Celebration Arts – Michelle Berne
Organization In Residence until December 2018
1653 18th Street #1, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Michelle Berne is a multi-disciplinary, multi-media artist who specializes in community celebration art. She has created processions, “people-powered’ parades, spectacles, and site-specific performances featured in events such as the Grand Opening of the Getty Center and the Mark Taper Center for Inner-City Arts in Los Angeles; the 26000 Anniversary of Marseille, France; the Los Angeles Music Center’s 30th anniversary celebration, Festival for Families; the Los Angeles International Festival of Masks, and the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics for the state of Montana. Michelle Berne’s work incorporates music and dance with monumentally-scaled fabric and papier mache sculpture, giant puppets, masks, costumes and body adornments to co-create colorful and imaginative community events.

Since 1977, when she founded the New York LoftDance Festivals, Ms. Berne has organized and directed events that bring together thousands of performers and tens of thousands of spectators. She has worked extensively with community organizations and through residencies, including Community Arts Resources (CARS) and the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica; numerous schools throughout California; the Asian Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX), and La Friche La Belle du Mai (France). She was also Artist & Communities resident for the state of Montana, a nationwide Millennium project under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts and the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation.