Los Angeles Downtown News 12-20-21

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Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center and the Hope Street Margolis Family Center partnered with Councilmember Kevin de Leon and Madres al Servico de la Comunidad to distribute food boxes and toys on Dec. 11. Pictured is CHMC president, Alina Moran, who was on-site to help share the holiday joy with these families.

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Food boxes and toys were distributed to 150 families in need on Dec. 11. Pictured is Santa Claus surrounded by the toy boxes that were provided to the families.

Photos courtesy of Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center

Holiday fun from Dignity Health-California Hospital

By Dignity Health Established in 1992, the Hope Street Margolis Family Center is a community health, education and recreation resource of Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center. It has impacted thousands of underprivileged families through its one-of-a-kind program in Downtown Los Angeles.

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Each year, Hope Street, which is a nationally recognized model for its successful integration of health care with child and adult education, serves more than 5,000 kids and parents locally.

In collaboration with a wide array of community partners, Hope Street provides a comprehensive continuum of inhome and center-based early education,

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parenting, health, mental health, developmental, literacy, youth development, child welfare, case management and social services.

This year, due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these at-risk families face additional uncertainty and stress around the holiday season.

To help them overcome these obstacles, Hope Street collaborated with Councilmember Kevin de Leon and Madres al Servico de la Comunidad on Dec. 11 to distribute food boxes and toys to 150 families in need. Additionally, the Hope Street team will deliver over 1,000 toys to the houses of local families in the coming week.

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Karsh Center volunteers load grocery bags filled with produce and nonperishables into autonomous Waymo cars headed to the Heart of Los Angeles building for distribution to families.

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Local nonprofits partner with autonomous vehicle company

By Andres de Ocampo LA Downtown News Staff Writer wo local nonprofits distributing food to families in need partnered with autonomous technology driving company Waymo for a pilot program that helps make distribution easier. It also lessens interactions for COVID-19 safety and allows staff members to focus on serving the residents of their communities.

The nonprofits, Karsh Family Social Service Center and Heart of Los Angeles, are neighboring organizations located in the MacArthur Park/Westlake and Koreatown areas. They’re focused on community support by providing underserved residents and families with

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programs and resources.

The temporary six-week collaboration with Waymo, though short, exemplified for both nonprofits the utility and potential that autonomous vehicles could provide for an organization’s outreach work. Formerly a Google self-driving car project, Waymo strives to create a safer and easier means of transportation for people and goods.

Waymo launched its autonomous cars to the public as a ride-hailing service in Phoenix and San Francisco; however, partnering with the Karsh Center and HOLA is a part of the company’s first collaborations in Los Angeles.

Lila Guirguis, executive director of the Karsh Center, said the partnership with

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with HOLA regarding the Karsh Center’s family of four or five for a few days. existing “mobile food pantry program” Though the amount of food being disbegan during the height of the pandem- tributed by the two organizations alone ic in May 2020. Waymo joined in Sep- is substantial and impactful, there was tember 2021. an obvious and heightened advantage The Karsh Center works with 13 other in partnering with Waymo, especially local nonprofits, along with HOLA, and during the pandemic, Guirguis said. buys produce, meat and canned food “The advantage of partnering with items to pack into grocery bags for the an organization like Waymo is that it EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski collaborative partner organizations to expands the staff capacity at other orSTAFF WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Andres De Ocampo, Julia Shapero pick up andCONTRIBUTING distribute to families. ganizations.

As other organizations are WRITERS: Sara Edwards, Kamala Kirk Prior to Waymo’s involvement, the opening back up to in-person services, ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres Luis Chavez Karsh CenterSTAFF andPHOTOGRAPHER: HOLA’s delivery output they’re reallocating their staff to (delivCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Myriam Santos varied but averaged close to 30 grocery er groceries). That takes time and staff ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb bags distributed weekly. members away from an organization FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris The grocery bags given to families as- whose previous role may have been runsociated with HOLA are filled with pro- ning a workshop or class,” she said. duce and nonperishables that can feed a After a collaboration with Waymo,

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITER: Andres de Ocampo CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Bridgette M. Redman, Ellen Snortland STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Mortenson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Larry DiMarzio, Matthew Leland, willafter.com ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway (213) 308-2261 Michael Lamb (213) 453-3548 FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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even if only for six weeks, the organizations accounted for the distribution of 60 grocery bags a week to families in the MacArthur Park/Westlake and Koreatown areas, with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles helping the process.

The partnership allowed the nonprofits to limit interactions for safer, socially distant delivery and helped lessen the burden of being short-staffed during delivery times, especially in the case of being available to help individuals with in-person supportive services.

HOLA primarily provides underserved youth with free programs in academics, art, athletics and mental and physical wellness; however, providing the families of HOLA youth was critical during the pandemic, according to Michelle Sandoval, director of family services with HOLA. “As (HOLA) has gone through the pandemic, we have been adapting and trying to increase opportunities to our students, because we really understand that they are impacted when their families are struggling to access, in this case, healthy and affordable meals,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval elaborated on Waymo’s involvement with food distribution and said, “It’s a creative solution to the modern-day problem that we are experiencing. Getting healthy food in the hands

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of the people that need it plus getting it to them at places where they trust is critical.”

Amanda Ventura Zink, public affairs manager with Waymo, said, “Supporting our local communities is core to our mission at Waymo.

“We’ve donated delivery services to dozens of nonprofits in metro Phoenix, San Francisco and Dallas since the start of the pandemic, so we were eager to do the same when we came to Los Angeles.”

Zink said that partnering with the Karsh Center and HOLA made sense for Waymo due to the various programs and accessibility that the nonprofits have to the community and for their proximity to areas where Waymo cars have been tested.

“The Karsh Center operates a mobile food pantry in an area of Los Angeles where we were conducting mapping missions (for our autonomous cars), so we asked if they could use any help.

“It’s important to Waymo that we were able to partner with a locally beloved organization that has worked tirelessly through the increased needs brought on by the pandemic,” Zink said.

Zink is thrilled with the nonprofits that Waymo met and worked with while testing their vehicle’s capability in Los Angeles and for “the opportunity to be part of what you’re doing to make life

easier for our neighbors,” she said.

Though food distribution to families will continue without Waymo for the Karsh Center, HOLA and other nonprofits the Karsh Center works, Guirguis said she isn’t sure about future plans with the autonomous tech company; however, she thinks there could be a future in meshing autonomous vehicles and the work of nonprofits.

