18th Street Arts Center

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By cnelson, October 7, 2011 10:10 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

CONTACT: crystal am nelson or Amber Jones

PHONE: 310-453-3711 103 or 108

CONTACT EMAIL: cnelson@18thstreet.org & ajones@18thstreet.org

WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG

CHARGE: Free

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

CALENDAR / ART

EZTV, in association with 18th Street Arts Center, presents HACKING THE TIMELINE v2.0

The Act of Remembering Is the Ultimate Act of Creation

Images L to R: Study for sculptural logo for EZTV. Artist: James Williams, c. 1982, cardboard and ink on foamboard; Video still from The Case of the Missing Consciousness by John Dorr, VHS, 90 min, c. 1980. Pictured: John Dorr. Both images from the collection of EZTV, provided courtesy of the collective.

Santa Monica, CA–(October 10, 2011) 18^th Street Arts Center is pleased to announce Hacking the Timeline, an upcoming series of happenings hosted by its long-term Resident Organization, EZTV. In conjunction with the landmark Pacific Standard Time exhibition Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artists Space Movement, artist-run production company EZTV will host a five-week series of video screenings, live music, performances and artist talks in honor of its 32-year history as one of the world’s first video theaters, computer art galleries and independent media centers.

Organized by EZTV co-founder and Director Michael J. Masucci, this series includes a high-profile roster of seminal artists who broke boundaries and created new forms in media art. From rarely seen psychedelic video works by Dr. Timothy Leary to early computer art by members of LA-SIGGRAPH, from early desktop video by EZTV co-founder John Dorr to the surrealist works by multidisciplinary group Vertical Blanking, these evenings will peel back LA’s cultural fabric to reveal key voices that have been excluded from the canon of media art history. Guest speakers and performers include Barbara T. Smith, Lowell Darling, The Dark Bob, Susanna Bixby Dakin, Strawn Bovee, Michael Kearns, Kate Johnson, Dr. Ken Luey, Kate Crash, Michael Wright, David Ehrenstein and Irene Rosen.

Events are at the 18th Street Arts Center campus in building 1629 (1629 18th Street, Santa Monica), every Wednesday at 8 pm, from October 26 to November 30. All events are free, with limited seating, reservations strongly recommended. RSVP to eztv@eztvmedia.com

Video clips and trailers can be found on our YouTube channel!

Highlights of this series are:

ART AS ARCHEOLOGY–Wed, Oct 26, 2011, 8pm

CORE, a multimedia performance by KATE JOHNSON with S. PEARLE SHARP and KEN LUEY, PhD

Core, a new performance and media work by Kate Johnson, combines music, animation, video and spoken word to tell the story of memory, haunted tongues and disappearing histories, personal and cultural.

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LA WOMAN, AN INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY PROJECT by ROCK ‘N ROLL ARTIST KATE CRASH

LA Woman is musician/performance artist Kate Crash’s interactive documentary of a multigenerational group of female leaders in LA’s cultural scene. The projects features interviews with over 20 artists, gallerists, and art administrators, including psot-modern choreographer/dancer Simone Forti, performance artist Barbara T. Smith, artist and publisher Susanna Bixby Dakin, filmmaker/actor/poet S. Pearle Sharp, conceptual artist and legal mediator Dorit Cypris, and artist and social entrepreneur Valerie Velazquez, among others. See trailer.

AN ARTIST FOR PRESIDENT–Wed, Nov 2, 2011, 8 pm

 AN ARTIST FOR PRESIDENT BOOK LAUNCH PARTY and SIGNING with 18^TH STREET CO-FOUNDER SUSANNA BIXBY DAKIN and
SPECIAL GUESTS BARBARA T. SMITH and THE DARK BOB

 In 1984 Regan was running for his second-term while pursuing what would become a relentless, multi-decades long retreat from democratic ideals. Susanna Dakin, sculptor, performance artist and High Performance Magazine publisher, had an outlandish notion: she declared with the Federal Elections Commission as an Artist/Candidate for President of the United States. Dakin’s debut book, An Artist for President, tells the story of her campaign and the surprising ideas people held about women, artists and the political process. See short film about campaign.

