Beginning with World AIDS Day arts programs of video and performance, diverse visual artists creating celebrated works of theatre, cinematic seasonal pageantry in the cathedral, drawings of cats visitors can never forget, dance on a rooftop, crafting sock-monkey Santas, sound art at the villa, artists improving public monuments, a pop-art toy drive, contemporary makers market brunch, as well as a novel memoir from a popular, fantastic voice of their era.
December 1
Being & Belonging at Blum & Poe.
The museum celebrates Day With(out) Art with a Visual AIDS presentation featuring seven new movies that focus on the psychological realities of life with HIV today. Clifford Prince King, Camila Arce, Jhoel Zempoalteca & La Jerry, and Camilo Acosta Huntertexas & Santiago Lemus have new works on the event. Day With (out) Art urges museums, universities, museums, and art institutions to present relevant programs on or around December 1, World AIDS Day; over 100 locations across the world will offer Being & Belonging.
We Scream Your Name at Highways
In honour of World AIDS Day, this free all-day live event includes remembering, blessings, community, and special guests Michael Kearns, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, and the L.A. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The event’s title, We Scream Your Name, is a tribute to artist Kosta Pappas’ journal entry, “Scream my name.” Pappas died in 1989 at the age of 35 due to AIDS symptoms. Consider in quiet or out loud, share a performance or reading, and help re-ink the names painted on Highways’ initial AIDS Memorial Floor in 1989.
December 2
La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Over 100 performers, singers, indigenous Aztec dancers, and community members perform in the Latino Theater Company’s annual Christmas extravaganza. La Virgen is Los Angeles’ largest theatrical Christmas show. Join the tens of millions of people who have been captivated by the narrative of Juan Diego, a lowly peasant to whom the Virgin Mary visited four times in the Tepeyac highlands outside Mexico City in 1531. Evelina Fernández adapted The Nican Mopohua for the theatre from a mid-16th century source.
Daily Rains and Drylongso at the Academy Museum with Cauleen Smith in person.
Cauleen Smith’s investigations of the female Black experience in the American avant-garde are memorable, thanks to her use of structural filmmaking vocabulary. Her works, which draw on science fiction and Third Cinema and are anchored in an inquisition of reality, highlight the vulnerability of Black women in America. Daily Rains is a measured, lyrical composition that challenges micro- and macro-aggressions; it also includes a coming-of-age story. Drylongso follows Pica, an adolescent artist, on her mission to photograph young African American guys, whom she thinks are becoming an “endangered species.”
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed at AMC Sunset 5.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional, and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras.
December 3
Gregory Jacobsen: Glamour Cats at La Luz de Jesus.
Jacobsen’s paintings depict cats’ magical, comical, majestic, humorous, and even frightening aspects. The work, inspired by 1980s beauty photographs and yearbook photos, exposes human qualities ranging from shyness and fragility to insanity and euphoric excitement, particularly through the eerie usage of human traits inside the feline physiognomy. Their intricacy and electrically flamboyant palette, meticulously drawn hair by hair, give the photos a beautiful jewelled appearance. This cat’s radiance and beauty know no bounds – or restrictions.
Billy Porter at Book Soup.
“Unprotected” by Porter is the autobiography of a rare artist and survivor. It’s the narrative of an adolescent discovering himself, finding his voice, and honing his skills in the midst of adversity. And it’s the narrative of a young guy whose unwavering tenacity propelled him through innumerable adversities to where he is now: a proud icon who refuses to back down or hide. Porter is a multi-talented, versatile gem at the pinnacle of his craft, and Unprotected is a poignant, uplifting story of suffering and healing infused with his distinct voice.
New Exhibitions and Holiday Party at Thinkspace Projects.
“Unmode” by Ben Tolman features meticulously drawn architectural sketches. What is it You Seek? by Hanna Lee Joshi features bright faceless figurative pieces expressing an ethereal goddess, luminous, full of wonder, and incredibly human. Nika Mtwana’s Protagonist delves into AfroFuturism, while Carl Cashman and Oscar Joyo’s Hybrid blends Cashman’s brilliant neon geometry and Joyo’s multicoloured chromesthesia investigations. DJs, an open bar, live painting, tamales, a vape bar, video projections, a charity toy drive, and a curated artisans market are all part of the festivities.
Tim Story: Moebius Strips at Villa Aurora.
Tim Story’s one-of-a-kind tribute to the late Dieter “Moebi” Moebius’ musical legacy is an immersive audio sculpture inspired by his decades-long connection with the prominent Swiss/German electronic musician. Story gathered hundreds of his sounds, noises, samples, and loops and reimagined and recomposed them into “strips” that recombined in new and ever-evolving layers, enabling listeners to explore Moebius’ engagingly twisted sonic playground for themselves.
Illuminate LA: Undoing Monumental Harm Through Visual Art at Grand Park.
The Illuminate LA discourse series, designed and organised by cultural organiser Anuradha Vikram of Curative Projects, analyses how Grand Park’s 20th-century monuments relate to 21st-century Angelenos. Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, Connie Martin Trevino, Jackie Amezquita, Nicole Rademacher, and Paul Donald will conduct an afternoon of interactive workshops to memorialise the public histories and cultural memories that are not, or are no longer, reflected by the physical locations and items downtown. Participants will construct transitory artworks in the form of “anti-monuments” or “monuments” that represent their personal Los Angeles experiences.
Holiday Marketplace at Craft Contemporary.
This annual event, hosted in the museum’s outdoor courtyard and featuring booths from 20+ local artists, crafters, and designers, is a joyful shopping weekend displaying a selected selection of remarkable, one-of-a-kind modern craft and design by LA-based artisans. Celebrate the thriving community of local makers while supporting Craft Contemporary’s mission and activities, plus music and sweets. Preview visitors have first access to the Marketplace, a more personal shopping experience, and a complimentary drink and breakfast bar, along with a colourful DIY gift-wrapping station.
