A Day in LA: Washington Boulevard Art Concert

A Day in LA: Washington Boulevard Art Concert will take place Sunday, October 11, 2009 from noon until about six pm. Most artists will be set up along the marathon-length street in an east-to-west fashion, meaning that if you get there early, performances, installations, and happenings will be taking place on the east end, with the general creative mayhem following the sun. Detailed information on who is where is at the washblvd.tk website.

I'll be anchoring the east end in Whittier from noon until 2pm, and fellow CalArtian John Burtle will be Washington Boulevard's other bookend, getting sand in his shoes. I'll be handing out "Star Maps" that point out different historic sites along the way. A Google Map version of historical sites of Washington Boulevard is at this link. Below is the event's press release:

“A Day in L.A.” shows work from over sixty Los Angeles artists in unused public outdoor spaces along the entire length of Washington Boulevard’s 27 miles, from Whittier to Venice Beach. For one day artists will perform works, create installations, facilitate happenings, and make music in unexpected spaces, such as on the sidewalk, between dumpsters, along railroad tracks, as well as inside the audience’s cars as they traverse one of LA’s most iconic boulevards. An official map of the day’s events along with schedules and other downloadable information will be available to the public on the event website (www.washblvd.tk).

Works range from performances and installations to writings and discussions. The audience can choose how long they want to spend at each spot, skip spots or drive at different speeds between destinations as they traverse Wash. Blvd from Whittier to Venice Beach, culminating in an end performance at Venice Pier. Audience members are additionally invited to car pool with some artists between spots and to switch car pools at their leisure.

Building on the success of his last curatorial endeavor, The San Fernando Road Concert in 2008, Curator Stephen van Dyck seeks to investigate the possibilities of Washington Blvd as a site for artistic exploration. Washington Blvd is LA’s longest east-west street and one of the longest municipal streets in the world. This event will highlight this space as a way to view how the Los Angeles metropolis grew, and the massive in-between and negative spaces it left behind as it expanded. Additionally, this day will examine the Blvd as a cross-section of the city's diversity of landscapes and people. This exhibition/event/experiment asks, “How can we generate a new kind of LA experience, bringing meaning and attention to a collection of less obvious destinations?”

Participating artists include musicians, artists, writers, non-artists and residents of Washington Blvd's many neighborhoods: Danielle Adair, Karen Atkinson, Lara Bank, Ama Birch, Cindy Bravo, Bernard Brunon, Michael Buitron, John Burtle, Audrey Chan, Caroline Chang, Carolyn Chen, Andrew Clinco, Samantha Cohen, John D'Amico, Ken Ehrlich, Daiana Feuer, Flint, Robert Frashure, Nancy Ganacheau, Cary Georges, Mary Beth Heffernan, D Jean Hester, Julia Holter and the Open Academy Youth Orchestra at LATTC, Maryam Hosseinzadeh, Alexis Hudgins, Sarah Ibraham, Islands of LA, Katie Jacobson, Ian James, Shaun Klaseus, Sojung Kwon, Andrea Lambert, Eric Lindley, Elana Mann, Emery Martin, Anita K. Marto, Meghann McCrory, Joe Milazzo, Tracy Molis, Robin Myrick, Tucker Neel, Paul Pescador, Ali Prosch, Faith Purvey, James Rojas, Ally Sachs, Janet Sarbanes, Nate Schulman, Veronica Shalom, Katie Shook, Cynthia Simonian, Mark So, Mariangeles Soto-Diaz, Jennifer Styperk, Robert Summers, Jade Thacker, Mathew Timmons, Carlin Wing, Austin Young, Luis Zavala and Yelena Zhelezov.

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