THE DAWN OF DESKTOP–Wed, Nov 9, 2011, 8 pm

ACTOR STRAWN BOVEE DISCUSS THE FIRST KNOWN NARRATIVE GARAGE-VIDEO FEATURE PRODUCED BY EZTV FOUNDER JOHN DORR

 In 1979 EZTV’s founder John Dorr used an analog B&W bank surveillance camera to shoot the first known narrative garage-video feature. In 1982 he and a core group of artists opened the EZTV Video Gallery, LA’s first video production and exhibition space. For the opening they screened the feature, which was about Dorothy Parker and her bi-sexual husband Alan Campbell. Host and actor Strawn Bovee, who played Parker, will reflect upon Dorr’s process, the creative foment of the period and EZTV’s unique position in the Los Angeles art scene. Bovee will share short video clips from the video.

DREAM ARTIST: THE RISE OF WEHO THEATER–Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 8 pm

HOLLYWOOD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY ACTOR MICHAEL KEARNS DISCUSSES LA’S THEATER SCENE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE AIDS PANDEMIC

Writer/actor/director Michael Kearns, Hollywood’s first openly gay actor, will recount the state of affairs in LA’s late 70s–early 80s gay theater scene and his own highly influential career. He will share video excerpts of playwright James Carroll Pickett’s Dream Man, which Kearns originally starred in and has recently re-staged to critical acclaim in Ireland, Spain, Scotland and the US.

HISTORY IS THE ART OF FORGETTING–Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 8 pm

RARE SCREENINGS OF WORKS BY DR. TIMOTHY LEARY, VERTICAL BLANKING, TRANSHUMANISM AND LA DIGILANTES

Hosted by EZTV Director Michael Masucci with special guest Michael Wright, the final night in the series takes a look back at EZTV’s CyberSpace Gallery, one of the world’s first galleries dedicated to computer art. CyberSpace co-founder Masucci and LA Digilantes co-founder Wright will discuss the artists and events that surrounded the creation of the gallery. The evening also features the debut of a new video art piece by Esther Kiss as well as the rarely seen Outside Looking In–One Last Visit with Timothy. Produced by Masuci, Natasha Nita-More and members of EZTV, Outside Looking In is among the very last video interviews with Dr. Timothy Leary taped shortly before his death in 1996.

For more information on Hacking the Timeline v2.0 and the artists involved, visit: www.18thstreet.org.

ABOUT EZTV

In 1979 John Dorr, in collaboration with a group of artists formed EZTV as the first video theater in the US. Originally housed in the West Hollywood Community Center, EZTV exhibited experimental videos in an intimate setting, with chairs clustered around large television monitors; the pioneering collective opened its own space in 1982. By moving video—at that time a new technology that was cheaper and viewed as more populist than film—outside an institutional museum setting, EZTV emphasized the radical, democratic aspects of small-screen technologies. Since its inception, it has promoted not just alternative media, but also queer aesthetics and politics. Throughout the 1980s, ACT UP and Queer Nation held meetings at EZTV.

Eventually evolving from a microcinema to a community-based editing facility, EZTV was home to production facilities where artists created everything from feature-length narratives to short abstract works and computer art; EZTV established one of the world’s first galleries dedicated to computer art. Currently run by co-founder artist Michael Masucci and current president Kate Johnson, who came on board in 1993, EZTV is a major site of the digital desktop revolution and continues to promote methods of video distribution beyond commercial networks.

ABOUT 18^th STREET ARTS CENTER

18th Street Arts Center, an award-winning organization located in the heart of Santa Monica’s art district, values art making as an essential component of a vibrant, just, and healthy society. Its mission is “to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art making,” with a focus on supporting creative projects by California artists. 18th Street is best known for its internationally renowned residency programs, which have brought artists from over 24 countries to Santa Monica. Through its residencies, 18^th Street helps not only to build and strengthen the creative community of the City of Santa Monica but also of the State of California. More information about 18^th Street’s programs can be found at www.18thstreet.org.

Gallery hours are M–F, 11 am-6 pm. 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street in Santa Monica.

18th Street Arts Center programs are generously funded by the City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Arts Commission, California Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Getty Foundation.

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By cnelson, September 8, 2011 4:54 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

CONTACT: crystal am nelson or Amber Jones

PHONE: 310-453-3711 103 or 108

CONTACT EMAIL: cnelson@18thstreet.org & ajones@18thstreet.org

WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG

CHARGE: Free

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

CALENDAR / ART

ArtNight: Pacific Standard Time: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 6–10 pm

ArtNight VIP Reception: Saturday, September 24, 5:30 pm

Cover art for Collaboration Labs catalogue, designed by Jessica Fleischmann/still room. Original art by featured exhibition artist, Barbara T. Smith. Original artwork courtesy of the artist.

