Shana Nys Dambrot
The week starts off with a triple header of events celebrating words by astonishing women, and moves into art about good and evil, experiential photography and sound about the rainforest, local dance on video, pictures projected on buildings, storytelling blasting on billboards, all of Grand Avenue free and open for the arts, paintings about fantastical comfort animals, art and design about champagne, and a stage show of words, images, and music about modern love.
Art from Batman: The Animated Series at Choice Contemporary
Thursday, October 20
Heroes and Villains at Choice Contemporary. An art exhibit featuring original works and collectible prints from noted artists in the genres of comics, animation and contemporary art. Artists on view include Lee Bermejo, Jim Lee and Alex Ross. The exhibit will also showcase original artworks used in the making of classic animated features and shows such as Batman: The Animated Series. 11706 Barrington Ct., Brentwood; Opening: Thursday, October 20, 6-9pm; On view through December 31; free; choicecontemporary.com.
Sandra Tsing Loh
Caltech Behind the Book: Sandra Tsing Loh (Live & Virtual). A comic exploration of a year in the life of a bestselling author, The Madwoman and the Roomba chronicles a rollercoaster year of pre-pandemic domestic chaos in Pasadena. Join Sandra (a distinguished Caltech alumna) in conversation with Samantha Dunn, Bookish Co-Host and Senior Editor of Engagement at Southern California News Group, with a Q&A afterwards and book-signing. 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena; Thursday, October 20, 6pm; free w/ registration; events.caltech.edu.
Celeste Ng & Gabrielle Zevin
PEN Out Loud: Celeste Ng and Gabrielle Zevin at Second Some Hollywood. Bestselling author and Guggenheim fellow Celeste Ng discusses her third novel, Our Missing Hearts — a suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child, and the ways supposedly civilized communities can pretend to ignore the most searing injustice. Ng will be in conversation with Gabrielle Zevin; the program will begin with a dramatic reading by Michelle Noh. 1370 N. St. Andrews Pl., Hollywood; Thursday, October 20, 7pm; $15-$40; pen.org.
Amber Tamblyn
Live Talks LA: Amber Tamblyn with Roxane Gay at Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center. Edited by acclaimed author, activist, and actor Amber Tamblyn, Listening in the Dark is a compilation of some of today’s most striking women visionaries across industries — in literature, science, art, education, medicine, and politics — who share their experiences engaging with their own inner wisdom in pivotal, crossroad moments, sharing how intuition has helped to shape and alter their life choices. 3200 Motor Ave., Palms; Thursday, October 20, 8pm; $20 / $45 with signed book; livetalksla.org.
Sebastião Salgado: Jaú River, Jaú National State Park, 2019
Friday, October 21
Sebastião Salgado: Amazônia at California Science Center. Discover stunning portraits of the Amazon’s indigenous leaders and communities, dramatic landscapes, and sweeping aerial shots of waterfalls and stormy skies. Accompanied by an immersive forest soundscape with original compositions by French music icon Jean-Michel Jarre, Salgado’s breathtaking black-and-white photographs draw viewers into the planet’s largest rainforest and its hidden worlds. Enhance the visit with the 7-story IMAX movie Amazon Adventure 3D. 700 Exposition Park Dr., Expo Park; On view October 21 – February 20; free; californiasciencecenter.org,
Dance in the Districts (Courtesy of DCA)
Dance in the Districts Film Premiere at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center. The DCA commissioned 22 dancers and choreographers who reside or work in Council Districts 2, 3, 8, and 10 to each create and film 1 to 3-minute original, site-specific performances for Dance in the Districts, in a pilot program in partnership with the Los Angeles Dance Workers Coalition (LADWC). Tonight, 11 artists from CDs 8 and 10 will showcase their films and participate in a discussion about their processes. 4305 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park; Friday, October 21, 7pm; free; eventbrite.com.
Nathan Sawaya: Hugman at HALO (Grand Ave)
Saturday, October 22
Grand Ave Arts: All Access. A choose-your-own-adventure day along downtown’s skyscraper- and museum-lined Upper Grand corridor, from roughly 5th St. to Temple. Institutions and venues from MOCA to Music Center, the Broad to LA Opera, Colburn School to Central Library, REDCAT, Disney Hall and more are all open to the public, and plenty is happening in the numerous outdoor plazas and parks as well, like theater and music performances, creative wares, food vendors, singing, conducting, and “instrument petting zoo,” literary events, and a wide variety of art-making workshops, Dia de los Muertos season in Grand Park, Lego sculptures at Halo, an AR series along the route, and much more. Downtown; Saturday, October 22, 11am-4pm; free; grandavearts.org.
Victor Estrada at Art Center
Victor Estrada: Purple Mexican at Art Center. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Victor Estrada has produced paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations that deftly navigate the realms of pop and conceptual art. A consummate Angeleno, his work is informed by the unique cultural landscape of the sprawling metropolis and the Southwest. This survey presents a selection of more than 40 intimately scaled drawings from the artist’s oeuvre, plus a selection of large paintings created during the past decade, and a major recent sculpture. 1111 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena; Artist walkthrough: Saturday, October 22, 4pm; On view through February 26; free; artcenter.edu.
