artsfarts, June 2021

hola :)

happy to be sharing artsfarts lists for June 2021. 

this month I have designed two bicycle rides, one of which is open should you like to join me via a bicycle, scooter, car or however you feel comfortable. I have compiled a list of galleries I am interested in, and you can also see my extended and in/complete list, of galleries in Los Angeles, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples and the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. I hope that these lists support you and yours in spreading access to arts resources to your communities. 

a group artsfarts ride for this month will be thursday, june 17th. below you will find the galleries I will be visiting and the schedule I will be following, at a moderate bicycle pace of 10 miles an hour. if you would like to join me you must make your own appointments to these galleries. to see the a more detailed spreadsheet with gallery addresses, instagram accounts, and hours click here. 

LACMA and MOCA are both open with appointments. MOCA is free. LACMA is free mon-fri after 3 if you have an LA county address. I encourage you to watch a replay of this zoom meeting with the Strike MOMA movement and the overlap between occupational oppressive regimes, policing forces and arts institutions; specifically in the artwashing of colonial forces via the board members and donor money at arts institutions. 

while I do encourage you to ride your bicycles I understand that doing so with a group is far more comfortable, and look forward to riding together with you all in the future. if you do plan on riding your bike please remember to wear your helmet, pack an extra tube, your lights, water.

see below for a more detailed bike route with maps and street guides.

solo ride gallery appointment? visit duration miles / time to next gallery	June 17th – group ride gelaria ¿cita requerida? duración de visita millas / minutos a proxima galeria
rele appointment required 12 – 12:30 3.8 miles – 24 min	roberts projects appointment required 1:30 – 1:55 >.5 mil, 2 min
LACE appointment required 1 – 1:30 9.8 mi – 55 min	blum + poe (or other galleries in the CC row) appointment required 2 – 2:25 3 mil, 20 min
Luis de Jesus appointments available 2:25 – 2:50 1.1 miles – 6 min	LACMA appointment required 3:00 – 4:15 3 mil, 20 min
Night Gallery appointment required 2:55 – 3:25 1 mile, 5 min	Libertine appointment required 4:35 – 4:55 >.5 mil, >5 min
the Mistake Room outdoor mural and sound installation no appointment required 3:30 – 3:50 3.3 miles, 18 min	Steve Turner no appointment required 5 – 5:20 >.5 mil, >5 min or  LAXART no appointment required 5 – 5:20 >.5 mil, >5 min
CAAM appointment required 4 – 5:oo pm	Deitch appointment required 5:30 – 6:00

I should add that I am certainly feeling some kind of weird watching as things around me return to a normal that continues to beguile and elude the most vulnerable in our communities, a normal that continues to limit access across many communities. I hope that this list helps in spreading access to arts resources to those in your communities.

In the ongoing and necessary reckoning with the injustices we live with, many of the arts institutions in this city and elsewhere have begun to speak openly about the role they play in upholding systemic inequities; it is refreshing to find that more galleries are showcasing artists of color in their spaces and I am disappointed in the lack of representation of Indigenous artists in these white cubes.

If you’ve been on one of my arts farts rides before, or clicked through my selection of galleries, you will know that most the artists are of color, women and or queer artists. this will continue.

I look forward to hearing about your excursions, and be safe out there :)

some things to know about visiting these galleries while we are in a pandemic:

• masks and social distancing are required at all times while inside galleries.
• appointments for 30 minute self guided tours are required at the majority of galleries. Most galleries have an easy to fill out form on their websites.
• many reservations are on an individual basis, if you would like to visit with a friend you would each need to make a reservation. some galleries require you to leave your contact information for contact tracing.
• all galleries on my list this month are free.
• most galleries have installation shots of the works on their website, and some even have virtual experiences of their exhibits.
• many galleries are no longer printing out artist statements or checklists, and instead are displaying QR codes for you to download these as pdfs., you will need an app for this. if you wish to avoid doing this while at the gallery you can email the gallery for a copy of these for you to download beforehand.

• Made in LA 2020: A Version is now open at the Hammer Museum and the Huntington Library, tickets are made available every other tuesday and include a free pass to visit the second half of the show at the Huntington Library.
• LACMA and MOCA are both open with appointments. LACMA is free mon-fri after 3 if you have an LA county address. I encourage you to watch a replay of this zoom meeting with the Strike MOMA movement and the overlap between occupational oppressive regimes, policing forces and arts institutions; specifically in the artwashing of colonial forces via the board members and donor money at arts institutions.
• check out gallery platform LA for weekly rotating virtual showrooms of art galleries throughout LA.