Santa Monica, CA—

Ms. Jan Williamson, Executive Director of 18th Street Arts Center released this letter to the Friends of 18th Street.

Dear Friends,

18th Street is proud to present Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement, a groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by Alex Donis and featuring the work of five seminal artists and artist networks: Electronic Café International, EZTV, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus, Rachel Rosenthal and Barbara T. Smith. This offering to the Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA, 1945–1980 story is inspired by the historical threads that led to the founding of 18th Street Art Center—a beehive of artmaking that is and always has been a place for a disarray of provocative artists to call home.

Three years ago, 18th Street embarked on a strategic plan to realign our renowned exhibition and residency programs so that they both reflected our commitment to supporting the many emerging, underrepresented and established artists we admire who provoke public dialog. Having reached our initial goals for the exhibition and residency programs, as we began a new plan, our Artistic Director Clayton Campbell of 16 years resigned in January to pursue new opportunities, followed more recently by Program Coordinator Ronald Lopez accepting an exciting job leading an emerging arts organization. We are proud of their years of service to 18th Street and wish them the best in their new endeavors. With the guidance of 18th Street’s Board of Directors we considered these major changes in staff as an opportunity for 18th Street to identify new priorities for the next three years. Our new plan focuses on four crucial areas: appreciating artists through an enhanced arts laboratory environment, inspiring and provoking the public to engage with contemporary art as an agent of social transformation, enhancing 18th Street’s outreach efforts in order to better serve the arts and culture community in Los Angeles and beyond, and creating a thriving and sustainable organization with the capacity not only to meet its current goals but also to put 18th Street at the leading edge of arts presenting. As a first step, we created two new positions, an Outreach Director and a Director of Residency Programs. We have appointed as Outreach Director crystal am nelson, who comes to 18th Street from Yerba Buena Center for the Arts where she served as the graphic designer and as an innovation champion. Our search for a Director of Residency Programs is coming to a close, and we expect to have the position filled by the end of the year.

We are excited to mark the beginning of this new phase with our participation in Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA, 1945–1980, an unprecedented collaboration initiated by the Getty that brings together more than 60 cultural institutions from across Southern California. Our opening reception of Collaboration Labs is the perfect opportunity to honor all the past artists, staff and board members who have given so generously of themselves to make 18th Street the thriving arts center that it is today.

We open Collaboration Labs on Saturday, September 24, 6–10 pm with a special VIP preview event followed by an incredible party featuring live Indonesian-inspired music, complimentary beverages courtesy of PAMA Liqueur and IZZE Sparkling Juice, an unique artists market and, of course, the incomparable artists who were instrumental in not only making this landmark exhibition possible but also in making 18th Street a landmark in itself.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jan Williamson

For more information on Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement and the artists involved, visit: www.18thstreet.org

Gallery hours are M–F, 11 am-6 pm. 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street in Santa Monica.

18th Street Arts Center programs are generously funded by the City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Arts Commission, California Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Getty Foundation.

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By rlopez, July 5, 2011 9:36 am

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

CONTACT: crystal nelson or Amber Jones

PHONE: 310-453-3711 ext. 103 or 108

CONTACT EMAIL: ajones@18thstreet.org

WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG

CHARGE: Free

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

CALENDAR / ART

Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement

Opening Reception: September 24, 2011, 6-10 pm

Barbara T. Smith, Field Piece – Nude Sit In, performance/installation, 1971, (courtesy of the artist and The Box Gallery, L.A.)

Santa Monica, CA-On September 24, 2011 6-10pm, 18th Street Arts Center presents the opening of its contribution to the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980 initiative, Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement. This groundbreaking exhibition, curated by Alex Donis, features the works of five seminal artists and artist groups: Rachel Rosenthal, Barbara T. Smith, Suzanne Lacy/Leslie Labowitz-Starus, Electronic Café International and EZTV; all who have been central to the alternative artist space movement in Southern California since the early 1970’s.

