, $12. Rideshare drop-off 305 Royce Drive.
Tickets: Free, no reservations required. More information here.
3) 17th Annual Historic Filipinotown Festival
In 2002, then-councilmember Eric Garcetti designated the southwest portion of Echo Park as Historic Filipinotown. The area was separated from its northern portion in the 1950s by the 101 freeway, and was originally known as Little Manila. The town’s annual festival is designed to highlight the arts and culture of the district and the multi-ethnic residents of the area. This year’s celebration will showcase the culture of the Southern Philippines island of Mindanao, featuring cultural performances, food and art from the area.
When: Saturday August 4 to Sunday August 5, 11 am – 8 pm
Where: Siver Lake Medical Center Campus, 1711 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tickets: Free. More information here.
4) 69: Déjà Vu
Created in 2011 by an anonymous Los Angeles-based designer, the clothing brand 69 completely blows up the rigid categories of demographic-based fashion, offering a single boundary-breaking line meant for all genders, races, ages and body types.
The line uses solely denim and playful and fresh designs to exuberantly suggest ideas of freedom, inclusivity and a more fluid future. As identity politics continue to hold center stage — identity was the 2015 Dictionary.com word of the year, demographic surveys now offer an ‘other’ gender and the first trans superhero was added to a network cast in 2018, among other binary breakthroughs — a non-conforming clothing brand cannot help but blur lines between fashion and politics, marketing and movement.
69: Déjà Vu presents a survey of the brand’s groundbreaking clothing along with a selection of irreverent and inventive videos and photographs that blur the line between promotional material and artwork. The show was organized by Lanka Tattersall, Associate Curator, with Karlyn Olvido, Curatorial Assistant, MOCA.
When: Exhibition runs August 4 – October 28
Where: MOCA, 250 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets: General admission $15. More information here.
5) The Robot Show, including David Pressler Career Retrospective “Idea to Object” Installation
Someday — perhaps in the not-too-distant future — artificial intelligence and robots will take over the world, or so some believe. For now, however, robots are mostly still a creation for our use, imagination and entertainment. Showcasing the role of robots in our contemporary social landscape, The Robot Show features a 20-year retrospective of Emmy-nominated artist and animator Dave Pressler. “Idea to Object” is a narrative of his career and how he turned his ideas into reality. Pressler’s robots are fixtures in popular culture and he is best known for his Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon series Robot and Monster.
The show also includes solo exhibitions of Jeff Soto, Patrick McGilligan, Robert Nelson and Karen Hochman Brown, with site specific installations by Christopher Cichocki, Alexander Krtselis and Chenhung Chen.
When: Exhibition runs August 4 – September 30. Opening reception on Sat., Aug. 4 from 2-6 pm
Where: Museum of Art History, 665 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534
Tickets: Free. More information here.