notes for riding from weho to dtla

• this is the google maps route that I followed, beginning in west hollywood and ending at CAAM in expo park, 20 miles. if you would like to drive to and from the start you may consider driving or taking public transportation to dtla and taking the metro red line subway to or from the beginning and or end. 
• the California African American Museum is an amazing place. I would anticipate spending an hour there with just two exhibits. they have four exhibits open right now. 
• this ride has a ten mile stretch that includes some long and rolling hills, about an hour long bike ride at a modest pace. taking the metro red line for this portion is also an option. 
• I encourage you to create your own map and route to include other galleries, some info about these streets. 
  • when getting to rele gallery avoid large streets, and if making use of the alleys along melrose slow down at intersections; watch out for pedestrians traffic that can’t see you. 
  • from Rele gallery walk to the corner before hopping on your bike. 
  • LACE has an amazing exhibit and Rele is a small space; I would plan on leaving Rele and arriving at LACE early. 
  • LACE is on the south side of busy hollywood Blvd. options:
    • you can walk there from the corner of hollywood and wilcox.
    • while on wilcox, you can make a left at selma just before hollywood and make a right at hollywood and pull up right in front of LACE. 
  • riding down hollywood blvd, on the street, is not that terrible. riding on the sidewalk on the walk of fame you could get a ticket for. fuck the police. make sure you are clearly taking the whole lane. if you try it for a while and find it uncomfortable, make a right and find selma, or sunset, or fountain. 
  • Glendale blvd along echo park through to 2nd street does not have a bike lane. the safest way is take the lane, in clear sight of the cars around you. if you would rather ride on a bike lane continue on sunset until figueroa and then second street. 
  • echo park is open however still fenced off after the expulsion of its residents. though little has been done to address the chronic concurrent causes and or coinciding circumstances of being unhoused; of the 160-180 that accepted hotel rooms, most are now being moved to hotels outside of LA and many fear being kicked out soon as the city begins to reopen. LA times, LAist. 
  • there is construction at and around 2nd at broadway and at spring, barring that 2nd and spring have great bicycle lanes. use the alley between 2nd and 3rd to get from broadway to spring. 
  • along 6th street you will be riding through skid row and past the midnight mission, which helps our unhoused neighbors with a number of emergency services. a simple and impactful way to help is by packing lunches and dropping them off. 
  • the city is still under court order to find shelter for all those living in skid row by october. some fear that this will simply lead to money for further sweeps without providing safe long term housing. guardian.
•  after leaving Luis de Jesus you will begin to see many 18 wheelers. stay visible in the late, avoid popping out from between parked cars. 
• if you feel very confident in your bike riding and or are riding with friends, take santa fe from Luis de Jesus to Night gallery. Caution, Santa Fe is very uneven and has many cracks and bumps, stay visible and call out cumbersome parts to those in your group.
• leaving night gallery, you will be riding along washington blvd, a very large dusty street with lots of 18 wheeler traffic. if this makes you feel uncomfortable ride on the sidewalk. 
• Sidewalk riding is allowed in Los Angeles county. with the exception of Hollywood Blvd, most areas in Santa Monica, beverly Hills and Culver city, as well as most business districts; “These districts can sometimes be defined as an area contained by certain streets or they can be defined by the California Vehicle Code 240, which defines almost any building as being eligible for a “business district” that is not a single family home.” LADOT Bike Blog
• if you are uncomfortable using the left turning late to cross alameda walk your bike as a pedestrian. 
• the Mistake Room is hosting in outdoor mural and sound installation. 
• after leaving the Mistake Room, you will carefully cross the blue line tracks to get to adams and figueroa, both of which have bike lanes and will take you directly to CAAM.

notes for riding from culcer city to weho

this months ride begins in culver city with Roberts Projects and Blue & Poe, and ends in West Hollywood at Deitch. 

if you would like to take public transport or car, consider traveling to a midpoint, such as 3rd or wilshire.

notes for riding from culcer city to weho

this months ride begins in culver city and visits with Roberts Projects and Blue & Poe and ends in West Hollywood at Deitch. 

if you would like to leave your car at a convenient point between the start and end, consider leaving it at or near pan pacific park.  

LACMA has reopened and you can make your appointments here. 

• check each box on this page to access the ticket link.
• you can still get free tickets monday through friday after 3pm if you live in Los Angeles.
• anyone 17 and under gets free admission.
• LA county youth (17 and under) can still receive free tickets via the nexgen youth membership for themselves and for one accompanying adult each. 
• at this time you cannot sign up for the nexgen membership and receive your card and discount the same day. you can sign up for nexgen by printing out this form and dropping it off on campus, you will then have to wait, hopefully no more than a month, to receive your nexgen form in the mail.
• at this time I am not sure how one receives free tickets via your ebt card, an option previously available, but will find out! :)

I encourage you to create your own map and route to include other galleries, if so, some info about these streets.

• venice blvd has a wonderful bike lane however some uneven pavement while going under the 10 fwy.
• ride down fairfax all the way to lacma if you’ve ridden on streets before. however, if you consider yourself a novice and would rather ride in a bike like or on single lane streets turn right after you cross pico.
• use s. Genesse ave. when crossing san vicente, 
• Hauser blvd. has a nice bicycle lane. 
• I would avoid riding down 6th street if possible. 
• lacma – the bike locks are located along 6th street between levitated mass and 
• Rosewood ave. has a nice bike line and a light for crossing la brea. 
• Mansfield ave, to cross melrose at a light
• both ends and beginnings of this ride host multiple galleries, you may even want to park and walk between the galleries la cienega between washington and venice as well as on n. orange dr., and Roberts Projects is only a few blocks from Blum & Poe on la cienega. and so if one gallery’s appointments aren’t available at the time you’d like, check out another one next door.