Swap Meet Press Release

HEART OF LOS ANGELES (HOLA) VISUAL ARTS STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN SWAP/MEET AN EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMY OF TRADE Los Angeles, CA (May 23, 2013) - Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) will host SWAP/MEET, a public gathering and exchange that will feature art work created by HOLA’s Visual Arts students and local artists. SWAP/MEET is the culmination of a ten-week residency at HOLA by Los Angeles based artists Onya Hogan-Finlay & Mariah Garnett. Inspired by the Westlake Swapmeet, the students and the public will trade what they have made at a simulated swap meet to be held on Sunday, June 16 at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Items they will be offering for trade include cut paper objects, copies of a publication, DVDs, t-shirts and postcards. No money will exchange hands. The students will engage in negotiations with visitors to determine a fair trade price and the public will be encouraged to make their own creations to use as commodity for trade. In addition to the SWAP/MEET, the day will include live performances, art installations, a photo booth and a three-hole mini putting green.

For the past several months, the HOLA art students have activated public spaces in the neighborhood surrounding HOLA and have examined the role of commerce and the public sphere in art. The students have been considering the definition of art, who an artist is and what role the artist has in society. Through a series of presentations and workshops led by visiting artists Fiona Connor, Andy Byers, Ramak Fazel, Karla Diaz and Mario Ybarra of Slanguage and Sonia Romero, the students have explored a wide range of media and artistic approaches. As visitors travel to SWAP/MEET, they will also be able to see paintings created by HOLA’s Visual Arts students on the benches of local bus stops on Wilshire Boulevard and 6th Street. These paintings were created during “We Are Talking Pyramids,” HOLA’s first public art project.

SWAP/Meet is the second in a series of public art projects made possible through an Artistic Innovation and Collaboration Grant (AIC) from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. The AIC grant program supports fearless and innovative collaborations in the spirit of Robert Rauschenberg and is the first national competitive grant program for the Foundation. HOLA is one of only nine organizations nationwide to receive a grant in the inaugural grant cycle. The final two public art projects that will close out the grant cycle will be led by LA artists Tanya Aguiñiga and Fallen Fruit. To learn more about all of these projects, please visit HOLA’s Public Art Project Blog at: www.holapublicartproject.tumblr.com.

Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) For more than two decades, HOLA has provided thousands of at-risk youth with free and exceptional programs in academics, arts and athletics, including a vibrant and growing visual arts department, a world-class youth orchestra program, a full college prep program and sports leagues. HOLA offers youth the opportunity to break the generational cycle of poverty and pursue their dreams. Although 90% of HOLA's families live at or below the poverty line and graduation rates are persistently low in our neighborhood schools, this past year all of the students who graduated from our high school program are now pursuing their post-secondary education at colleges nationwide. HOLA is a national model of social change, poised to make a larger impact for years to come. www.heartofla.org.

The Artists Mariah Garnett is an experimental filmmaker and artist living and working in Los Angeles. The boundaries of adaptation, documentary and fiction are continually being drawn and re-drawn in her work. Mariah holds an MFA from CalArts in Film/Video and a BA from Brown University in American Civilization. Her work has been screened and exhibited internationally at venues that include: Hammer Museum, White Columns, LA Filmforum/Egyptian Theater, SFMOMA, Venice Bienniale, Rencontres Internationales, Midway Contemporary Art, Human Resources and ltd los angeles.

Onya Hogan-Finlay is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Her art practice incorporates social sculpture, curatorial and participatory public interventions, as well as the production of artist multiples, silkscreen prints, drawings and videos. She holds an MFA from USC and a BFA from Concordia University. She co-founded the projet MOBILIVRE-BOOKMOBILE project, a touring exhibit of artist books, zines and independent publications that traveled in a retrofitted 1959 Airstream. Onya's work has been exhibited in Canada, the USA and Europe. The New Museum, C Magazine and Documenta Magazine have published her drawings.

For additional information, please contact Lee Schube, (213) 389-1148 or lschube@heartofla.org, and/or visit the website at www.heartofla.org.

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