LACMA to turn Wilshire into a ‘living gallery’ with inaugural Art Parade

LACMA is turning a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in front of its new David Geffen Galleries into a living gallery.

The Art Parade is the creation of gallerist Jeffrey Deitch who first put on the event in New York’s SoHo from 2005 to 2008.

A scene from one of the east coast Art Parades of years past.

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Courtesy LACMA

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The inaugural L.A. edition will include 1,400 participants marching down Wilshire. There will be a massive, mirrored inflatable sculpture, a custom-painted 1959 Cadillac powered by humans and an 18-piece marching band.

“It’s going to give you the feeling of Mardi Gras, but obviously not New Orleans. I think what people are going to recognize is just the enthusiasm and excitement for this moment here in L.A.,” Naima Keith, senior vice president of education, public programs and regional partnerships at LACMA, told LAist.

You can also expect a cotton candy-themed entry from Meow Wolf, the group behind a number of immersive art museums that is slated to open an installation in L.A. later this year. L.A. artist Gary Baseman, whose exhibition recently opened at Johnie’s Coffee Shop at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, will present “Peace Thru Purr.”

Keith said Art Parade is in line with LACMA director Michael Govan’s mission to make the Mid-City art institution and the surrounding space a communal “living room.”

“It’s a celebration of L.A., of L.A. artists, of the vibrant art community that’s here,” Keith said.