The role of participatory design in Los Angeles, a mid-century modern furniture sale, an epic shadow-puppet play and a documentary about fashion’s true costs. All this week in LA design events, courtesy of DnA.
1.) How Participatory Design is Changing Los Angeles
From your local Park Advisory Boards (PABs) to full scale city infrastructure decisions, city agencies are tapping the public for their ideas to design the built environment. Join the California Historical Society and panelists for a discussion on the role of participatory design. Presenters and participants will consider how public participation does, could, and should impact current projects in Los Angeles.
When: Tuesday, May 24, 6 pm
Where: Gensler’s Los Angeles Office, 500 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tickets: General Admission $10 (CHS and LA Conservancy members $5) More Information and Tickets. Parking $15 AFTER 5pm in Gensler downstairs lot (valet), $8 LAPL Lot after 4pm, if you have an LAPL library card it is $1.
2.) The True Cost
More than ever, on-trend fashions and the coolest looks can be found at bargain prices. We might be getting a great deal, but what about the rest of the world? The documentary The True Cost explores what is the real price of getting a deal on our clothing. From the brightest runways to the bleakest slums, The True Cost provides an unprecedented look at the people and places behind our clothes.
When: Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm (arrive early to mingle and nibble, 6:30 pm)
Where: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049. FREE on-site parking
Tickets: General $10 (members $8, students $6). Get tickets here.
3.) Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic
Visual artist and 2014 Guggenheim Fellow Hamid Rahmanian has partnered with ShadowLight Productions and Mark Amin to present what they are describing as the largest shadow-puppet play ever performed: “Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic,” based on the 10th-century classic Persian epic, Shahnameh. The thousand-year old story is brought to life by over 160 shadow puppets and performers in elaborate, handmade masks and costumes and over 100 digitally animated backgrounds.
When: Friday May 27, 8 pm; Saturday May 28, 3 pm and 8 pm; Sunday May 29, 3 pm
Where: The Ralph Freud Playhouse, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Tickets: $30-$70. Get tickets here.
4.) Gronk’s Theater of Paint, Opening Reception
Legendary artist Gronk will have a solo exhibit in Los Angeles for the first time in over two decades. “Gronk is a seminal Los Angeles artist, long overdue for a museum exhibition in this city. We are thrilled to recognize his work and shine light on his unique contributions to the world of theater and set design, both here in Los Angeles and worldwide,” says CAFAM Executive Director Suzanne Isken. In conceiving Gronk’s Theater of Paint, Gronk envisioned the installation as the theater set for an imaginary opera production based on a book of absurdist, science fiction poetry called Tomorrow You’ll Be One of Us (2013). Written by Gail Wronsky and Chuck Rosenthal, the book contains poems constructed from sci-fi and horror B-movie dialogue and was illustrated by Gronk.
When: Saturday, May 28, 6 – 9 pm. Show runs through September 4, 2016.
Where: Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets: $12 (CAFAM members free). More details here.
5.) Downtown Modernism
Modernica reprises its biannual sale of mid-century modern furniture, lighting, art, and decor designed by Hans Wegner, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, and many more. This time around, the event will feature local artist SHAG and a booth full of his original works.
When: Sunday, May 29, 8:00am-2:00pm
Where: Modernica Factory, 2901 Saco Street Los Angeles, CA 90058. Parking: Free, on site.
Tickets: Admission Adults $7, Children 12 and under free. Get tickets here.