Shana Nys Dambrot
A rebellious and accessible contemporary art fair, a world premier from a legend of multimedia electronic music, street- and club-infused modern dance, an historical exhibition about the pre-Interstate progressive neighborhood that was once the heart of Santa Monica, an encore screening series of Miyazaki masterpieces, paintings and sculptures with big questions and relentless optimism, an outdoor dinner with music and time travel, and an immersive performance installation challenging stereotypes.
Saatchi Arts: The Other Avatars project at the Other Art Fair
Thursday, March 31
The Other Art Fair. The global art event dedicated to showcasing independent artists hosts its seventh Los Angeles edition at a new venue, featuring 140 independent and emerging artists, special guest artist Anna Marie Tendler (who will be doing commissioned portraits on site), L.A. Dance Project, and an atmosphere enlivened by deejays and a complimentary Bombay Gin cocktail bar. Including painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and of course, NFTs, in a range of prices starting under $100. They even have a resident tattoo artist, plant shop and customizable printmaking by Print Shop LA. As part of its exhibitor line-up the fair also introduces the three Los Angeles-based winners of its Spring 2022 New Futures awards, as well as NFTs from Saatchi Art’s The Other Avatars project onsite. 4317 Beverly Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Opening night: Thursday, March 31, 6-10pm, $45-$50; Regular Hours: Friday, April 1, 4-10pm; Saturday, April 2, 11am-7pm; Sunday, April 3, 11am-6pm; $15-$20/day; theotherartfair.com/la.
Morton Subotnick at Temple Israel of Hollywood
Morton Subotnick: As I Live and Breathe at Temple Israel of Hollywood (Live & Streaming). Composer and electronic music legend Morton Subotnick celebrates the L.A. premiere of his newest work As I Live and Breathe (2022) alongside his seminal work Silver Apples of the Moon (1967). Presented by dublab in surround sound with live animations, this immersive experience is a feast for the senses. Subotnick is one of the pioneers in the development of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments and other media, including interactive computer music systems. Of his newest work, Subotnick shares, “It starts with my breath, moves through a vocalizing cadenza of vocal gestures, and ends with a tender and simple use of gentle rhythms and melodic fragments.” 7300 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Thursday, March 31, 7pm / performance 8:30pm; $30 / $10 livestream; tioh.org.
Ephrat Asherie Dance at the Brad Stage: Ephrat Asherie and Omari Wiles (Photo by Robert Torres)
Friday, April 1
Ephrat Asherie Dance at the Broad Stage. Choreographer Ephrat Asherie remixes elements of the extended family of street and club dances in a deeply musical celebration of breaking, hip-hop, house, and vogue. With music direction by Asherie’s brother, Ehud, the dancers move to the rich and buoyant sounds of Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth, played live by four world-class musicians. Experience hybrid movement like never before with this collaborative work that blurs time, tempo, and genre. 1310 11th St., Santa Monica; Friday-Saturday, April 1-2, 7:30pm; $35-$70; thebroadstage.org.
Students at Garfield Elementary in 1935 (Santa Monica History Museum. Bill Beebe Collection)
Broadway to Freeway: Life and Times of a Vibrant Community at Santa Monica History Museum. In the mid-20th century, the Broadway neighborhood was a thriving, tight-knit community in Santa Monica. Built by African American, Mexican American, and immigrant communities, the Broadway neighborhood was a haven for those who were excluded from other parts of the city. From beauty parlors and jazz clubs, to the malt shop, tortilleria, and Jewish deli, this exhibition tells the story of how residents built Broadway into a flourishing community of color — and how the 10 freeway destroyed it in the 1960s. Featuring period photographs, advertisements, oral histories, and songs, the exhibition draws on the wealth of archival material collected by the Quinn Research Center, which is dedicated to preserving the history of African American life in Santa Monica. 1350 7th St., Santa Monica; April 1 – December 23; $5 suggested donation; santamonicahistory.org.