This exhibition uses these five artists/artist groups’ as case studies to trace how their collaborative practices and alternative cultural infrastructures functioned like laboratories for testing the political possibilities of experimental artist-run spaces. These artist practices and the spaces that hosted and fostered them were intimately related to the politics of the time (i.e. gay liberation, civil rights, freedom of information and feminism). Collaboration Labs demonstrates that much of the Los Angeles time-based work in the 1970’s grew out of and fed into California artist space movement, which increasingly shaped the landscape of post-war LA art. Through video, performance, archival materials, documentation and original works, this exhibition examines how the thinking that artists brought to the creation of their work in the 70’s mirrors the kind of thinking that incited the development of artist spaces.

From the seminal performance work by Rachel Rosenthal, the early queer video work of EZTV, boundary breaking art installations by Barbara T. Smith, the pioneering media explorations by Electronic Café International, to the feminist media interventions of Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus, these five influential and often overlooked artists and collaborative arts groups were fundamental to charting the course for the artist space movement and its vision of egalitarian artistic production and reception.

The exhibit will be accompanied by a limited edition catalog designed by Jessica Fleischman/ Still Room and includes essays by cutting-edge visual and performance artist Alex Donis, historian Julia Bryan Wilson, Linda Burnham (former Editor of High Performance Magazine), Dorit Cypis (former Director of Foundation for Arts Resources), and Clayton Campbell (former Artistic Director o18th Street Arts Center). The exhibition is designed by Sebastian Clough, Director of Exhibitions at the Fowler Museum of Art.

Event Information:

Saturday, Sept. 24:     6:00-10 PM

Opening Reception: live music by Bali & Beyond, open studios, food trucks and complimentary drinks

Tuesday, Sept. 27:      3:30-6:00 PM

Opening Press Conference & Museum Press Previews
Westside Museum Loop including Santa Monica Museum of Art, 18th Street Arts Center, Otis College of Art & Design

Saturday, October 1    12:00 Noon-4:00 PM

Westside Museum Loop including Santa Monica Museum of Art, 18th Street Arts Center, Otis College of Art & Design

Friday – Saturday      2:00 PM-6:00 PM

October 21 & 22         Westside Regional Weekend including: bike, shuttle tours and artist talks- Partnering Organizations Include: 18th Street Arts Center, Eames House, J. Paul Getty Museum, Otis College of Art and Design, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Sam Francis Gallery, Crossroads School, Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau

Wednesdays                 8:00 PM

Oct 26-Nov 30            EZTV’s “Hacking the Timeline v2.0”: An event driven series of five distinctly different evening programs ranging from Queer Culture to Digital Art to Neo-Riot Girl

For more information on Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement and the artists involved, visit: www.18thstreet.org

Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 11am-6pm. 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica.

Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, coming together to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time will take place for six months beginning October 2011. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

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By ngordillo, June 8, 2011 3:10 pm

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
CONTACT: Nicole Gordillo
PHONE: 310-453-3711 ext. 106
CONTACT EMAIL: ngordillo@18thstreet.org
WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG
CHARGE: $35
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes
CALENDAR / ART

Beer Art & Music Festival hits Santa Monica for a Good Cause!

Santa Monica, CA- On Sunday, October 9, 2011 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., 18th Street Arts Center, is bringing its renowned BAM Fest (Beer, Art and Music Festival) to the Westside of L.A. Held in the heart of Santa Monica, BAM Fest is a celebration of locally produced art, music and the finest craft beers around. With 20-plus breweries, 4 bands, 3 galleries, open artist studios, an artist marketplace, gourmet organic food provided by the Green Truck, bold and flavorful authentic Mexican dishes by the Border Grill Truck and sublime banh mi and Vietnamese tacos from the Nom Nom Truck, BAM Fest 2011 is poised to draw a fun crowd in its second year as Santa Monica’s ‘hoppiest’ annual event.

As the only Craft Beer Festival in Santa Monica, this year’s attendance is anticipated at close to 1,300. And the event is a steal, with tickets priced at just $35. A ticket provides you 5 hours of live music, exploration of artist studios and galleries, a live artist market with art for purchase, and unlimited tastings of some of the greatest beers around. And since all proceeds from the event directly support 18th Street Arts Center’s programs and artists, attendees can feel good about contributing to a great cause. Following 2010’s BAM Fest, Santa Monica Daily Press’ Editor in Chief, Kevin Herrera declared, “18th Street Arts Center’s first annual BAM Festival was a blast. The beer selection was excellent, with many quality SoCal microbrewers represented, and the art was appealing and the music entertaining. There’s nothing like getting tipsy for charity!”

