5 design things to do: Dec 5-11
This week: explore the rise and form of right wing media spaces; shop local crafts and give the Amazon delivery person a break; celebrate 20 years of the hauntingly beautiful photography collection "House Hunting" by Todd Hido; lend your voice to Promenade 3.0; and see what's emerging from the UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios at this fall's Graduate Open Studios event.
"1) An evening focused on Right Wing (Media) Spaces
The far-right is once again on the rise in the United States and Europe. How is this resurgence changing physical and digital locations? Philosopher and Thomas Mann Fellow Armen Avanessian will lead a multi-disciplinary conversation exploring the rise of right-wing ideology in the political landscape, and how it has reshaped our physical architecture and online spaces. Joining the discussion will be Jason Luger (UC Berkeley), Safiya Noble (UCLA) and Stephan Trüby (Institute for Principles of Modern Architecture, Stuttgart).
After his presentation, Armen Avanessian’s American guests will direct the conversation more locally: Noble will discuss right-wing space creation and infrastructure online, as well as the inherent prejudices, injustices and racism of algorithmic architecture. Luger will look at the American urban and regional fringe and the suburbanization of the right.
2) Holiday Craft Markets: West Coast Craft and Echo Park Craft Fair
Local and artisanal, the decade-old Echo Park Craft Fair and the newly minted West Coast Craft Los Angeles will both be in full swing this weekend. The events open with a preview party Friday night for the Echo Park Craft Fair. Sip cocktails, enjoy music and meet the artists, while supporting Inner City Arts, an oasis of learning, achievement, and creativity for young people on LA's Skid Row. Both fairs show Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 am. Perfect for holiday gifts shopping.
3) Todd Hido | House Hunting: Book Discussion and Signing
Photographer Todd Hido is best-known for this series of ethereal, gloomy pictures of houses. Here's how Nazraeli Press described the first printing of "House Hunting," announced in 2000:
“Todd Hido’s large color photographs of suburbia are lonely, forlorn, mysterious… and strangely comforting. Hido photographs the interior rooms of repossessed tract homes, and the outsides of similar houses at night whose habitation is suggested by the glow of a television set or unseen overhead bulb. Seldom does the similar evoke such melancholy. Yet rather than passing judgment on his anonymous subjects, Hido manages to turn the banal into something beautiful, imbuing his prints of interiors with soft pastels, and allowing the exteriors to glow in the cool evening air."
You can join the 20th anniversary celebration of "House Hunting" by Todd Hido with the artist and the release of a new remastered edition.
4) Public meet and greet with designers of Promenade 3.0
What's next for Third Street Promenade? With over 80 retail spaces - including movie theaters and restaurants - the three blocks of car-free shopping and entertainment is an important economic and cultural space for Santa Monica. Promenade 3.0 is the comprehensive public process spearheaded by Downtown Santa Monica Inc. and the City of Santa Monica to reinvest in Third Street Promenade. The planning committee is inviting the public to an Open House on Saturday, Dec 7, from 9 am - 2 pm to meet those who have been deeply involved in the project, or to stop by during the holiday season to view displays and read project documents.
You can view the City Council meeting here and review the City staff presentation to council here. You can also read about the pilot program by RCH Studios here, or listen to DnA's report about the changing promenade here.
5) UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios: Open Studios
The newly renovated and expanded UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Studios will open to the public for the first time for the semiannual Graduate Open Studios. During this community celebration the public is invited to meet the M.F.A. students, see their work in progress, and experience the new environment that Los Angeles-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee created for the education of emerging artists."— Karen Bruckner, Dec. 2, 2019
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the KCRW's Design and Architecture blog.
RSVP to the inaugural Open Studios event in the newly renovated Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios and read more about the project.
Stay engaged. Use #UCLAarts to stay connected.
