L.otsa A.rt
Since last October, the Los Angeles art community has been consumed by the unprecedented beast that is Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, a six-month collaboration among more than 60 museums with more than 1,300 featured artists.
And the momentum isn’t stopping for Los Angeles as the city prepares for its first biennial, Made in L.A. 2012. Opening in June, the event will be presented at the Hammer Museum, LAX Art, and the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Former guest curator Lauri Firstenberg (IAIR 08.2), who is now LAX Art director and chief curator, is among the team organizing the exhibition.
Made in L.A. 2012 features 60 artists from the Los Angeles area, including Artpace alum Mario Ybarra, Jr. (IAIR 09.3) and his Slanguage collective. Firstenberg recently said Slanguage’s LAX Art exhibition will be “three months of art programming, like family activities and children workshops, the sort of programming they do out of their studio in Wilmington.”
To sweeten the pot, the Hammer Museum announced Wednesday their new $100,000 Mohn Prize, which will go to a Made in L.A. 2012 exhibiting artist. Not only is the cash prize more than Britain’s esteemed Turner Prize, but the people who attend the exhibition will be selecting the winner among the five finalists chosen by a jury of experts.
In today’s NBA, L.A. Lakers fans aren’t walking with as much swag in their step, but maybe it’s because the Los Angeles art world is stealing all of their thunder.
Ryan Sachetta
Ryan Sachetta is Artpace's Grant Writer. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 with a degree in Journalism. Ryan enjoys YouTubing videos of a more svelte Shawn Kemp, eating Honeycrisp apples, and puns.