Los Angeles: LACMA's Art + Technology Grant, Ableism in the Art World, Meet Artist Cauleen Smith

Good afternoon, Los Angeles readers and beyond. For those who don't already know me, my name is Elisa

Aug 19, 2020 • View in browser

Good afternoon, Los Angeles readers and beyond. For those who don’t already know me, my name is Elisa Wouk Almino, and I am the Los Angeles Editor at Hyperallergic.Starting this week, we’re trying a new newsletter style that we hope you’ll enjoy. In addition to drawing out the week’s highlights, I will be making an effort to share pieces from our archives that are relevant or worth revisiting. Occasionally, I might also share a fun image or Tweet to brighten or enlighten your day.This week, LACMA shares its winners of the Art + Technology Grant, an artist discusses ableism in the art world, meet artist Cauleen Smith, and the escalating debt crisis at private art colleges.– Elisa Wouk Almino, Senior Editor, Los Angeles

An Urgent Conversation About Ableism in the Art World

Panteha Abareshi, “Unlearn the Body” (2020), performance shot on super 8mm color negative

This weekend, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) is hosting artist Panteha Abareshi, who will be discussing the rampant problem of ableism in the art world. Abareshi will focus on specific museum spaces in Los Angeles, the role of curators, and the important work of disabled artists like herself. Visitors will have the option to participate in these special events either virtually or at the ICA LA (with limited capacity).

LACMA Art + Technology Grant Winners

MUD Frontiers (image courtesy Rael San Fratello)

Since 2013, the Art + Technology Lab at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has been offering yearly grants to artists working with emerging technologies. The four winning projects this year are truly imaginative — and fun. One of the grantees, Agnieszka Kurant, is inviting us all to collectively care for a Tamagotchi (remember those?).

Meet LA’s Art Community: Cauleen Smith

photo by Dustin Aksland

Every other week, we interview a different artist or art worker living in Los Angeles. It’s a really wonderful opportunity to hear about what they are working on and what is important to them at this time. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the artist Cauleen Smith, who talks about being in “sponge mode” during quarantine and reflects on her love for Los Angeles: I love how LA is not a nostalgic place and people here do not have to constantly remind themselves of why it’s great to live here like, say, in New York, where “only in New York!…” boosterism seems like a balm for the hardship of living in a place with $5 avocados. Ha! Read the full interview, or check out our past interviews here.

Private Art Colleges Are Drowning in Debt

Reporter Sam Lefebvre takes a closer look at the institutional borrowing practices that led the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) to almost close. Lefebvre argues that the decisions that led SFAI to mounting debt are “actually commonplace” among private colleges, including at the California College of the Arts (CCA), where a number of former SFAI students are transferring to next year.

What to See This Week in LA

Rediscovering Leslie Kerr's Pop Abstraction Kerr was an abstract artist with a vulgar sense of humor. John Yau

More From Hyperallergic

How Latinx Artists Were Shut Out Of Art History Arlene Dávila’s Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, Politics considers the plights of Latinx artists through the lens of race and class disparities in both North and South America. Valentina Di Liscia

Mary Cassatt’s Independent, Feminist Spirit “If the world is to be saved, it will be the women who save it,” said the American Impressionist, who led a headstrong life as a woman abroad. Bridget Quinn

From our partners at KCET

“Southland Sessions,” a new multiplatform project by L.A. public TV station, KCET, connects you to SoCal’s resilient arts scene one session at a time.

Mariachi - from Romance to Resistance Hosted by Mariachi musician Julian Torres, this episode explores the tradition of Mariachi music and its transformation through time and circumstance.

L.A. Artists Rethink Art’s Issues and Purpose in New Podcast X-TRA’s “Artists and Rights” podcast rethinks what it means to be an artist in Los Angeles and explores what art can do.

USC Pacific Asia Museum Decolonizes Its Collections Many museum collections were built on the imperialist and exploitative practices of collectors. University of Southern California Pacific Asia Museum is taking steps to rectify this problematic situation.

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