“I hope that (Waymo) sees that their time in LA was worthwhile and we could have a longer partnership, because I think this (concept) would be a huge asset to expand to other nonprofit organizations, especially ones we work with,” she said.

Next up for the Karsh Center is expanding the organization’s services, like being able to eventually provide case management, Guirguis said.

“We’re opening up to in-person services, and we’re hoping to fundraise successfully for a technology center, which would be our biggest planned project.

“It is a wonder to me how technology can support the human services side of the needs of Angelenos.

“There are other organizations like Waymo and the Karsh Center that can come together and serve a greater population and expand their reach and think out of the box for future possibilities.”

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For HOLA, Sandoval said, “We know how critical it is for us to support households when they are facing food insecurity, so we are definitely looking to continue the program of the food distribution to serve the needs of the community.”

On top of continuing to uplift families and provide holistic support to the community, Sandoval mentioned that Waymo was one of the biggest sponsors for the nonprofits’ toy giveaway for HOLA students.

“Their sponsorship of 129 total gifts, amounting to almost $5,000, helps us ensure every single one of our HOLA students gets at least one of their wish list toys as a gift this year.

“Those toy distributions are happening all this week at HOLA and were truly made possible by Waymo’s generosity,” Sandoval said.

About HOLA’s partnerships with the Karsh Center and Waymo, Sandoval said, “We’re extremely thankful for the partnership with Karsh Center, and with Waymo being new to LA but giving us the opportunity to collaborate in a creative way was an incredible feeling.

“Bringing in this technology with Waymo was an adaptation that really worked out for us, so we’re excited for what that looks like in the future,” she said.

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High-rise development project to replace Downtown car wash

By Andres de Ocampo LA Downtown News Staff Writer 58-story high-rise redevelopment project across from LA Live will replace a longtime Downtown car wash, creating a hub for visitors, shoppers and Los Angeles residents to utilize.

The Olympic Tower, set to be a mixeduse development on the intersection of Olympic and Figueroa streets in the South Park area, will boast a square footage of over 700,000 and will stand 742 feet tall.

The near acre-sized lot has been home to the car wash since 1980 and was purchased in 2014 by local developer Ben Neman for $25 million. He has had plans for creating a mixed-use high-rise since the purchase.

City council unanimously approved the plans for the Olympic Tower on Dec. 1.

The city’s approval comes after an appeal from UNITE HERE Local 11, a union representing workers in restaurants, hotels, airports, etc., was redacted upon a resolution between the union and developer.

Norberto Nardi, owner of Monro-

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via-based architecture firm Nardi Associates, is the designer and architect of Olympic Tower. Nardi said that a team, under the coordination of Nardi Associates, is proceeding to develop all of the construction documents so in the future it can proceed with the architecture of the property.

Nardi expects the process of securing building permits to take six to seven months.

“We are assuming that if everything goes well, we will be able to start construction at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023,” Nardi said.

The high-rise is expected to have three floors of commercial and retail space, six stories of office space, a conference center taking up a whole floor, 17 floors of hotel space, 24 floors of condominiums, multiple floors for parking, and a rooftop garden and lounge overlooking the city that will be accessible to hotel guests and residents.

Nardi emphasized not only the size of the high-rise but the aspects of it that

make it unique in comparison to others Downtown. As the designer of the highrise, Nardi refers to the project as a “tree,” or a “vertical city,” essentially relaying the message that the concept for the Olympic Tower deals with ecosystems, both within the building and outside, and their low degree of separation.

Elaborating and candidly expressing the concept of the high-rise, Nardi said the way the building is designed is very unusual in high-rises and that, ultimately, the concept is that there will not be as much separation between the public spaces of the building and the city in general.

The south-facing development has a slight bend, almost bowing toward neighboring Los Angeles landmarks like LA Live and Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as Staples Center. It, Nardi said, requires a “very sophisticated structural system.”

The structural system that Nardi is referring to is Olympic Tower’s structural support, which does not utilize columns and interior support but an exterior sup-

port resulting in a grid-like pattern that presents itself as an exoskeleton of the high-rise.

Nardi said the design of the building is attributed to the limited amount of lot space; however, the resulting design became very special.

By building the high-rise this way, “the building has a form that is bent throughout, with big openings. That’s why I say that this building is like a vertical tree bowing to LA Live or other entertainment centers,” Nardi said.

Another unique aspect of Olympic Tower is that walls will primarily be made of glass, along with greenery that will hug the outside of the double surface glass walls of the building on the upper levels.

Nardi elaborated on this aspect, which he said is a major feature of the Olympic Tower, which is the south-facing, atrium-like open “window,” Nardi said. The window will take up multiple floors on the upper levels of the high-rise where the condominium amenities and hotel levels are located.

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“When you are inside of a high-rise, normally you are deprived of interacting with the city because you are contained by the facades of the building,” Nardi said.

“What I did here, from level 14 to level 35, I made a big opening like a huge window with no glass, where the people in the building can not only see the city but can be seen from the city,” he explained.

Nardi called the large opening on the side of the high-rise an “open garden,” and

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mesh with vines, railing and other components will serve as the only separation from those in the building to the public outside.

“If you are walking on the street and raise your eyes, you can see the activity in the building,” Nardi said about his vision for the high-rise, but for now, a one-story car wash reminiscent of an older, different Downtown Los Angeles awaits demolition and removal.

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a Advertising is Keep Great Way to rs Your Custome Informed The Los Angeles Downtown News publishes a wide array of special sections and quarterlies throughout the year on topics like Health, Education, Nightlife and Residential Living.

The Olympic Tower, a 58-story high-rise building, will replace a longtime Downtown car wash and sit across from LA Live, providing Angelenos and visitors with a mixed-use development in the South Park area.

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MARGULIES’ OPINION

Norwegian baker at work

By Ellen Snortland LA Downtown News Columnist n 1975 I was 22 years old and a first-year student at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. I lived by myself in a tiny Spanish-style house in Van Nuys. The time and place are etched in my brain forever, as this was when I became the target of another law student’s obsession. “I really don’t have time to see anyone,” I said to the young man after the gazillionth invitation to do something — anything — with him. I’ll call him Clive.

“I have to study for finals. My study group is meeting here over Christmas break, and I’m making Norwegian cookies.” “I can come over and help,” he said. “No, it’s dangerous, and I have to focus,” I said. Clive laughed.

The notion of cookie making being perilous struck him as absurd. “I’m not kidding.”