Still from My Neighbor Totoro, 1988 (Studio Ghibli)
Hayao Miyazaki Films at the Academy Museum. One of the cofounders of Studio Ghibli, along with director Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki, Hayao Miyazaki has forged a singular path as a storyteller. Feats of meticulous, hand-drawn mastery, Miyazaki’s films teem with visual imagination and profound stories that explore themes of self-discovery, pacifism, environmentalism, and humanity’s capacity for both invention and destruction. In celebration of the final months of the exhibition Hayao Miyazaki (on view through June 5), the Academy Museum is screening seven key films by the director, including cult favorites Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle, all on English-subtitled 35mm prints. 6067 WIlshire Blvd, Miracle Mile; Screenings April 1 – May 27; free with museum ticket, $10; academymuseum.org.
Eternal Spa organized with QNA. Design by Ly Tran (MOCA)
Saturday, April 2
Eternal Spa at MOCA Geffen. A multi-sensorial, durational performance in the historic Japanese American neighborhood of Little Tokyo. Taking the metaphor of Asian spas and health centers as a starting point, the performance engages questions of embodiment, sexuality and sex work, self-care, and identity, critiquing how Asian bodies have been othered and exoticized — especially after the Atlanta shootings. The performance will be accompanied by programming which includes sexual health resources, music, dancing, and food for sale by local restaurants. Eternal Spa is organized with QNA (Louie Bofill, Jae-an Crisman, Paulie Morales, Ly Tran, and Howin Wong), a Los Angeles-based collective and platform that highlights queer and trans API artists and culture through art, nightlife, and community. 152 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo; Saturday, April 2, 5-10pm; $10; moca.org.
Casey Weldon at Thinkspace Projects
Casey Weldon, Brian Dovie Golden & Toco-Oco at Thinkspace Projects. In Weldon’s latest solo show, Tacit Turnabout, each piece is inspired by real-life scenarios he has witnessed, including stories of loved ones, observations about his environment, and his own introspective self-evaluation. Golden’s Parking Lot Carnival explores the nostalgic connections of our past through contemporary imagery with a blend of portraiture, abstract line sketches, and bright colors. And introducing Brazilian husband and wife duo Toco-Oco (aka Lara Alcântara and Guilherme Neumann), who dream up fantastical creatures which they turn into curious doll-sized clay sculptures, and ask big questions about the nature of existence. 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd., West Adams; Opening reception: Saturday, April 2, 6-10pm; On view through April 23; free; thinkspaceprojects.com.
Salastina: Sounds Delicious: Outlander
Tuesday, April 5
Salastina’s Sounds Delicious: Outlander. Calling all history nerds, Outlander fans, and romantics! Travel back in time and around the world with Salastina at this special outdoor dinner concert in a private, tree-lined courtyard in the hills. Journey in the fictional footsteps of Claire and Jamie Fraser through the real-life music and food of mid-18th century Scotland, France, and the Caribbean; colonial America; and Boston in the 1960s. And of course, plenty of composer Bear McCreary’s original music for the show. Salastina is thrilled to once again partner with Chef Becky Brown, the chef who brought its Harry Potter and Game of Thrones dinner concerts to culinary life, and Mercedes Curran, who created the fabulous atmospheres. This time, guests will benefit from the input of food historian Marissa Nicosia as well.If you can’t make the in-person event — and don’t mind watching other people eat — tune in free to enjoy the music and ambiance, which features the musicians speaking with the virtual audience between performances. Pasadena location address provided with ticket purchase; Tuesday, April 5, 6-10pm; $225/free stream; salastina.org/concerts.
Wednesday, April 6
MUSE/IQUE: Laurel Canyon at the Huntington and Skirball. Just miles from the bustling Hollywood scene, slightly out of sight, was an oasis where singer-songwriters converged to reinvent how music was made and played. With artists like The Mamas and the Papas to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, to Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell, and on and on and on, Laurel Canyon became a cradle of exploration and a new genre of music that could only have happened in these curvy canyons of LA. Join MUSE/IQUE for a suite of modern classical interpretations of this sonic and cultural legacy, as part of the ongoing L.A. Composed series. Wednesday-Thursday, April 6-7 at the Huntington Library; Sunday, April 10 at the Skirball; free with MUSE/IQUE membership subscription; muse-ique.com.
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