This year 18th Street is teaming up with LA craft beer industry veterans Thomas Kelly (Library Alehouse) and Martin Svab (Naja’s Place) to help facilitate the beer side of the festival. Participating craft breweries range from big to small, including the popular and larger New Belgium and Stone Brewing to the smaller but equally great Ladyface, Bootlegger’s and Strand Brewing. From cool-fermented lagers to warm-fermented ales, the craft beer offerings at 18th Street’s Beer, Art and Music Festival offer a range of styles for tasting enjoyment. For the beer connoisseur, this year BAM Fest is showcasing unique Belgian-style beers on tap, including Duvel-Moortgat, Brasserie d’Achouffe and Ommegang. Duvel Marketing Manager, Stuart Knight says, “Last year’s event was one of the very best beer festivals I attended, with an impressive list of great breweries and beers. I am really looking forward to this year’s event.” Just as any artist painstakingly toils over each detail of a masterpiece, today’s craft brewer goes to great lengths to produce unique, award-winning works of art. With the marriage of beer, art and music, BAM Fest has brewed a one-of-a-kind fundraising event.

The music lined up for BAM Fest is just as diverse as the beer samples. From the blazing Blues infused sound of JT Ross and his rock-and-roll band Speedway, to the hard-driving funk and soulful ballads of The Orlando Napier Band, the featured music at 18th Street’s festival is sure to make attendees groove. The Santa Monica-based group Upstart is rooted in soul and R&B traditions, but maintains a restless sense of discovery playing catchy, well-crafted songs while The Dustbowl Revival mix a spicy roots cocktail with their dance-inducing live sets that merge old school bluegrass, swamp-gospel, jug-band, jump blues and the hot swing of the 1930’s.

BAM Fest attendees also get the special opportunity to explore 18th Street’s contribution to the Getty’s initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980, which brings more than 60 cultural institutions together for the first time to celebrate the birth of L.A.’s art scene. 18th Street’s exhibition entitled Collaboration Labs: Southern California Artists and the Artist Space Movement investigates five artists and artists groups that have been central to the alternative artist’s space movement in Southern California since the early 1970s. These makers and collectives – Rachel Rosenthal, Barbara T. Smith, Suzanne Lacy/Leslie Labowitz-Starus, Kit Galloway/Sherrie Rabinowitz, and EZTV – have all been involved in collaboration within their own work, as well as with the founding of key artist-run spaces in the Los Angeles region. Video, photography, documentation, performance and installations demonstrate how diverse art practices were in dialogue with and influential to many of the social and political movements of the last few decades. In addition, artworks are available for purchase at an artist marketplace organized by past 18th Street Artist Fellow, Anna Guajardo and the resident artists who live, work and create daily at 18th Street open their studios for attendees to experience works in progress.

Tickets are on sale at: http://18thstreet.org/even​ts/bam-fest-2011 and in person at the Library Alehouse, 2911 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA. 90405. For more information about BAM Fest 2011 and 18th Street Arts Center visit http://www.18thstreet.org.                                               #END#

18th Street Arts Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art making. 18th Street is a community which values art making as an essential component of a vibrant, just and healthy society.

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By rlopez, May 27, 2011 4:46 pm

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

CONTACT: Ronald Lopez or Amber Jones

PHONE: 310-453-3711 103 or 108

CONTACT EMAIL: rlopez@18thstreet.org & ajones@18thstreet.org

WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG

CHARGE: Free

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

CALENDAR / EVENT

A Yarn Bombing, Tijuana’s Los Roor, Fiery Poetry Slam Battle and a Novel Art Bazaar -18th Street Arts Center Kicks-off its HOT Summer ArtNight!

Saturday, June 18, 2011 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm

1639 18th Street, off of Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA- On Saturday, June 18th, from 6 pm to 10 pm, 18th Street Arts Center throws its highly-anticipated Summer ArtNight featuring the opening receptions for Jerri Allyn’s and Inez S. Bush’s Debating Through the Arts: Exhibition & Performance 3 project and York Chang’s second life project; accompanied by a guest performance from the Tijuana-based visual/audio arts collective, Los Roor, on 18th Street’s outdoor stage. This group is guaranteed to deliver an electrifying show, with a charismatic fusion of noise, light, sound, music and video never seen before at any other ArtNight.

