Your week in design events from DnA.
1) Interior design conferences: Light Show West / WestEdge Design Fair
Two big conferences this week focus on interiors. Light Show West is Oct. 21-22 at the LA Convention Center, a trade show and conference for commercial, architectural and high design lighting manufacturers. Make sure to attend this panel on the benefits and liabilities of LED lighting. Bonus points if you show up wearing this t-shirt. And for the furniture-minded, check out WestEdge Design Fair at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger Oct. 22-25 for the latest in high-end interior decor. This year they’ve introduced MADE:MODERN, a section dedicated to independent designers with a focus on the handmade. DnA host Frances Anderton will also moderate a panel on “Zombie Urbanism” and how to design a home when an overseas buyer isn’t around to provide input.
When: Light Show West is Oct. 21-22, WestEdge Design Fair is Oct. 22-25
Where: Light Show West is at the LA Convention Center, WestEdge Design Fair is at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger
Tickets: Registration to Light Show West includes free exhibit hall admission and access to 30 seminars. Register here. Get tickets for $20 to WestEdge here.
2) Southern California Water Workshop
Here’s your chance to weigh in on the region’s water plan. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will host an Oct. 22 workshop to give the public an opportunity to learn about and provide input on ways the region’s water supplies will be developed and managed over the next two decades. Participants will be provided information on “Water Tomorrow,” an update of Metropolitan’s Integrated Water Resources Plan.
Originally adopted in 1996 and updated every five years, the 25-year plan “takes an in-depth look at ways to achieve long-term supply reliability for the region using a range of strategies, including imports from the State Water Project and the Colorado River, conservation, recycling, groundwater storage and cleanup, storm water recharge and desalination,” according to Metropolitan.
When: October 22, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Metropolitan’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters at 700 N. Alameda Ave.
Tickets: Free and open to the public. The workshop will also be webcast here.
3) Celebrating the LA River: ForumFest 2015 / Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival and Concert
Los Angeles has fallen in love with the LA River, that much-maligned ribbon of concrete that stretches 51 miles across the city. Two events this week will bring revelers to the river’s banks.
A free Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival and Concert will be held for the iconic Sixth Street Bridge on Saturday Oct. 24th, featuring performances by War, Aloe Blacc, Graciela Beltran and others. This family friendly event will kick off at 2 p.m. and include children’s games and activities, food trucks, community booths, live mural paintings by local artists, as well as 6th Street Bridge Art exhibits from Art Share L.A. The evening will end with a fireworks show overlooking the Sixth Street Bridge.
ForumFest 2015: Bridge, Tunnel, Channel. offers a carnival mood and festivities that include Dublab DJs, live music, and food trucks. The event supports the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, and celebrates the efforts of designers, activists, citizens, and politicians in reimagining this singular piece of infrastructure.
On view will be temporary installations by architects and designers featured in the Forum’s 2015 Out There Doing It series including, Typical Office (Duygun Inal andBen Warwas), LA-BOR (Jia Gu and Jonathan Crisman), and PAR (Jennifer Marmon). Jai & Jai (Jomjai and Jaitip Srisomburananont) will present a curated series of video works by Chris Gassaway, Devin Gharakhanian, Nick Korody, Juanito Olivarria, Tomas Koolhaas, Akiko Yamashita, and art by Mike Nesbit.
When: The Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival and Concert will be held on Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm. ForumFest will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 4 pm.
Where: The Sixth Street Bridge event as well as ForumFest will be held at the 6th Street Viaduct, E 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: The Sixth Street Bridge event is free, you can RSVP here. ForumFest tickets are $60/adults, $20/students. Buy tickets here.
4) MOCAD Design Awards
Frank Gehry has already had quite a year, with a retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a new biography by architecture critic Paul Goldberger, and he unveiled his plans to take on water reclamation on all 51 miles of the LA River. Less attention has been drawn to Gehry’s achievements in product design. The Museum of California Design is hosting it’s 12th annual award benefit and auction honoring Gehry, along with the first-ever survey exhibition of Gehry-designed furniture, lighting, jewelry and other design objects. DnA’s Frances Anderton will introduce him.
When: Sunday, October 25 at 2:30 pm
Where: JF CHEN@1135 in the Highland Avenue Arts District
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets.
5) San Vicente Walking Tours
The Santa Monica Conservancy has teamed up with the Historic San Vicente Coalition to offer a free walking tour of beautiful courtyard and garden apartments built between 1937 and 1953, designed in various architectural styles such as Streamline Moderne, American Colonial Revival, and Mid-Century Modern. The largest concentration of such apartments is in the stretch of San Vicente Boulevard that is seeking Historic District status, stretching from Ocean Avenue to Seventh Street. The tour will be offered on Sunday, October 25 at 10 am and 10:30 am. Tours last about 1.5-2 hours and are free, but reservations are required.
When: Sunday, October 25 at 10 am and 10:30 am
Where: The tours will begin at the northeast corner of San Vicente Boulevard and 4th Street.
Tickets: Free, click here for reservations.