5 Design Things to do This Week

Drawings and displays at Pacific Design Center, a tour of neon art, and a celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Just some of the design events taking place in the Southland this week.

1) “Drawings Lie”

Fed up with digital representations of buildings? While at the PDC for Westweek, check out “Drawings Lie”: Recent Works by Bryan Cantley, at Christopher Mount Gallery. The fantastical schemes, by Cantley, a professor at California State University, draw inspiration from “figures such as Antonio Sant ‘Elia, Hermann Finsterlin, Lebbeus Woods and the members of Superstudio.” Mount says “Cantley focuses not on the built projects but instead on experimentation and self-expression through the acts of drawing and model building.”

Christopher Mount Gallery is one of the designLAb galleries located at the Pacific Design Center.

When: Through May 20, 2016; open Tuesday–Thursday 1–5 pm; by appointment including weekends

Where: Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., Suite B267, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: Free; click here for more information.

2) Mad About Design

Pacific Design Center’s 2016 Spring Market takes place this week and features two days of showroom displays and panel discussions. Offerings include showroom displays by charmers like Thomas Lavin, presentations from Eric Chang, Holly Hunt, Richard Landry, Katie Leede, Andrea Rubelli, Suzanne Tucker and Michael Wollaeger; and keynotes from The Hollywood Reporter on “burning the brown and banning the beige!” and A+D Museum (see below) on the allure of downtown, in “To Live and Design in DTLA.”

When: Wednesday, March 23, 2016, starting at 9 am; Thursday, March 24, 2016, starting at 10 am

Where: Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: Free; click here for more information.

3) A+D Museum: COME IN!

A+D Museum celebrates its recent move to DTLA with an exhibition of work by designers who “find inspiration in the reemerging LA downtown.” This is the latest installment in the museum’s COME IN! exhibition series. Installations include Vertebrae’s Wavelet, above, a “long-span aluminum shade canopy constructed out of over 600 powder-coated, folded pieces that are at once the form and the structure.”

Curated by Danielle Rago with exhibition design by Tyler McMartin, Come In features designers from design disciplines including architecture, product, graphics, fashion and murals.

When: Opening reception on Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 7 pm; exhibition runs through June 23, 2016

Where: 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tickets: $15; Students: $7; click here for more information.

4) Tour of Museum of Neon Art with deLaB

Since 1981, the Museum of Neon art has been a nomadic exhibition keeping the flame alive for vintage neon art. A permanent space officially opened its doors in February in the City of Glendale.

Join de LaB for a guided tour of the space with MONA board member Eric Lynxwiler and architects from Shimoda Design Group.

When: Friday, March 25, 1–3 pm

Where: Museum of Neon Art, 216 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91209

Tickets: $15 (Buy tickets in advance, limited spots available). Click here for more information.

5) Nowruz at UC Irvine

Spring means Easter, Passover — and Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebrated each year with a program of storytelling, film, music and dance at LACMA. This year, this display of Iranian arts and culture — from Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Georgia, Afghanistan, Armenia, India, and Macedonia — will come this weekend to UCI in Orange County.

Highlights include Whispers of Spring, a multimedia experience by Mamak Khademand, and the stunning Grand Haft Sîn, the centerpiece of Nowruz in Iranian households (above, in photo by Vafa Khatami), as well as lots of creative music and arts activities for children. The event is hosted by the nonprofit Farhang Foundation.

When: March 26, 11:30 am–5 pm

Where: UCI’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts, UC Irvine, 4002 Mesa Rd, Irvine, CA 92697

Tickets: Free and open to public. Tickets required for Whispers of Spring. Click here for more information.