Upon arrival to this exceptional ArtNight, visitors will witness charmingly, colorful yarn and crochet installations sprinkled throughout the entire center as manifestations of Artist-in-residence, Arzu Kosar’s Yarn Bombing project. ArtNight also features open artist-studios by local and international contemporary artists, provocative art installations, and 18th Street’s Artist Marketplace, which features an array of handmade, dazzling jewelry and clothing by a group of talented local artists. Highways Performance Space host their infamous Poetry Slam Night, showcasing the politically impelled, fiercely lyrical, quick-witted poetic lines of L.A.’s best Spoken Word Artists. Willoughby’s serves up a mouth-watering selection of savory-flavored, tenderly smoked, racks of finger-licking good BBQ. Complimentary beverages provided by Izze Sparkling Juice, Pama Pomegranate Liqueur, Hpnotiq Liqueur, and LunAzul Tequila.

Outdoor Area: Los Roor 7-8:30 pm

For the first time ever in Los Angeles, Los Roor brings their dynamic visual and sound art to 18th Street’s outdoor stage for ArtNight. Inspired by the sounds of outside noise, sound, dance floor and electronica music, blended with the visual sensation of massive video projections, Los Roor combines these forces to produce an almost climatic, energetic show that will surely captivate spectators. For this particular performance, Los Roor is inviting the audience to observe first-hand in their process of creating their show and experiment with their sound and visual equipment systems that impels their performance art.

Art Openings:

18th Street Gallery

Artists Jerri Allyn and Inez S. Bush bring their traveling Debating Through the Arts: Exhibition and Performance 3 project to the 18th Street Gallery to continue the dialogue around pressing issues in the United States first started in Debates 1 and 2. By using the Model United Nations paradigm, Jerri and Inez will present a series of events that will serve as a platform for their collaborating artists and the public to openly explore ideas and come up with creative perspectives and solutions to address various political and global affairs.

Project Room

York Chang’s second life explores the history of the Artist Actualization Services, a short-lived and obscure performance art group active in Los Angeles from 1979-1980. Through the pages of the seminal performance art magazine High Performance, the Artist Actualization Services created multiple undetected reports of their actions, successfully attributed to other artists. These fraudulent reports subvert notions of authorship, and ultimately call into question the entire project of art history. This exhibition presents this history with an installation of archival documents, photographs, video and a newly-published issue of High Performance.

Highways Performance Space

As part of its 8th Annual Poetry Fest, Highways Performance Space, Leo Garcia, Artistic Director, partners with 18th Street Arts Center for an evening where poets and performers match wits, smarts, timing and passion as they throw-down on issues of the day. Curated by Judy Holiday.

Saturday Night SLAMS

Youth Slam, Doors open at 5:30pm and Show starts at 6pm, The Kids ARE Alright with 1^st prize: $100, 2^nd prize: $75 and 3^rd prize: $50, Hosted by Mike Eagle and with a special guest performance by Zack Sekoff (youth rapper/musician to perform short 15 minute set at close of slam before scores announced)

Immediately following the Youth Slam will be Back To The Schoolyard. Doors open at 8pm and show starts at 8:30pm hosted by Shihan, with a mix up of Highways’ previous grand slam champions, past to current. The 1^st prize will be $400 (to be divided amongst winning team)

18th Street Artist Marketplace: Come witness a creative explosion of brilliantly colored, diversely made, handcrafted art pieces and family-friendly, jewelry-making art workshops reflecting a community of skilled Los Angeles-based artisans whose cultural influences and indigenous roots inform their artwork.

Open Studios:

The studios of 18th Street Artists in residence are open to the public. Participating artists include: Otis M.F.A. Public Practice, Karl Doerrer-Attaway, Dan Kwong, David McDonald, Highways Performance Space, EZTV, Ichiro Irie, Michael Barnard, Yvette Gellis, and International Artists Yen Ting Chung (Taiwan) and Joanna Pawlik (Poland).

For more information about ArtNight and the exhibition openings visit http://www.18thstreet.org. ArtNight is sponsored (in part) by the cultural funding initiatives of the City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Arts Commission, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the James Irvine Foundation, the California Community Foundation, The Getty Foundation and Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences.

18th Street Arts Center’s mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art making. 18th Street is a community which values art making as an essential component of a vibrant, just and healthy society.