Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) presents Ray Turner: Population, a solo exhibition of nearly 300 luminous portraits by American artist Ray Turner, opening Thursday, June 16, 2011. The series invites viewers to contemplate identity – individually as well as collectively. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 16^th from 6:00 to 9:00pm.  The exhibition will continue through Sunday, September 11, 2011. Curated by Art Critic Peter Frank and LBMA Executive Director Ron Nelson, the exhibit will also include a selection of photographic interpretations, works on paper, and three-dimensional pieces by Turner. Population will travel to museums across the country and internationally well into 2013 and continue to grow as Turner adds new portraits to the project from each community exhibiting the work.

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"Flock" by Michael Arata

Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Arataland! A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by art critic Doug Harvey, opening Saturday, March 26, 2011. Arataland! will be the first museum-scale retrospective devoted exclusively to the work of this important Los Angeles artist, and the first monographic exhibit hosted by the Beacon Arts Building during its inaugural Critics-as-Curators series.  Drawing on three decades of sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, installation and performance work, Arataland! will transform the Beacon Arts Building into a theme park exploring the complex and idiosyncratic vision – darkly humorous, playfully erotic, conceptually quirky, and often confrontational – that animates Arata’s oeuvre. The exhibit will run for eight weeks closing on Sunday, May 22, 2011 with a Critics-as-Curators panel discussion from 1:00 to 4:00pm.
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"Mine Eternal" by Laura Krifka

Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Pieceable Kingdom curated by art critic David Pagel, opening Saturday, February 5, 2011. The exhibition features works in a range of media by seven artists – Erin Cosgrove, Asad Faulwell, Maxwell Hendler, Laura Krifka, Mimi Lauter, Devin Troy Strother, and Matt Wedel –  who capture the complexity of everyday life by giving form to its down-to-earth beauty and uplifting ordinariness, its tribulations and triumphs, its pleasures and pains. As a group, they piece things together, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively, creating singular pieces that are complete unto themselves yet also openly invite all sorts of stories, from other times and places, to echo across their sensuous surfaces. Pieceable Kingdom runs until Sunday, March 20, 2011.  Exhibition special events include an opening reception on Saturday February 5, 6:00 – 9:00pm, an artists’ panel discussion on Sunday, March 6, which starts at 2:00pm, and a closing reception on Sunday, March 20, which will include a catered brunch and a critics’ panel discussion. Read the rest of this entry »

Breakdance Project Uganda reaches youth in the slums of Kisenyi, Uganda (photo credit: Nabil Elderkin)

Award-winning film Bouncing Cats, the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through hip hop, is on the festival circuit making its way around North America along with limited sneak peek screenings and benefit events.  Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn region that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.*  The film, by director Nabil Elderkin, recently won “Best Documentary Feature Film” at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking” at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and “Audience Favorite Award” at Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.

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Award-winning film Bouncing Cats is the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through the unlikely tools of hip hop and breakdance. Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn country that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.  Poverty, disease, and a brutal, mindless war in the region have divided families, displaced millions and led to the abduction and mutilation of tens of thousands of children resulting in the deterioration of identity and culture. Read the rest of this entry »

ARC Pasadena hosts Colin Connor: Draftwork, new choreographic explorations created by award-winning choreographer Colin Connor on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Connor’s work, which he has presented across the Americas and Europe, is acclaimed for its rich musicality and physical excitement.  This is a unique Los Angeles area opportunity to see the beginnings of new work by Connor in collaboration with four glorious dancers: Katie Diamond, Robin Wilson, Cameron Evans, and Andrew Wojtal. The showing is the culmination of a two-week intensive experimental creative period in the studio, generously provided by ARC Pasadena. The single performance will be held Sunday evening from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in ARC’s gorgeous new dance space.  The performance is free.  Space is limited – guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a seat.  Light refreshments will follow the showing.

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Photo credit: Johanna Shapiro

Town & Country (T&C), the brainchild of singer/frontman Rob Shapiro and songwriter/producer Brian Woodbury, challenges the idea that country music must adhere to a particular ideology.

The first single on their upcoming self-titled collection takes on the subject of marriage, including gay marriage.  “Everybody Wants to Say I Do,” which Shapiro and Woodbury wrote together, addresses the hot-button topic not as agit-prop but in the country story-telling tradition, appealing to the universality of “I will love you for the rest of my life.” To hear this, and a few more songs from their forthcoming album please visit www.townandcountryband.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Nonlife Zoo Photo Courtesy Royal/T

Angelenos are invited to dress like their favorite zoo animals and explore their wild sides at Royal/T‘s A Night in the Jungle on Friday, August 6, 2010 from 8:00pm to 1:00am in celebration of The Nonlife Zoo‘s pop-up space residency – an imaginary visual of animal existence on earth. A Night in the Jungle will feature international music maestro DJ Daedelus spinning in the back space as partygoers dance the night away and enjoy Royal/T’s signature soju cocktails, beer, wine, and new vegetarian tapas. If any guest needs a break from dancing, owner Susan Hancock will provide animal card energy readings and rides throughout the space will be available courtesy of artist Kenny Scharf‘s Cartz Royale. The Nonlife Zoo residency, presented by Royal/T in conjunction with MollaSpace, raises awareness and funds for animal preservation.

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"War Machine" photo credit: Michael Tullberg

After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others.

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