Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on schools, stores, businesses and events. With in-person concerts, talks, comedy shows, food festivals and other gatherings cancelled, we have turned our events column into a "nonevents" column. It will remain this way as long as social distancing and stay-at-home orders are in effect.
During this difficult time, please consider contributing to your local arts organizations or to individual artists and performers.
Celebrate Disneyland's 65th anniversary online. Listen to emerging Mexican musicians talk about their sonic explorations. Participate in a found poetry project. Watch a classic horror film. Take a ghostly tour. Or learn Japanese business etiquette.
Amy Kim Keeler, Future Jupiter
Lowell Ryan Projects
4851 West Adams Blvd., West Adams
The gallery presents a solo exhibition of 16 works by L.A.-based artist Amy Kim Keeler. Each piece is hand-stitched in cotton thread on corrugated cardboard. The artist's practice is influenced by Anthroposophy, a 20th century philosophical movement that posits every person's actions, thoughts and feelings directly impact our collective future. The exhibition and gallery are open by appointment only.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Disneyland's 65th Anniversary Special
The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco holds a day of Disneyland-centric virtual programming to celebrate the anniversary. There's a segment with voiceover artists and producing partners Bill Rogers and Camille Dixon; rare home videos from the theme park's 1955 opening day; a talk and Q&A with Imagineer Chris Crump; and a feature on the Disneyland model in the museum. The program will be streamed live on the museum's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
El Son de la Nueva Generación: Creating New Music with Traditional Mexican Instruments
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes' En Casa con LA Plaza virtual series continues with a focus on young Mexican artists who've been exploring the mix of traditional music, jazz and classical genres. Journalist Betto Arcos interviews three musicians at the vanguard of this sound: Ik'Balam, Pablo Emiliano and Vico Díaz.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Las Hijas de los Días: Postfeminism in the Diaspora
The 18th Street Arts Center hosts an online conversation (via Zoom and Facebook Live) about the themes explored in the group exhibition Las Hijas de los Días -- 7 Female Views from the Margins, currently on view at the organization's Airport Gallery. Frida Cano moderates a conversation and Q&A with art historians Fiamma Montezemolo and Sara Solaimani who'll discuss the historical and anthropological context of the works.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Found Poetry Project
The Muckenthaler Cultural Center's 2020 artist-in-residence Katharine Zaun invites community members to send in their found poetry for an outdoor installation in August. Zaun holds an instructional workshop over Zoom this week supplying participants of all ages with suggestions and prompts. Mail or drop off submissions by July 31 to be included in the poetry display.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Grease: Summer Weekend Drive-In at the Roadium
The Roadium Open Air Market
2500 West Redondo Beach Blvd., Torrance
The Rydell High kids return to the big screen and you can catch them under the stars. Food, movie snacks and other treats will be available for purchase. Theater management asks that guests watch the film from their cars and follow health protocols. (If watching from a flatbed/pickup truck, please wear a mask.)
COST: $25 per car; MORE INFO
2020 Virtual OC Fair
While it's not the same as eating deep-fried Snickers or Twinkies in 100-degree heat, the fair moves online to ocfair.com and its social media channels. Watch videos of favorite performers or photo galleries from past summer fairs. Check out the site for family activities, contests and details on the OC Fair Fun Run 5K, which is also going virtual this year.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The Beauty War
Cakeland Gallery
936 Mei Ling Way, Chinatown DTLA
Scott Hove's latest immersive, fine art exhibition reflects on today's turbulent social, economic and environmental climate. The battle of light-meets-dark is imagined in Hove's signature "hallucinatory cake" creations. The exhibition and gallery is open by appointment only.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
How Japanese-Style Business Culture Applies to Today's New 'Business Normal'
Japan House hosts a live, online discussion about Japanese culture through the lens of business communications. Learn about the best ways to convey controversial information, the importance of verbal agreements and how to bow in a video conference call. The session is led by Japan House LA President Yuko Kaifu and is moderated by Institute for the Future Research Director Mark Frauenfelder.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Paul Bartel's Shelf Life
American Cinematheque presents an online discussion and Q&A about Bartel, a Roger Corman collaborator, and his last film. Guests include actors-writers O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein and Jim Turner, who are joined by filmmaker Alex Mechanik. The film will be available to view before the discussion beginning on Thursday. RSVP to receive a link to the Zoom discussion. The link will be sent on Sunday.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
The Wicker Man Watch Party
The Secret Movie Club holds a Netflix watch party of the 1973 horror classic. To join in the fun and chat during the film, download Netflix Party on a Chrome browser. SMC will email the link 30 minutes before showtime. Follow the directions to make sure that your viewing is in sync with everyone else's. The Wicker Man starts promptly at 8:05 p.m.
COST: By donation; MORE INFO
Haunted Santa Ana Ghost Walk
Various locations
Listen to Santa Ana's secrets and nearly forgotten tales of execution, murder and haunting spirits. Join a 90-minute guided walk through the city's historic district. Meet up at the Howe-Waffle Mansion (120 Civic Center Dr.).
COST: $24 per person; MORE INFO
The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties The Films Together
The American Cinematheque's book club continues with a look into the work of Joel and Ethan Coen, starting with their 1984 debut Blood Simple then moving through Raising Arizona, Fargo and No Country for Old Men. Join in a Zoom discussion with film critic and author Adam Nayman.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Silents Under the Stars
The Hollywood Heritage Museum turns the series into a virtual screeningevent, presenting the 1920 silent comedy, The Deadlier Sex, starring Blanche Sweet, Mahlon Hamilton and Boris Karloff in his first feature role. In the film, the daughter of a railroad magnate kidnaps her business rival to save her father's company and show him money can't buy everything.
COST: FREE, but donations accepted; MORE INFO
Grand Park's Sunday Sessions
The online celebration of house music pays tribute to SoCal's underground party scene and crews of the 1990s. Presented in partnership with Map Pointz, a subculture digital archive documenting Latino youth from the era, the afternoon includes archival photographs and video footage during sets by DJ Irene, DJ Hi-C, Frankie Z, Jungle George, Modern Romance and Pachuco.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The ODDyssey
The Getty Villa presents its first virtual theater presentation in collaboration with the Troubadour Theater Company (aka the "Troubies"). Tune in to the Getty Museum YouTube channel each Sunday as the theater company performs a whimsical retelling of Homer's 24 books in five episodes of 15-20 minutes each.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Who doesn't miss going out to eat or stopping by a bar for a drink? Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal.
