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Community Arts

Art doesn't exist in a vacuum. Often it is an expression of a community's desires and struggles. Explore how communities inform and enrich civic life, arts and culture.

Julian Torres in mariachi outfit | Still from "Southland Sessions" S1 E3: Mariachi - from Romance to Resistance
Julian Torres in mariachi outfit | Still from "Southland Sessions" S1 E3: Mariachi - from Romance to Resistance
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A project with Meztli Projects, which just launched IndigenARTS & Wellness | Joel Garcia
Through a combination of Indigenous artistic/creative practices, IndigenARTS & Wellness is looking to heal communities.
Marigold surrounding a black and white photo at an ofrenda at Grand Park for Día de los Muertos in 2020 | Rafael Cardenas
“I think that, for us, is the biggest challenge, like, how do you convey what can be a really powerful and beautiful experience for people through these virtual channels?” explains Self Help Graphics Executive Director Betty Avila.
Bruce Lemon Jr. playing with youth during a rehearsal break of " A Jordan Downs Illumination."| Nancy Keystone
Today, a cadre of local activists and artists in Watts are using storytelling and human relationships to promote change, justice, equality and communal values.
The sign outside the Watts Towers Art Center | Still from "The Watts Towers Arts Center" ab s11 episode image
57:08
The Watts Towers Arts Center was born out of the resilience of 1960s Black L.A.
A woman looks over the concrete Los Angeles River. Still image from Carmen Argote's "Last Light." | Still from "Southland Sessions" Civic Imagination sls ep10 image
56:05
Hosted by designer Rosten Woo, this episode explores L.A. civic art and culture during the pandemic.
Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra on stage at Grand Park during a New Year's Eve celebration | Samantha Lee sls ep9 preview
59:12
Mekala Session and the "Ark" ring in the new year with a jazz music celebration.
Rosie Lee Hooks | Courtesy of Watts Towers Arts Center
From performing with an ensemble to working at the Smithsonian to mentoring Watts youth (including a young Nipsey Hussle), WTAC's advocate has done it all and keeps fighting for her adopted neighborhood.
Julian Torres in mariachi outfit | Still from "Southland Sessions" S1 E3: Mariachi - from Romance to Resistance
52:22
Hosted by Mariachi musician Julian Torres, this episode explores the tradition of Mariachi music and its transformation through time and circumstance.
Nikko Mueller sitting on a ladder on top of a park table at the San Clemente Border Station for "Three Border Ecologies" | Lena Martinez Miller
All around the United States is a 100-mile border zone where one can be searched and one's things seized. Policies way beyond what the constitution allows is regularly implemented. Artists drew on select sites. Here's what they realized.
“Beneath the Date Palms” by Michael Rakowitz  2019 | Panic Studio LA, Courtesy of City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, Current:LA Food
Michael Rakowitz, the internationally-acclaimed Iraqi American artist reconstructs Room F in Iraq’s Northwest Palace of Nimrud, and tackles a history of migration and displacement that has been going on for hundreds of years.
Ry Rocklen's Food Group | Courtesy of Ry Rocklen
As a sculptural artist, Ry Rocklen endorses the hyper familiar in a whimsical, surreal fashion. He turns Palms Park into a veritable digestive system and peoples it with... life-sized, dancing fast food.
Barnsdall Art Park hosting Current:LA Food's "New Shores" by Max La Rivière-Hedrick and Julio César Morales | Courtesy of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles
“New Shores: The Future Dialogue Between Two Homelands,” is a Current:LA event series highlighting the cuisine of nearby neighborhoods and the immigrant stories that thread them together.
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