He laughed again. I had zero attraction for him, but evidently I was his dream gal. How much kinder and safer it would have been for me if I’d just ripped his attachment away like a stubborn Band-Aid. A few days later, I hear a knock at my door while I’m making rosettes. The process involves boiling hot oil, dipping a star-shaped “branding” iron tool into the batter, and deep-fat frying the crispy treats. I open the door and see Clive.

“I told you I’m making cookies and I can’t stop.” “Can I stay for a little while? I’ll leave you alone until you’re done,” he says. “OK, but you’ve got to go into the living room.

Seriously. I can’t talk until this is done.” He laughs. I went into my modestly furnished living room and turned on the TV. How I wish I’d had the ovaries to tell him to leave, to say, “I’m not interested in you, Clive.

Leave. Now.” But noooooo, I had to be nice no matter what.

I go back to the kettle of boiling, melted Crisco, wondering why I didn’t ask him how the hell he found out where I live. Stalking didn’t yet have a name in the mid-’70s. I start dipping another rosette when, suddenly, from behind me, I hear “boo!” Startled, I hit the iron handle, which causes the bubbling fat to splash all over my right arm. This instantly cooks the synthetic fabric sleeve of my shirt to my arm, from wrist to elbow. Smelling my own cooked flesh, I scream like a furious jungle cat. Clueless Clive grabs a kitchen towel and attempts to wipe my arm. He chases me as I scream,

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Hey you! Speak up!

Ellen Snortland “Get out! Get out! Leave me alone!” Clive runs, ripped from my side at last. I then pass out.

In what I can only describe as a bona fide miracle, Wendy — another friend — also stops by uninvited but very much needed.

She’s part of my study group. She knocks, and when I don’t answer, she looks through the windows and sees me sprawled on the floor. Luckily, I hadn’t locked the door when Clive skedaddled. She manages to get me loaded into her Range Rover and drives me to the ER. They cut off my cooked turtleneck, give me a pain killer and send me home. Apparently, quality health care for women also hadn’t yet been invented.

When I wake up the next day, my arm is the size of my leg. I am probably still in shock, but somehow, I managed to drive my unsafe-at-any-speed cherry red Corvair down to Loyola to join my finals study group. As I walk into the student lounge, Wendy takes one look at me and drives me to the Sherman Oaks Burn Ward, where I spend the next 10 days, including Christmas, undergoing advanced therapy for third-degree burns. Had this incident happened even 10 years earlier, my right arm would have been so shriveled it would have been difficult to use. Thankfully, I barely have a physical scar.

What I do have is an unshakable commitment to teaching boundaries. I don’t blame Clive for my injury. I blame a culture that teaches that a male’s ego is so fragile, females dare not be straightforward with them lest those egos shatter… or worse.

Gavin de Becker, author of “The Gift of Fear,” recommends in Chapter 11 — “I Was Try-

Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community.

Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.

ing to Let Him Down Easy” — that we learn to say: “No matter what you may have assumed till now, and no matter for what reason you assumed it, I have no romantic interest in you whatsoever. I am certain I never will. I expect that, knowing this, you’ll put your attention elsewhere, which I understand, because that’s what I intend to do.”

Poor Clive. Poor me. Gavin de Becker wrote the foreword to my book, “Beauty Bites Beast,” because we are both commit-

ted to sorting out this gender communication mess. Although Clive was clueless, I was, too. My vagueness kept his hope alive, which landed me in the hospital. I have no idea what happened to Clive. I do know he left me alone after that. I do not recommend hospitalization as a rejection technique!

Ellen Snortland has been writing a gender column — and baking Scandinavian treats — for decades. Contact her at authorbitebybite.com.

Los primeros años de la vida de un niño son críticos para su desarrollo. Los niños en riesgo de un atraso en el desarrollo, o que muestran signos de atraso, pueden calificar para la intervención y los servicios a través del programa Early Start de California.

En todo el estado de California, el programa Early Start es coordinado por los 21 centros regionales. Con la guía de los coordinadores de servicios, un plan individualizado de servicios y apoyos puede marcar la diferencia en el desarrollo de un niño.

Para las personas mayores de 3 años, los centros regionales también brindan servicios y apoyos de por vida desde la edad escolar hasta la edad adulta, incluida la coordinación de servicios, la planificación de servicios individuales, educación relacionadas con la defensa y capacitación.

En asociación con los Centros de Recursos Familiares, los padres y los miembros de la familia pueden recibir apoyo, orientación, información y referencias a recursos comunitarios.

Debido a la disminución de las referencias durante el estado de emergencia de COVID-19, es importante saber que su centro regional local permanece abierto y está aceptando referencias. Aunque algunos miembros del personal del centro regional pueden estar trabajando de forma remota, continúan trabajando arduamente para garantizar que su hijo reciba los servicios que necesita.

Para averiguar exactamente qué centro regional serviría a su familia, visite dds. ca.gov/services or dds.ca.gov/listings Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center 3303 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 383-1300 or (213) 252-5600 kyrc@lanterman.org | www.lanterman.org

DECEMBER 20, 2021

REAL ESTATE SPOTLIGHT

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Veteran DTLA Realtor Randelle Green: ‘Local Experience is Priceless’

By LA Downtown News Staff Since 2005, local Realtor Randelle Green has been servicing Downtown LA buyers and sellers since 2005.

That’s more than 15 years of dedicated and committed service to Downtown residences, over 15 years of playing a major role in the continued renaissance of our beloved urban core.

From his early days of managing sales teams at the Pan-American Lofts in the Historic Core and South Park’s “Mega-Complex” of Elleven, Luma & Evo, to the financial district’s Roosevelt and the Arts District, Green has been and continues to be a fixture of our booming market.

His powerful DTLA boutique brokerage, The Randelle Green Group, has gained national attention since he brought his dream to fruition back in 2015. He alone has sold over $18 million in lofts and condos since 2016 (per the MLS).

When asked what makes his company different, Green said the idea of working with a local specialist who lives and breathes the market, works one on one with clients, is accessible and, perhaps most importantly, intimately knows the different districts, buildings and developers throughout the sprawling and constantly emerg-

The RandelleGreen Group PhPhoooPPhoto courtesy of Randelle Green

Broker-CEO Randelle Green

PhPhoooPPhoto courtesy of Randelle Green

ing downtown area.

