Arts Events:
Art Actions and Exhibitions Surround the Democratic Convention;
Judge Bars LAPD From Seizing Visual and Written Props

Beginning with the ARTS IN ACTION DEMOCRATIC INTERVENTION FESTIVAL OF ART AND RESISTANCE -- which featured well over 200 artists and political activists at The 18th Street Arts Complex on August 11 - --- art actions, protests, pageants, parades and exhibitions of Los angles based artists surrounding the Democratic National Convention, (DNC) continue in Los Angeles this week.

Forestalling the destruction of visual props which occurred in Philadelphia during the Republican convention, On Friday, U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson barred the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from seizing any puppets or written material from the headquarters building used by people planning protests at the DNC, according to the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Police were also barred from entering protest centers to investigate alleged building and safety or fire code violations

On August 11, in addition to a party for L.A's art activist organization ART IN ACTION, 18th Street Arts Complex hosted performances by Luis Bauz, Peyman Brojeni, Jill Burnham , Celebration Arts Puppets, Aida Cynthia De Santis, Anna Homler, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, Anne Perich, Pop Tarts Players, Bill Rangel, Michael Sakamoto, Elliot Siegel, Joel Talbert, Keith Antar Mason and many others. The event included EVEN? PLAYING FIELD a large-scale performance in the form of a miniature soccer tournament in which Artists and audience members were invited to mingle and create five-member teams to play 5-10 minute games against each other under "an absurdist set of rules that subverted existing socio-political hierarchies."

On Sunday, August 13, Bergamot Station Arts hosted A CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS ON THE EVE OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION.

Also on August 13, Impolitic -- a gallery of editorial cartoons, started at 2665 Main St. in Santa Monica by "recovering attorney" Josh Needle -- hosted a party to celebrate its first anniversary. The public was invited to celebrate with political cartoonists, including Paul Conrad, Michael Ramirez, Chip Bok, Roman Genn, Jack Ohman, Tony Peyser and many others.

Throughout the convention, the Gilbert Lindsay Plaza will reflect the sights and sounds of Los Angeles from 1:00 to 5:00 every afternoon. Conventioneers will have the opportunity to taste a variety of ethnic cuisine while watching local artists, entertainers and community groups in an array of performances. According to the DNC, the different communities of Los Angeles will be represented through a variety of groups, from mariachi bands and gospel choirs to jazz bands and dance troops.

At The Convergence, a large scale participatory theater is being planned in the streets of LA during the convention. Each morning at 9:00 PM, a different cluster "will bring art, theater, dance and music into the streets and transform LA into a festival of resistance."

Continuing through August 27, Highways Gallery and Center for the Study of Political Graphics present: CAN'T JAIL THE SPIRIT! POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE U.S. Posters include: ATTICA, FREE ANGELA DAVIS, THE CHICAGO FIVE ANARCHISTS, CLEMENCY FOR THE ROSENBERGS, SACCO AND VANZETTI, FREE LEONARD PELITIER, MUMIA 911.

Among exhibitions showcasing LA art, six Los Angeles sculptors are featured in an installation which "highlights the vitality of contemporary art in Los Angeles" -- through August 19, 2000 at The Santa Monica Museum of Art. The exhibition, co-curated by SMMoA Curator of Programming, Carole Ann Klonarides, and art critic, Bruce Hainley, includes work by up-and-coming Los Angeles sculptors Liz Craft, Evan Holloway, Jeff Ono, Jason Meadows, Paul Sietsema, and Torbjorn Vejvi.

On Thursday, August 17, a procession of 545 cross-bearers will move out from the intersection of Eighth and Santee at 6:00 PM in a memorial to the men and women who have lost their lives this year crossing the border from Mexico to California. According to the LA WEEKLY, participants in the march had initially made white crosses out of wood and inscribed them with messages in black, but they remade them all in foam core after learning that an ordinance in the Los Angeles Municipal Code forbids demonstrators from carrying such big sticks. This event -- which dancer Alli Starr calls a "sea of remembrance" -- will be on display throughout the week at the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles, 1010 S. Flower St.

Sources/resources:

18TH STREET ARTS COMPLEX -- http://www.artswire.org/arts18st

Henry Weinstein and Ted Rohrlich
"Police are enjoined from seizing convention demonstrators' materials and, except in emergencies, can't enter their headquarters without a federal order"
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES -- http://www.latimes.com
August 12, 2000

HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE AND GALLERIES -- http://www.highwaysperformance.org

BERGAMOT STATION -- http://www.bergamotstation.com/

IMPOLITIC -- http://www.impolitic.com/

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION -- http://www.dems2000.com/

SANTA MONICA MUSEUM OF ART -- http://www.netVIP.com/smmoa

Judith Lewis
"Dancing for the DNC Things to do in L.A. when you're delegating (or not)"
LA Weekly -- http://www.laweekly.com/ink/00/38/art-lewis.shtml

D2KLA.ORG -- http://www.d2kla.org
Visit this site for ongoing updates about events and actions

LOS ANGELES IMC -- http://la.indymedia.org

"70 Puppet Makers Taken into Custody During GOP Convention; Philadelphia Police Believed to Have Destroyed Over 100"
Arts Wire CURRENT -- http://www.artswire.org/current/2000/cur080800.html
August 8, 2000

"As Political Conventions Come to Town: Art Exhibitions, Actions Slated in Philadelphia and Los Angeles"
"ROMAN FORUM at Side Street Projects in Santa Monica"
Arts Wire CURRENT -- http://www.artswire.org/current/2000/cur072500.html
July 25, 2000

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