Embracing organizations of all sizes and types, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latinx art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Beginning in September, led by the Getty Foundation and presented by institutions all across Southern California, the exhibitions range from monographic studies of individual artists to broad surveys that cut across numerous countries.
To start, the exhibitions on my list to definitely see revolve around the Afro- and Chino-Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian experiences at the California African American Museum, the Chinese American Museum, the Annenberg Space for Photography, Gallery 38, and the Fowler Museum at U.C.L.A. Also on my to must see list are the exhibitions at the California Historical Society/L.A. Plaza de Cultura y Artes on disappeared Chicanx murals, the Institute of Contemporary Art L.A. presentation of artist Martín Ramírez’s work, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exploration of architecture design dialogues between California and Mexíco.
Sybil Atteck, Self Portrait , c.1970. Oil on board, 28 x 22 in. © Helen Atteck. “Circles and Circuits I: History and Art of the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora” exhibition, California African American Museum.
I am excited to see, experience and learn from as much of interesting exhibitions and programs as I can around Southern California that are associated with the Pacific Standard Time initiative. The works being presented by visual and performing artists falls under eight themes: Art and Activism; Borders, Diaspora and Displacement; Critiquing Globalism and Modernism; Definitions of Identity; Design/Architecture; Film/Music/Dance series; Abstract to Conceptual Art; and Pre-Hispanic to Colonial. Some of the exhibitions feature amazing catalogs with lots of images and interesting essays by scholars, artists and cultural observers.
The opening celebrations, begin on Thursday, September 14, with free concerts and performances, and a special installation at the Grand Park. On Sunday, September 17, selective museum around Southern California will be open for free to explore exhibitions.
This is the second installment of Pacific Standard Time, the collaboration of arts intuitions across Southern California, each presenting thematically linked exhibitions and programs designed to celebrate the region’s culture. The newest iteration of this programming initiative, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA takes place from September 2017 through January 2018 at cultural institutions from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and from Los Angeles to Palm Springs. The first Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980 took place between October 2011 and March 2012.
Sergio O’Cadiz Moctezuma, Detail of Fountain Valley Mural , 1974–1976, 6 x 625 feet. Destroyed 2001. Photographer unknown. Private collection of the O’Cadiz Family. “¡Murales Rebeldes! L.A. Chicana/o Murals under Siege” exhibition, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
For more information on all the exhibitions and events, check the Pacific Standard Time website, and, of course, your favorite sources for information on cultural happenings in Southern California.