Green spoke about the early days, before LA Live, Ralphs, CVS & Whole Foods, before The Bloc, The Row and all the trendy restaurants and lounges. A time when the handful of local Downtown Realtors, to which he points out only a few remain, did not have many options for the buyers in DTLA. Oh, but how times have changed, Green said, ADVERTORIAL

“Nowadays it’s different. Downtown buyers must decide if they are new construction, high-rise people leaning toward a South Park condo or soft-loft, historians looking at Mills Act buildings in the Old Bank District, the theater crowd interested in the burgeoning Bunker Hill District or more secluded artists flowing into The Arts District. How fun it has become, facilitating and directing those dreams One thing is for sure, I was there yesterday, and I will be here tomorrow and remember. I put my name on it.”

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Prohibition NYE is a 1920s-influenced party that includes an open bar, live jazz, burlesque shows and a headlining set by Cut/Copy.

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Celebrate 2022 when Prohibition NYE returns

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor eathers, fringe and black tie are necessities for any great New Year’s Eve party.

John McCullough and Chase Ross, along with KCRW, spun those elements into the 1920s-influenced Prohibition NYE. Now in its ninth year, the event turns Union Station into a party.

“It’s a formal and upscale,” Ross said.

“I think everybody has a good time getting in the mindset of the ’20s.”

“We’re fortunate enough to be doing nine years in the same place. We’ve grown over the years. I think everybody

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enjoys the alternative to going to the bar or club. We’ve transformed this historic venue into a live event experience.”

Prohibition NYE general admission tickets include an open bar for the whole night, live jazz, burlesque shows, and a headlining set by Australia’s Cut/ Copy.

As the clock strikes midnight, attendees will mark the new year with the event’s signature 60-foot ball drop from Union Station’s glamorous art deco ceilings.

“One of the big moments at Prohibition is the midnight ball drop celebration,” Ross said. “We have a pretty unbe-

lievable rigging system at Union Station.

There are LED walls, and it is a pretty cool moment. Everybody loves participating in it.”

McCullough added the evening has per formers in “crazy costumes,” hula-hoop dancers and stilt walkers.

“It’s an over-the-top way to ring in the new year,” he said.

Ross and McCullough founded the party to reflect the glamour of the 1920s.

“It’s also not so glamorous because of Prohibition as well,” Ross added. “It’s a great juxtaposition. We wanted to give people the opportunity to celebrate and

remove themselves from the current time.”

McCullough said the venue lends itself to the 1920s, as it was built in the early 1930s.

“It still has that art deco feel,” he said.

“Building an event that really takes the shape of its space just adds an extra element. We were able to do that with the space. It just matched up.”

Prohibition NYE, which benefits Covenant House, returns after a short, pandemic-fueled hiatus. McCullough and Ross said it’s time to return to some sort of normalcy.

“It been a pretty hard year for every-

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Prohibition NYE features some of the best mixologists in LA. Submitted photo

body — a hard two years,” McCullough said.

“We’re really excited to get this going and ring in the new year in a positive way.

“The attendees are pretty incredible. You see people coming in there in their mid to late 20s, people in their 30s and 40s. Then you see people in their 50s and 60s.

There’s a wide range of attendees. I think it’s a party that everyone enjoys.”

He added that Prohibition NYE is a party that really connects with people.

“You see all these people watching the ball drop, and it’s such a magical moment,” McCullough said.

“There’s all the confetti, and the guests are with the ones who they love. They’re kissing and hugging.

There are not too many moments in time like that.

“Everyone’s together and celebrating the same emotional feeling.”

The Prohibition NYE team is committed to guests’ health and safety and will be adhering to the LA city vaccination verification ordinance, in compliance with the LA city health officer order as well as state guidance for mega events.

“This needs to be done the right way,” Ross said.

“Definitely a big focal point for us is getting the right message out to all the attendees that we’re following and abiding by all the local rules and regulations, especially with COVID. “That’s the message and the expectations that we want to share so we have a safe event.”

Prohibition NYE WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, to 2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1 WHERE: Union Station, 800 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles COST: General admission tickets are $195; a limited number of VIP packages, featuring a private entrance, table service, and an exclusive side-stage, elevated viewing experience, are available for $2,500. The part is 21 and older.

INFO: https://found.ee/prohibitionnye

2021 was a landmark year for PIH Health and the communities we serve. Above all else, we learned that together, there’s so much that we can achieve. As we look ahead to next year, we’re excited to continue to offer compassionate care at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital as well as at our hospitals in Whittier and Downey. We’re honored to serve you and your community, and we hope you’ll help sustain our work with a year-end gift to PIH Health Foundation.

We look forward to serving the Los Angeles communities for years to come. Happy Holidays from your health and wellness partner.

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Happy Holidays from Little Tokyo Ser vice Center (LTSC)! LTSC is a nonprofit organization committed to i mprovi ng the lives of underser ved individuals and families and promoting the equitable development of ethnic communities and their rich cultural heritage. With support from caring community members like you, LTSC can continue supporting families in need during this unprecedented time. Help us keep families safe and healthy this holiday season by making a donation or volunteering today! For more information, visit us online at www.LTSC.org.

Give the gift of compassionate care and help sustain our work with a year-end gift to the PIH Health Foundation.

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DECEMBER 20, 2021

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Kwanzaa play celebrates unity, community for all

Ben Guillory directs and performs in the premiere of “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Unity.”

Photo by Matthew Leland

DECEMBER 20, 2021

By Bridgette M. Redman LA Downtown News Contributing Writer or seven days, celebrants will light candles, share stories and contemplate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Beginning on Dec. 26, the celebration pulls in traditions from harvest and the African diaspora and emphasizes community and life.

The Robey Theatre will contribute to the festival with the unveiling of a new work, “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Unity.” Like the festival, the play opens on Dec. 26. It is an online production and will have daily Zoom performances until Jan. 1.

The Robey commissioned the play, written by Marie Y. Lemelle and Barbara Bullen, after an open submission contest. The playwrights worked with Ben Guillory, the Robey’s artistic director who served as a dramaturge for the work.

“Back in 2020, I wanted a holiday play that was other than ‘A Christmas Carol’ or the usual fare and that was more Afro-centric,” Guillory said. “Kwanzaa was the answer to that. We asked for submissions from different playwrights of one scene of an idea for a play.”

Several playwrights submitted, but the scene by Lemelle and Bullen stuck out from the others. The Robey commissioned them to turn the scene into a fulllength play to be performed during the 2021 season.

They hoped to perform the show live, but with COVID-19 variants still active, the theater decided it could not do so responsibly. Instead, it switched to streaming the play from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, the traditional days of Kwanzaa.

