Consider SoCal’s relationship with water from inside a swimming pool; check out cutting-edge possibilities in typography; see maps made by migrants seeking asylum in Europe; attend a boundary-bending multi-media event; and scratch your itch for handmade zines.
1 ) L.A. Forum Presents: IN THE GUTTER | ART PAPERS
Since the early days of William Mulholland to the recent surge in drought-tolerant landscaping, Los Angeles has always been a city shaped by access to water. And what does it say about Angeleno culture that we worship this most limited resource at the shrine of the swimming pool? That’s a question posed in the latest issue of ART PAPERS, which focuses on LA’s architecture and design through the lens of LA’s pool culture and the broader landscape of water and hydrology. It will be launched Tuesday as part of The Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design’s IN THE GUTTER series. Featuring 72 pages by local writers and designers, the publication is guest-edited by Jennifer Bonner and guest-designed by April Greiman. The event, with readings and informal discussion, will be hosted from the basin of the Pink Motel’s empty pool — how perfect is that?
When: Tuesday, May 23, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Where: The Pink Motel, 9457 San Fernando Road, Sun Valley, CA 91352
Tickets: $20 for Non-LA Forum members; Free for LA Forum Members and Art Papers Contributors. RSVP here.
2 ) Ty Drake Poster Exhibition: Typography 4
Many retail malls are looking to animate their spaces with pop-up art events. This Tuesday, students of Art Center alumnus and professor Ty Drake will display their work at Macy’s Plaza/The Bloc, newly opened in DTLA. Drake, a guest on DnA about his reworking of the Black Panthers’ Ten-Point Plan, explains that in his Typography 4 course “students were asked to develop a typography-based identity through the use of visual language that communicated the definitions, writings, ideologies, methodologies, or manifestos of an ISM, MOVEMENT or PHOBIA.” Drake created the project with Art Center’s Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography, and Raan Parton, owner of APOLIS and Alchemy Works in the Arts District.
When: Tuesday, May 23, 5 pm
Where: Macy’s Plaza/The Bloc downtown, 700 S. Flower St., Los Angeles, 90017. (7th St. Subway Station)
Tickets: Free and open to the public
3) It is obvious from the map
It is obvious from the map is an exhibition at REDCAT, organized by Thomas Keenan and Sohrab Mohebbi, that looks at how the massive numbers of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa are using and making maps as they make their way to Europe. The exhibition’s title comes from an inscription on a hand-drawn map depicting the border between Hungary and Serbia. This show gathers three types of maps: those made by migrants and shared and annotated as they are passed around; maps that attempt to enforce border control and function as tools of control; and maps that reconstructs the voyages of migrant vessels that have disappeared in the Mediterranean. The exhibition shows that map-making and migration are basic to human nature and the desire for freedom.
When: Through Sunday, June 4, 2017
Where: Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, located in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets: Free and open to the public. More information here.
4) Maison Futuro’s CHAPTER ONE
Creative collective Maison Futuro and B & O Play by Bang & Olufsen have joined forces to create an immersive creative experience that blends the worlds of audio, visual and conceptual art. The evening showcases emerging talent from the Asia Pacific region as well as home-grown in Los Angeles. Entertainment, new media, and conceptual art collide and transcend for this experimental showcase. Interactive displays and audience participation help make these progressive art forms fundamentally accessible to everyone. Featured collaborators include: Hubble Studio, Cync Design and Adrian Kay Wong, Leon Tang +VO3E, YoYuu + Super Architects, and Oakland Raiders wide receiver – and little known design aficionado – Michael Crabtree.
When: Saturday, May 27, 8 – 11 pm
Where: The Theatre at the Ace Hotel, 933 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tickets: Free with RSVP. RSVP here.
5 ) L.A. Zine Fest 2017
The 6th annual L.A. Zine Fest returns to its inaugural neighborhood – downtown L.A. – to celebrate self-publishing and DIY culture in the community. This year’s Fest will feature over 200 zinesters – writers, illustrators, comics creators, photographers and more — selling, trading and sharing their work. Hands-on workshops, arcade games, art, music and, of course, lots of ZINES!
When: Sunday, May 28, 10 am – 6 pm
Where: California Market Center, 110 E. 9th St., Los Angeles, 90079. (Enter off 9th Street and Main; the Olympic Street entrance to the building will be CLOSED on the day of the Fest.) Parking available in the California Market Center’s underground parking garage for $9. Enter the parking garage off Los Angeles Street or Main Street.
Tickets: Free. Make an optional donation to Zine Fest here.
Want to submit an event for 5 Design Things?
5 Design Things is published Mondays and covers events taking place that week from Monday – Sunday. If you want to submit an event for consideration, send it to dna@kcrw.org to arrive no later than the Friday before the week of the event. Make sure to include date, day, time, location, description of the event, an image to illustrate it, and relevant links.