This week, you can: celebrate the architectural work of USC alumni and SCI-Arc's John Enright; see the darker side of toys that could have been; welcome the A + D spring exhibition; get your Wiki-writing on for women's voices; and hear the director and others talk about Eating Animals, a plea for more humane farming.
Arjun Mahesh1) USC School of Architecture's Generation Next/John Enright at Helms Bakery
To combat excessively long presentations by voluble architects, architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture devised the PechaKucha format of 20 images x 20 seconds each. The third annual Generation Next celebrates the broad range of independent design work produced by ten recent USC School of Architecture alumni. That's 200 images in 4000 seconds. A reception with the architects and faculty follows the presentation.
When: Wednesday, Feb 27, Presentation: 6:00 pm; Reception 7:30 pm
Where: Gin D. Wong, FAIA Conference Center, Harris Hall 101 on the University Park Campus; Reception at Watt Hall
Tickets: Free. No reservation required for the architecture presentation, however RSVP is required for the free reception that follows. You can RSVP here.
On Thursday, February 28, SCI-Arc Vice Director John Enright, co-principal of Griffin Enright Architects, will give a talk at Helms Bakery District Design Center about his firm's work, which includes innovative homes, furniture design, gallery installations and their provocative Vertical Garden, now in the permanent collection at the MAK in Vienna. It's part of the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design.
One of the not so obviously 'fake' toys by Obvious Plant2) Obvious Plant's Museum of Toys
For the past four years, Jeff Wysaski (a.k.a Obvious Plant) has been re-contextualizing the past by creating satirical replicas of real life signs, toys and products and then 'planting' them in public; leaving them to be discovered by the unsuspecting passer-by. Consider a Hello Kitty that goes to rehab, a Casey the Talking Tape Player that delivers only bad news, and a Spiderman that is, well, covered in spiders, man! These guerrilla installations are then shared with Obvious Plant’s 600,000 social media followers, under the moniker @obviousplant.
Now Wysaski's 'fake' toys are getting a 'real' museum. Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys will open its doors with over 100 comedic, dark and bazaar toys and games to view and interact with.
When: March 2 through March 17, with a closing party 6 - 9 pm (opening night reception is sold out)
Where: 2270 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles 90006
Tickets: $10. You can get tickets here. Find a complete schedule of hours and special events here.
Tangle, by Sarah Jones3) The Assembly at A+D Museum
Once again, A + D Museum celebrates four simultaneous exhibition openings under the umbrella title the assembly.
The main Gallery will feature Translucent Vaults, an exploration of digital access to cultural institutions and art.
Tangle is the second collaboration of Rios Clementi Hale’s Alley Fellowship with A+D Museum and features an installation by Sarah Jones, which celebrates immersion in an environment where your perspective is always changing.
Preliminary Research Office gives us Notes on Techniques, an exhibit of six architectural objects with accompanying notes presenting various methods for assembling and manipulating geometry.
Shapes of Fences is an installation aimed at bringing awareness to the detainment of migrant children in the United States, recognizing that each child is a life halted and thrown into chaos.
All of this will be accompanied by a pop-up by Noun , a handbag collection by Xin Zhao.
When: Opening Party Saturday, March 2, 7-10 pm. Shows run through April 28, 2019.
Where: A+D Museum, 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: General admission $10; free to students and members; click here for more about each exhibition.
Get ready to 'Wiki-write'4) Art + Feminism Sixth Annual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
Anybody can create or edit a Wikipedia page, but not everybody does. In fact, only about 16% of Wikipedia contributors identify as women. The reason for this gender gap is up for debate, but the practical effect is that the on-line resource under-represents women's voices,. Founded in 2014, Art + Feminism is an annual, month-long campaign designed to generate content on Wikipedia at the cross section of women, feminism, and the arts. This year non-binary artists will be included in the campaign as well. Wikipedia editing events will take place every weekend in March at six Southern California museums, including the Hammer, LACMA, the California African American Museum, alongside hundreds of partners around the world. Bring a laptop or tablet, training is available and entertainment breaks are provided. Get ready to Wiki-write.
When: Starting Sunday, March 3, with additional events every weekend throughout March. You can see the full schedule here.
Where: The Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, 1717 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021. You can see locations for additional events here.
Tickets: Free and open to everyone. Bring your laptop or tablet. You can RSVP here.
5) Eating Animals -- Screening and discussion with director
How much do you know about the food that’s on your plate? Based on the bestselling book by Jonathan Safran Foer, narrated by co-producer Natalie Portman, and directed by Christopher Quinn, Eating Animals is a call-to-arms look at the environmental, economic, and public health consequences of factory farming. Santa Monica's Sustainable Works will screen the movie and host a discussion between Ann Gentry, Founder of Real Food Daily; Christopher Quinn; Terry O'Day, Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tempore and EVP/Chief Strategy Officer for innogy eMobility US; and Niels Thorlaksson, Urban Farmer.
When: Wednesday, February 27th - 7pm (Arrive by 6:40 to guarantee a seat)
Where: Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Ave. Santa Monica 90403
Tickets: Free, but register here for tickets.