The play’s story centers on an American Black studies professor, Dr. Agu. In search of his personal history and ancestral roots, he traveled to Ghana, only to be confined to his hotel as the country goes into an abrupt and total pandemic lockdown.

Dr. Agu must then teach his students back home via Zoom. His goal is to offer a more complete version of American history, and he teaches the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa as a blueprint for living a responsible, productive and ethical life.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the chair of the African Studies at Cal State Long Beach, a response to the over-commercialization of Christmas. Karenga makes bookend appearances in the play, a role undertaken by Guillory. Karenga will make a live appearance as part of a post-show question-and-answer period with the date still to be determined.

Dr. Agu’s students in the play include Black students, a young white woman, a Latino, a Chinese American rapper, and a white supremacist nationalist who is skeptical of all that is being taught.

Both playwrights have extensive writing experience, but “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Unity” is the first time either of them has written plays. Lemelle is a journalist, casting director, film producer and screenwriter. She is the CEO and founder of her own firms, Platinum Star Public Relations and Platinum Star Media Group Inc. Bullen is the author of 49 children’s books and 15 screenplays. She is the owner of Andersons Screenplays and Dreamworld Literature.

Guillory described the play’s creation as a step procedure. After being chosen based on the initial scene, the playwrights submitted an outline for Guillory to review. They then went back and forth through four drafts.

“We were always wanting to move the play forward,” Guillory said. “In this case, moving the play forward

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meant staying on track to celebrate and identify Kwanzaa and talk about it and the seven principles of Kwanzaa.”

He said that while they had a lot of back-and-forth conversation, his job was made easy because the playwrights’ work was impressive.

“Their imagination is that of storytellers,” Guillory said. “They had a subject, and the subject is the Kwanzaa principles, which are based in Afro-centric consciousness. These sisters, being African Americans, and Dr. Karenga had a sensibility about Kwanzaa. We had a good guide. The idea was to fashion a story with a beginning, middle and end with a serious conflict that would illustrate how the seven principles of Kwanzaa could support ones who needed support, namely all of us.”

The cast is Jermaine Alexander, JC Cadena, Christina Childress, Garret Davis, Matt Jennings, Nate Lovell, Terry “Tes” Scott-Mitchell, Mona Mohamed, Crystal Nix, Amara Phelps, Ke Shi, Kyle Sparks, William Warren, Jess Weaver and Guillory.

Guillory has high praise for the 15-member ensemble, who are a mix of veterans and new actors to him.

He said they are on board with the play’s themes and recognize the work’s importance.

“They recognize that this is a substantive, not a frivolous, work,” Guillory said. “These artists recognized this is important. They dove in with both hands and feet and brought this baby home. It was a delight to work with them.”

While this production is virtual, they hope to do a live production of it next December. They are also hoping to reopen their theater on April 9 in celebration of Paul Robeson’s birthday, the artist and civil rights icon for whom the theater is named.

“Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Unity” is a play that Guillory said is worthy of the Robey’s consciousness and its mission to develop and produce plays about the global Black experience and to reinterpret Black classics.

“This play needs to have that kind of consciousness,” Guillory said. “It also needs to be imaginative and be high theater.”

Guillory hopes audiences will have a greater understanding of how history has been edited after they see this play. The play’s protagonist tries to show that the truth has not been reported in an honest way. There has been a battle for the past 40 to 50 years to bring out more of a true picture of our country’s history.

“I hope audiences walk away asking questions, searching for more of the truth,” Guillory said.

The Robey Theatre’s “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Unity” WHEN: Various times Sunday, Dec. 26, to Saturday, Jan. 1 WHERE: Zoom links will be sent to audience members who register in advance at therobeytheatrecompany.org COST: Free, but a $10 donation is welcomed INFO: therobeytheatrecompany.org

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DECEMBER 20, 2021

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Authors share conversations with Van Halen

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor ournalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill knew Eddie Van Halen, having interviewed the late Van Halen guitarist over the course of the musician’s career.

Now, the two share their conversations with the legendary guitar player in “Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen.”

“This is the first chance I had to step back and look at the entire story,” Tolinski said. “So much of it made so much more sense to me now. However, I curse the fact that I didn’t do this while he was still alive. I would

J Eddie Van Halen in his recording studio, 5150 Studios, located in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1991.

Photo by Larry DiMarzio

DECEMBER 20, 2021

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have loved to have had the chance to talk to him about bigger observations.”

In “Eruption,” Tolinski and Gill offer an oral history of Van Halen, who died of cancer on Oct. 6, 2020. Since the band Van Halen released its self-titled album in 1978, the axman was hailed as an icon.

“Eruption” is based on more than 50 hours of unreleased interviews Tolinski and Gill recorded with Van Halen over the years, most of them conducted at the legendary 5150 Studios at his home in Los Angeles.

“Eruption” is drawn from those talks as well as conversations with family, friends and colleagues, including other major guitarists like Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Steve Vai and Steve Lukather (Toto, Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, Elton John).

“I was thrilled to have the opportunity to write this,” Tolinski said.

“I’ve known Ed more professionally than personally. I did know both sides of him. I saw him pretty regularly a few times every year. I had this personal/professional relationship with him. Chris Gill and I thought we were qualified to tell his story in a more definitive way.”

“Eruption” chronicles the highs and lows of the rock legend. In addition to discussing his greatest triumphs as a groundbreaking musician — including a dive into Van Halen’s masterpiece “1984” and the story behind playing on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” — the book looks at his early struggles as a young Dutch immigrant unable to speak English. That resulted in lifelong issues with social anxiety and later problems with alcohol and cocaine.

Van Halen and his older brother Al and their parents moved to Pasadena in 1962 when Eddie was 7 years old, with less than $50, suitcases and a piano. During the nine-day boat ride over, Eddie and Al played piano for spare change.

The boys attended a segregated school in Pasadena and were ostracized because they knew little English.

“Eruption” shares his penchant for expressing himself through piano, maintaining a rigorous practice schedule under the watchful eye of his mother. At the age of 12, he applied the same diligence to learning the electric guitar, spending countless hours locked in his bedroom developing the technique.

The authors are guitar players, so, Tolinski said, they understood Van Halen’s passion. Tolinski was the editor-in-chief of Guitar World magazine for 25 years.

Meanwhile, Gill served as editor-in-chief of Guitar Aficionado.

A suburban Detroit native, Tolinski moved from Manhattan to a friend’s summer place in Cape Cod during the pandemic. He spent the time writing “Eruption,” calling it a “traditional old-school writer’s retreat.”

