Shana Nys Dambrot
The holidays are perfect for combining art with parties and shopping—such as a Santa Monica art complex’s popular Winter Open, a fashion-forward artisan market in West Adams, and a pop-up ceramics sale inside an exhibition. A sensational Nutcracker update, a modern dance salon, the film version of a groundbreaking avant-garde indie opera, a suite of powerful post-history paintings, a fancy conversation on Surrealism, a corporeal conversation on sculpture, and a modern seasonal classic of animated musicals.
Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
Thursday, December 7
Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is an international sensation—made all the more so by the Netflix documentary, Dance Dreams. Dance icon Debbie Allen has taken the ballet classic and given it fresh, new context with lively characters, new music by industry legends, diverse choreography, spectacular aerial arts and state-of-the-art projection to create an immersive, vibrant and memorable theater experience for all ages. 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach; Performances December 7-10; $50 and up; debbieallendanceacademy.com.
RAW MATERIAL at Sloan Projects/Craig Krull Gallery
Friday, December 8
Sloan Projects presents Raw Material at Craig Krull Gallery. A group exhibition of ceramic arts featuring work by 25 local and international artists kicks-off with a weekend pop-up of irresistibly tactile, stylish, witty, and distressed contemporary pieces. The continuing exhibition of curated fine art sculptural ceramics will share the gallery with scores of smaller handmade pieces for three cash-and-carry days only; the larger, rotating-format exhibition continues into the new year. Bergamot Station Art Center, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; Friday-Sunday, December 8-10; Exhibition continues December 16 – February 3; Artists Reception: Saturday, December 16, 4-6pm; sloanprojects.com.
L.A. Dance Project
L.A. Dance Projects presents Congress: Volume IX. A salon-style platform where cross-genre dance artists share live work in an intimate environment to build discussion, reach and community. VOLUME VIII features The Seaweed Sisters, Ryan Spencer, ztato, Motus the Company, Heavy Boots, Rhapsody James, Robert Green, Jeremiah “Supaman” Haynes. Arrive early for a pre-show reception with drinks and treats. 2245 E. Washington Blvd., downtown; Performances Friday-Sunday, December 8-10; $45-$75; ladanceproject.org.
Oluwatobi Adewumi at Von Lintel Gallery, Bergamot Station
Saturday, December 9
Bergamot Station Art Center Winter Open House. The city’s favorite outdoor arts campus is a great place to spend Saturday, with about a dozen exhibition openings, a number of special presentations with artists, curators, and writers, live music, performance events, book signings, comedy and theater (separately ticketed); plus food, drinks, and all the last minute local artisanal shopping you haven’t done yet. Bergamot parking can be dodgy, but it has its own Metro Station, so consider taking the train! 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; Saturday, December 9, 10am-9pm; free; bergamotstation.com.
Nicky Nodjoumi at Advocartsy
Nicky Nodjoumi: Let’s Talk at Advocartsy. Since the 1970s in Tehran and New York, Nodjoumi has been a witness to the abuses of power and the resistance to those abuses; and his work has consistently addressed the relationship between politics and power. Revolutionary in both spirit and practice, fusing his interest in global art histories with his ability to critique both Iranian and American politics, Nodjoumi’s satirical, sinister, monumental oil paintings are both subversive and surrealistic. 434 N. La Cienega, West Hollywood; Opening reception: Saturday, December 9, 5-8pm; On view through January 13; free; advocartsy.com.
In Our Hands at Sovern LA (Photo by Parsons)
In Our Hands: upcycling and accessibility Closing Reception and Night Market at Sovern LA. Centering around sustainability in design through the work of five L.A.-based BIPOC artists, designers, and healers, the current exhibition’s closing reception also hosts a vibrant night market spotlighting not only the exhibiting artists, who will sell unique pieces, but also other local BIPOC-owned businesses, who will be vending gifts such as jewelry, ceramics, and apothecary. As always there will be food and refreshments and a live DJ set playing throughout the evening. 5757 W. Adams Blvd., West Adams; Saturday, December 9, 5-10pm; free; sovern.la.
APOLAKI (Photo by Angel Origgi)
Sunday, December 10
LACE presents APOLAKI: Opera of the Scorched Earth screening at Philosophical Research Society. A new experimental opera by Filipino-American composer Micaela Tobin in collaboration with installation designer Carlo Maghirang and dancer/choreographer Jay Carlon, APOLAKI premiered live at the historic and storied Zorthian Ranch earlier this year—and that performance became this film. Continuing her celebration of the pre-colonial mythologies of the Philippines, the work tells the story of Apolaki, the precolonial God of Sun and War, who finds themself lost in a foreign and unfamiliar land (present day Tongva Land/Los Angeles) after being displaced from the Philippines by Spanish colonizers. This opera is a radical meditation on the complex relationships between settler colonialism, migration, and diaspora, and invites the audience to join Apolaki in this immersive pilgrimage. 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz; Sunday, December 10, 2-5pm; free; welcometolace.org.
The Haas Brothers at Jeffrey Deitch (Photo: Charles White)
Tuesday, December 12
Haas Brothers and Isabelle Albuquerque in conversation at Jeffrey Deitch. The Haas Brothers, celebrated for their distinctive fusion of art, design and technology, are currently exhibiting four new bodies of work—expanding their artistic approach with innovative computer modeling and the use of high-tech materials. As they combine their reverence for traditional craft with a futuristic vision, in addition to its formal rigor, the work retains the whimsical quality that the artists are known for. Join the Haas Brothers and Isabelle Albuquerque in a conversation moderated by Sophia Cohen, as they discuss the exhibition Sunset People. 925 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood; Tuesday, December 12, 6pm; free; deitch.com.
Gagosian Beverly Hills
Robert Zeller: How Surrealism Became New Surrealism talk and book signing at Gagosian. A conversation with by Robert Zeller inside Ewa Juszkiewicz’s current exhibition In a Shady Valley, Near a Running Water at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, celebrates the publication of Zeller’s New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting—a sweeping exposition of Surrealism and its legacy in contemporary art. Demonstrating the many ways in which the art movement that began in the early twentieth century continues to be relevant today, the book presents an international selection of contemporary artists whose works reveal Surrealism’s enduring influence, including Juszkiewicz, whose painting is featured on its cover. 456 N. Camden, Beverly Hills; Tuesday, December 12, 7pm; free; gagosian.com.
Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights
Eight Crazy Nights at Laemmle’s Los Feliz 3. Adam Sandler’s hilarious animated holiday fable is also a musical, featuring star voices from Jon Lovitz and Rob Schneider. When extremely disgruntled small-town guy Davey Stone faces another holiday season in his New England hometown, he does what he always has—he screws up big and lands in jail. Davey’s old basketball referee, Whitey, bails him out with the bright idea of putting Davey to work doing community service. After a few surprises—including the mysterious reason for Davey’s bad attitude and the reappearance of a childhood sweetheart—Davey might find a reason or two to change his ways. 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; Tuesday, December 12, 10pm; $13; americancinematheque.com.
Gretchen Scherer at Richard Heller Gallery, Bergamot Station
Fragmented Lucidity: The Art of Collage and Photomontage at ROSE Gallery, Bergamot Station
Carlos Pez: Overnight Delivery at Building Bridges, Bergamot Station
Floris Neusüss at Von Lintel Gallery, Bergamot Station
APOLAKI (Photo by Angel Origgi)
Todd Alexander at Sovern LA
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