Ted Soqui: City Hall Lit Up Dodger Blue for Vin Scully, August 3, 2022
Projecting L.A. (Outdoor). The first public photography installation of its kind in the city, Projecting L.A. gathers the work of 35 street, documentary and news photographers like legends Estevan Oriol and Ted Soqui, Los Angeles Center of Photography founder Julia Dean, and Emmy Award winner Daniel Sackheim in a one-night public art event. Their images will be projected onto a four-story building, and include stories from hospitals during the height of the pandemic to the Black Lives Matter movement, California wildfires, and more formative events in the life of the city. 713 N. Hill St., Chinatown; Saturday, October 22, 6-10pm; free; downtownla.com.
Kilo Kish: American Gurl, 2022. Installation view on Sunset Blvd (Photo by Zehra Ahmed)
Womxn In Windows Screening and Panel at Storyhouse Foundation. Time Square Arts’ signature “midnight moment” program has been featuring American Gurl by Kilo Kish synchronized on over 90 electronic billboards throughout Times Square in a month-long presentation; the same program runs in L.A. on digital billboards along Sunset Blvd. Tonight’s evening of screenings, music and conversation features works by Kish, along with Kitty Cash, Sarah Nicole Francois, Kasey Elise Walker, Leila Jarman, Christine Yuan and Ayanna Dozier. After the screening a panel of female directors explores concepts of womanhood, pop culture, consumerism and the American Dream. 245 N. Vermont Ave., E. Hollywood; Saturday, October 22, 6-10pm; free; instagram.com/womxninwindows.
April Banks: Future Ancient, 2022 in Adornment | Artifact (transformative arts)
Adornment | Artifact at Band of Vices. A multi-venue art experience that celebrates ancient Nubia through contemporary art, events, and conversations, Adornment | Artifact investigates how contemporary artworks made in L.A. engage and express the traditions, objects and materials that shaped the cultures of the Nile River Valley. Curated by jill moniz, involving some 70 artists, and with events and exhibitions unfurling through April 2023 at sites from Baldwin Hills to the Getty Villa, Downtown, Chinatown, and West Adams, Adornment | Artifact revisits the power of art, and recognizes that Los Angeles reflects Nubia as a site of prolific, global cultural production in our diverse and ever-changing landscape. 5351 W. Adams Blvd., West Adams; Reception: Saturday, October 22, 6-9pm; On view through November 15; free; bandofvices.com.
Brent Estabrook at LBMA
Sunday, October 23
Brent Estabrook: Creature Comforts at Long Beach Museum of Art. Creature Comforts by Brent Estabrook will be the inaugural solo museum exhibition of the Los Angeles-based artist. Best known for his large-scale oil paintings of stuffed animals, Estabrook approaches his work with a delightful playfulness while maintaining a sedulous painterly technique. His portraits welcome a sense of endearment and comfort, being familiar faces in an often unfamiliar world. 2300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; On view October 23 – February 12; $12; lbma.org.
Justin Kaneps & Cecelia Aldarondo in Pop-Up Magazine: Love Stories
Monday, October 24
Pop-Up Magazine: Love Stories at the Theater at the Ace Hotel. An acclaimed live show and multimedia storytelling spectacle performed onstage at historic venues across North America, Pop-Up Magazine features original and unforgettable true stories, art, music, and performance from the world’s great and emerging storytellers and journalists, accompanied by illustration, animation, film, photography, and an original score. Love Stories will explore powerful, hilarious, and moving stories about love in different forms — marriage, friendship, self-love, redemption, longing — from first loves and blind dates, heartbreak and missed connections, life-long companionship and chosen family. 929 S. Broadway, downtown; Monday, October 24, 7:30pm; $39-$59; popupmagazine.com.
Amy Sherald: Pilgrimage of the Chameleon, 2016, at Phillips
Tuesday, October 25
Phillips Los Angeles Inaugural Opening. Phillips celebrates the anticipated opening of its new Los Angeles outpost with an auction preview exhibition featuring works from the upcoming sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Watches, and Design. Works by marquee artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Amy Sherald, Julie Mehretu, plus Ernie Barnes works from the collection of Richard Roundtree, will show alongside timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, plus design by Claude Lalanne. 9041 Nemo St., West Hollywood; Opening reception: Tuesday, October 25; On view through October 27 only; free; phillips.com.
Veuve Clicquot: Solaire Culture
Wednesday, October 26
Solaire Culture at Veuve Clicquot. The first global traveling exhibition from Veuve Clicquot celebrates 250 years of the iconic champagne house through a modern journey exploring its heritage, savoir-faire and cultural imprint from 1772 to the present day. Conceived in collaboration with French curator Camille Morineau and designer Constance Guisset, the exhibition celebrates creativity, optimism, and boldness, arriving in the present day with striking contemporary artworks specially commissioned for the experience from 10 bold and renowned female artists — including Yayoi Kusama and Tacita Dean. 468 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills; On view October 26 – November 17; free; solaireculture.veuveclicquot.com.
Grand Ave Arts: All Access
Renderings of the interior of Phillips Los Angeles (Courtesy of Formation Association)
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