Tolinski said “Eruption” is different from other Van Halen books.

“A lot of these super gossipy books about Ed and about Van Halen have come out about all the arguments and struggles within the band,” he said. “Most of the things I read sort of missed the point to some degree. He was arguably the most innovative guitarist since Jimi Hendrix and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.”

To skip that point and only cover the turbulence within the band, he added, is pointless.

“It was really when I came to Guitar World that I paid a lot of attention to what Ed was doing,” he said. “It turned into a personal relationship. The one thing he liked about Chris and I was, while we certainly respected him as a guitar player, we didn’t worship him as a god. He saw us as a contemporary. We spoke to him as a musician, as a human being. I think he enjoyed that.”

Like many, Tolinski sees Van Halen as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. Above and beyond that, he added, “he was important as an inventor. His Frankenstein guitar was made part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian for its innovation.

“He’s been this figure, this smiling guy and all-American kid in these videos.

But there’s a lot of depth to what Edward brought to this world. He was the Les Paul of the modern era.”

“Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen”

By Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill hachettebooks.com

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DECEMBER 20, 2021

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Nostalgia is the key to ‘Idol’ Lasher’s success

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor dam Lasher is big on nostalgia.

From Journey to the Doors to the Beatles, the “American Idol” alumnus wraps it into his music.

“We do a lot of classic rock, soul, a little bit of Latin and some blues,” said Lasher of Long Beach.

“We do a lot of pop songs as well, but we’ll pick from the 1960s to 2021.

The style sounds like classic rock regardless of genre. There’s a very vintage sound, whether it’s Leon Bridges, the Doors, Sting, the Black Keys or Marilyn Manson.”

Lasher is bringing his band to Nixo Patio Lounge at E-Central Hotel, 1020 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, from 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, to 1 a.m.

Saturday, Jan. 1. Fans who have seen him perform will see a new show.

“We’re big on improv,” he said. “We never play the same songs twice.

Whether it’s a Latin version of Gotye or a rock version of whatever it is, we twist the original genre.

“The ones that people like the most are a Kings of Leon version of ‘Stay’

by Rihanna, or we have a Latin version of ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ by Coldplay. We might turn normal songs into reggae or cumbia.”

Lasher recently released his own music, the album “Trade You for Heaven.” Once again, he called it a “nostalgic classic rock album.”

“When people hear it, it’s hard to tell if it is a brand-new song or an old Journey song or an old Eagles song they never knew about. It’s like (former Tony! Toni! Tone! singer) Raphael Saadiq. If you’ve never heard of this guy and you hear one of his songs in a store, you’d think he was a really young Stevie Wonder.”

“Trade You for Heaven” is a collection of love songs, he said. Some are happy, some are tragic, but they all have that nostalgic feel. The original theme wasn’t songs about relationships, however.

“I had some other cool, out-there Pink Floyd ‘we’re in the middle of a shutdown things are getting kind of weird’ songs,” the Berklee College of Music graduate said with a laugh.

“But I thought I would save that for another album.”

Lasher’s career got off to a small-screen start, as he’s a veteran of “The Voice” and “American Idol.” “Idol,” he said, was a “really great time.” Because he was on “The Voice,” he was ready to show off his music on “Idol.”

“I went through the whole process and didn’t get a team on ‘The Voice,’” he said.

“I worked a little bit on other shows for casting and did some reality TV. By the time ‘Idol’ came around, I wasn’t nervous. I was almost jaded a bit.

I was able to be funny and hang loose. When you don’t care if you get the job after an interview, you get the job because you seemed relaxed and you’re not overly eager.”

Armed with practical thinking, Lasher also took advantage of “American Idol,” on which he appeared 2015 and 2016.

“I learned the importance of free airtime,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if

A

Adam Lasher appeared on “American Idol” in 2015 and 2016.

Photo by willafter.com

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The first few years of a child’s life are critical for their development. Children at risk of a developmental delay, or showing any signs of delay, may qualify for intervention and services through the Early Start program of California.

Across the state of California, the Early Start program is coordinated by all 21 regional centers. With the guidance of service coordinators, an individualized plan for services and supports can make a difference in a child’s development.

For individuals over the age of 3, the regional centers also provide lifelong services and supports from the school age years through adulthood, including service coordination, individual service planning, education related advocacy and training In partnership with the Family Resource Centers, parents and family members may receive parent-to-parent support, guidance, information and referrals to community resources.

Due to the decline in referrals during the COVID-19 State of Emergency, it is important to know that your local regional center remains open and is accepting referrals. Although some regional center staff may be working remotely, they continue to work hard to ensure your child is receiving the services they need.

To find out exactly which regional center would serve your family, please visit dds.ca.gov/services or dds.ca.gov/listings Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center 3303 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 383-1300 or (213) 252-5600 kyrc@lanterman.org | www.lanterman.org

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NOSTALGIA IS THE KEY TO ADAM LASHER’S SUCCESS, 16

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Some people think what if they make me look stupid, if you’re acting stupid.

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Volunteers of America of Los Angeles (VOALA) an Equal Opportunity Employer, with funding assistance from the City of Los Angeles through monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, General City Purpose Fund, and HHAP-1 Category 1 funds, is seeking qualified Licensed Contractors to bid on a project involving building improvements to an existing facility located at 2521 Long Beach Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90058.

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NYE Event with Adam Lasher Band WHEN: 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, to 1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1 WHERE: E-Central Hotel’s Nixo Patio Lounge, 1020 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles COST: No cover, no reservations necessary; includes a champagne toast INFO: 213-748-1291

DECEMBER 20, 2021

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DECEMBER 20, 2021

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Artists create a space for community and dreaming

By Bridgette M. Redman LA Downtown News Contributing Writer ne of Downtown LA’s newest art galleries aims to feed the body and soul while creating a community of artistic dreamers.

DMST Atelier opened in early 2021 at 1117 E. Seventh Street, Unit 2, in Downtown LA, positioned where Skid Row and the Arts and Fashion districts intersect.

Co-founded by artists Marantz Moon and Frannie Hemmelgarn, its mission is to be a supportive space for diverse community, conversation and creative expression with art, openness and joy at the core of everything it does.

The acronym in the name? It stands for Dream More Stay True, a phrase, which is Moon’s motto. The two artists met online during the pandemic and discovered a shared vision for an arts venue.

Moon had recently moved to Los Angeles from Chicago and knew few people.

“Toward the end of 2020, I met Frannie,” Moon said. “We connected and really bonded. We hit the ground running on a lot of our ideas and passion.”

While the pandemic might seem like a huge hurdle when opening an arts organization, Moon and Hemmelgarn saw a lot of advantages, such as the low-priced vacant buildings.

“We’re both optimistic people,” Hemmelgarn said. “This time is really difficult for everyone, but there are a lot of ways we can still navigate and live and create.’

Hemmelgarn said she was already looking at vacant spaces when she met Moon. She dreamed about the space’s look. However, it was the alchemy of the two of them that gave birth to the Atelier.

“What we bonded on was this love for art and creative expression and living creative lives,” Hemmelgarn said. “What is so cool about Moon is he is much more of an actor. I could have thought about it for a long time, but he actually does things. When Moon opened up this space, some of it was giving both of us an opportunity to grow and share our art.”

When Moon moved to Los Angeles, he specifically chose the Arts District to live and work.

“We want to be able to have some control and show our art but also reach out into the community,” Moon said. “The community is clearly segregated in various ways — money, issues in society, gender issues or racial issues. We need to consciously bring people together and consciously create diverse spaces and safe spaces and frame everything in that light. We want to welcome people in.”

Hemmelgarn added the art world can often feel insular, and making art is intimidating. Moon went to art school and has created art for most of his life. For Hemmelgarn, her journey as an artist began six years ago. She was what she called a “closeted artist” for four of those years.

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Frannie Hemmelgarn co-founded DMST Atelier.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

Removing the ‘starving’ from the artist To introduce themselves to the community, they have hosted biweekly feeds.

It started with their first show, a solo show featuring Moon’s work during a Juneteenth celebration. Hemmelgarn’s brother was in town, so they made food for everyone who came.

It was such a success that in September, they created Friday feeds twice a month.

“The interactions we would have were so inspiring,” Hemmelgarn said. “We realized the location we had allowed us to have that platform to really bring a lot of

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people through the door. The most important thing to building community is consistency.”

Now every other Friday they open the gallery, transform it into a living room-style space, hang their art and then, along with volunteers, make food for about 30 to 50 people. The food is free.

“It is a meal where everyone comes in and engages,” Hemmelgarn said. “It’s grown every single time. Food brings people through the door. Everyone needs to eat.”

During one feed, a poet performed one of his works.

“I wish we had filmed it,” Hemmelgarn said. “We all packed in and he performed for about 5 minutes with this incredible poem. Having that stuff happen spontaneously feels so in line with what we are hoping can happen on a regular basis.”

The artists needed signage but turned it into a community art project. They filled water balloons with paint, tacked them onto a large canvas and taped off the words “Friday Feed.”

“While people were waiting for food, we laid the canvas outside and we had everyone throw darts at the water balloons,” Hemmelgarn said.

“That’s just fun. There’s no way for that to not make people happy when they hit a water balloon and paint bursts out.”

The canvas became a banner that is unfurled at every feed to alert the community.

Moon said they try to avoid going to large suppliers or supermarkets for the meals unless they absolutely have to. Instead, they buy from local food markets.

“There are all these little markets in the fashion and produce district,” Moon said. “You have access to them, and you can support the community you’re trying to bond with.”

Atelier hosts variety of creative events The Friday feeds opened the door for other events at the gallery. Friends have hosted improv hip-hop events or displayed their work as a fashion designer.

“Those projects and events are things we are really interested in,” Moon said. “We can offer up a weekend to people who need a platform to help them as they grow their brand. It’s a chance to connect with people as well.”

As they prepare for 2022, they are looking at ways to offer more events like that, whether spoken word, outreach projects or painting.

“We really want to engage, but we are also constantly trying to achieve sustainability,” Moon said. “We definitely have ideas to do more with the space, but we are also learning how to transition the space in different moments.”

The Atlier is intended to be a dream base, a pit stop, Moon said.

“If you’re an artist and you need to lean in with other artists, you walk in there and there is someone you can bond with and learn from,” Moon said. “We’re not trying to own anyone’s light. We just want to help them to shine brighter and create a platform they can come through.”

Name inspires dreaming DMST comes from a catch phrase that Moon has been saying since 2010 when he was in college and started making music in art school. It was there that conversations centered on learning all the rules and how to break them, on learning what one’s personal style is going to be and what will be each individual’s calling card.

“I was in full creation mode all the time,” Moon said. “I was always doing something creative in different mediums. I came up with this idea of Dream More, Stay True. I don’t want to give up on my dreams. I can’t see life without art, without making change through my abilities. How do I stay true?”

He started saying “Dream More, Stay True.” His mother started saying it to him. His friends started saying it to him. When he taught classes, he’d get the attention of students by saying “Dream More” and they’d respond with “Stay True.”

“It was a thing so versatile that I couldn’t escape it anymore,” Moon said. “I spent so many years manifesting it. The meaning of it is to stay true to your dreams — don’t let society conform you to letting go of it. It is a constant marathon, but when you stay true, eventually it becomes your reality.”

Celebrating their art DMST Atlier is a place where the two founding artists can display their works.

Moon has spent years creating work around issues of injustice and the battle of class and race. During the pandemic, he saw many other artists join him in the space because of all the protests and injustices.

“When I got to this space, I had so much art I had already created,” Moon said. “I started creating really big resin pieces made of found material.”

He was drawn to cardboard because it is often disregarded just as people often disregard issues of social justice. He’d cut images out of large sheets and then put resin over the top.

“A lot of what I have created in this space are these very big afro figures that came

Frannie Hemmelgarn, pictured, met fellow artist Marantz Moon online during the pandemic and discovered a shared vision for an arts venue. Together they founded DMST Atelier this year.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

from material that would have ended up in a pollution site,” Moon said. “I was creating this beacon of Black beauty. These are androgynous, beautiful, artistic expressions.”

Hemmelgarn said she uses art as a tool to learn things and apply them in life. Her art becomes a practice of presence. She’s working in two different styles.

The first are cyanotype sun prints. She treats paper or wood with a solution and then it becomes sun sensitive. For most of her prints, she used things she finds in nature, primarily leaves.

Her second style is painting. She starts by painting pieces that are flower inspired and then she cuts them up and puts them back together on wood.

“I create these beautiful pieces, and their beauty is the point,” Hemmelgarn said.

“They’re not done until I feel attached to them, and I love them. Then I cut them up.

I’m teaching myself detachment. Something can get more complicated and yet still more beautiful. All these things are reminders to me to keep moving forward.”

Artists seek out sustainability As they continue to grow, the two artists are focused on sustainability and how they can make their venture at least break even. They are self-funding everything they do.

They are looking for ways to fund the gallery, whether it’s through donations or selling their art.

They have a 50-50 agreement with most artists, but for their own art, they have an 80-20 split. The gallery gets 80% of the sale and they receive 20%. They’re also creating smaller pieces such as basketball planters and T-shirts for those who don’t want to spend $2,000 on a piece of art. They’re hoping to develop enough consistency to partner with others in the neighborhood, whether it be other arts organizations or a Blackowned soul food restaurant.

“There are a lot of different ways we can make this sustainable as artists who want a bigger platform and want to share our heart,” Hemmelgarn said. “If people like what we’re doing, if they are inspired by what we are doing, we welcome them helping out in any way, whether volunteering to bring food or just coming out. It goes a long way.”

DMST Atelier 1117 E. Seventh Street, Unit 2, Los Angeles dreammorestaytrue.com

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Essence Harden, the new visual arts curator for the California African American Museum, embraces the synergy between artists and art institutions, highlighting community and scholarship of Black visual arts.

Photo courtesy of the California African American Museum

African American museum curator uplifts artists, embraces community

By Andres de Ocampo LA Downtown News Staff Writer he California African American Museum’s new visual arts curator, Essence Harden, is embracing community and supporting artists, artwork and story through mindful cultivation of scholarship on Black visual arts and the West Coast.

Harden’s new position as the museum’s visual arts curator started on Dec. 13.

Founded in 1977, the museum is an art institution fully supported by the state of California. It’s dedicated to the history and role of African Americans in the American West’s cultural, economic and political development.

Harden, who has previous experience as an art writer and independent curator, said that they have worked with CAAM in some capacity in the past. Harden, speaking on the love they have for the museum and its significant role, said that they appreciate CAAM’s role in Los Angeles as a dedicated African American art institution.

“For art institutions that hold collections, I really appreciate CAAM’s placement in Los Angeles and how it’s been able to expand and guide collectors who are here with a lot of contemporary, working Black artists,” Harden said.

“It’s not just people who passed away, it’s about sustaining and building for now. CAAM’s mission has always been how to you maintain a relationship with the broader Los Angeles community but certainly, the Black California community.”

Harden grew up in Oakland, and following their Ph.D. qualifying exams at UC Berkeley in African diaspora studies, Harden moved to Los Angeles in 2015. Harden said that their academic work focused on Black artists in LA from 1977 to 1983

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and moving to Southern California primarily had to do with “being on the ground” and continuing research.

Whether it’s Ph.D. work, curating or writing, Harden said, “My concern, as a Black person from California, about my work is the West and how do we continue to thrive and shine but also how do we create supportive elements for folks to stay here.”

The move led Harden to explore writing art reviews and going to art exhibitions.

In 2016, Harden gave a presentation at a Black portraiture conference in South Africa with her friends Sadie Barnette and Adee Roberson. The Black portraiture conferences are a three-day series of conversations with artists, scholars, curators and other international attendees to cover the field of art and to share ideas, experiences on the topics history and current research with regard to African and African American diaspora.

“We had a really good time doing it and I took that idea, the way I designed our presentation, and I made it my first exhibition,” Harden said.

In 2017, Harden curated a group exhibition at the Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown called “Black is a Color,” which is described as an epistemological exhibition seeking to consider Black diasporic wonderings.

From then on, “I never really stopped curating,” Harden said.

Harden curated and co-curated exhibitions like “Shinique Smith: Refuge” and “Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary” at CAAM in 2018 and 2019, prior to building a list of curations for other exhibitions and art institutions.

“It’s been natural,” Harden said about the transition between academia and art curation. “A lot of the capacity for research (in education) and the public presentation of work, ideas and taking folks who don’t necessarily belong to each other and creating a narrative around that (in curating) is a lot of what teaching is, too.”

In their new role, Harden hopes to create more impactful and thoughtful writing about artists and their artwork, effectively tying in experience of scholarly pursuits.

“Artists need quality and thoughtful writing around their work,” Harden said.

“They need generative writing for their own practice. How people get grants, fellowships and residencies is having words written about them and their relationships with people who are writing about their work, or they can point to words written about their work to fill out applications. That’s huge.”

Though Harden said their career progression felt natural, to go from writing for nonacademic spaces to curating, Harden explained that there is an understanding of responsibility in their new role as visual arts curator for CAAM. “Thinking about what an institution like CAAM can really mean for folks who are emerging artists or who aren’t from California or LA but have shown there before is that it can be a pivotal step for them,” Harden said.

Harden said that their desire and want in their new role is to grapple with the migratory passage of Black artists and their ancestry, from the Midwest to continental Africa, and how that transition impacts the artwork created.

“The idea of migration, transition, the type of work that is created here, from an assemblage to dematerialized art practices to a real formation around community; those are the ideas that were in my dissertation, and they have always followed me when I’m doing my work,” Harden said.

Harden spoke about the importance of community and the impact it’s had on their life, describing the manifestation of community as being something akin to real friendships and a network base for emerging and existing artists, those involved with CAAM and the art world.

“To be a curator and do what I do has very much been about having friends and people having open arms with meeting new people. Those relationships made it possible to have this job,” Harden said.

Harden described the role and interaction between a curator, an art institution and artists as “a single organism.”

“One of the roles of a curator that’s so valuable, especially at an institution, is it can be life changing for someone. Someone who hasn’t had a solo exhibition might have their first, and often, once you get one thing you get other things,” Harden said.

“CAAM has this incredible role, along with the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco, which are two of the only art institutions in California that are dedicated to Black people, to do that for someone, to provide that platform and pivot point (in their career or life). I think about it like that.”

Harden described their position as an honor and how it’s humbling to be able to show work from artists who deserve recognition.

“My hopes are that people that haven’t had representation at CAAM before get it,” Harden said. “I hope that people come to CAAM and see (artists’) work and that those artists are able to use those solo or group exhibitions as pathways to get residencies that they desire.

“My goal as a curator is to care for artists, and their work is a part of that. Also, the people who are making the work are foundational to what I can do (as a curator). I think of being a curator, and continue to practice it, as a collaborative effort.

“People are vulnerable and (their work) is their whole heart, so I take that quite seriously and I think about how community and friendship can form in a deeper way,” Harden said.

DECEMBER 20, 2021

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DECEMBER 20, 2021