The Unmarked Door Presents "The Heart of Winter", an Immersive Holiday Tale
2017-12-17, 2017-12-16, 2017-12-16 - 2017-12-17 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Saturday, December 16th and Sunday December 17th, join us in welcoming The Unmarked Door for a special presentation of The Heart of Winter, an immersive evening created by Syrie Moskowitz (The Midnight Frolic) and Golden Globe and Emmy nominated composer, Rolfe Kent (Dexter, Sideways, Legally Blonde, Up in the Air).
It starts with A Winter Reunion…
Lanterns, Polar Bears, and Professor Gustavson from Advanced Pyrotechnics and Theoretical Lasers? Reunite with your former college classmates on a Winter Camping Adventure. Get ready for team games around the campfire, a rousing snowball fight, and waltzing to the backdrop of falling snow, all while helping Sebastian figure out his love life in a Winter Wonderland. It’s “an enchanted musical tale for the holiday” -Noah Nelson, No Proscenium
Performance Schedule
Saturday, December 16
6:30pm and 9:00pm
Sunday, December 17
5:00 pm and 8:00pm
Information and to Purchase Tickets

A Special Discussion with Alec Byrne and Hugh Brown at Arcana Books this Weekend
2017-12-17 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Sunday, December 17th between 4 and 6 pm, join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a very special discussion between Alec Byrne and Grammy award-winning art director, designer, and artist Hugh Brown followed by a book signing.
In addition to the spectacular boxed Insight Editions London Rock – The Unseen Archive, Arcana will have copies of the special überEditions “Signature Editions” – each limited to twenty-five copies only with one of five matted silver gelatin photographic prints of Byrne’s iconic images of the halcyon days of Rock.
Photographer Alec Byrne covered the British rock and roll scene from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s – the height of the rock revolution. Legendary performers such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, Bob Marley, T. Rex, The Doors, The Faces, The Hollies, and David Bowie passed through Swinging London and provided provocative fodder for the prolific young lensman. Byrne’s resulting archive of rock-and-roll photos disappeared out of sight and into storage for close to four decades before being reintroduced to the world in late 2012 with an acclaimed one-night show in Los Angeles attended by more than one thousand people. Since then, the work has been featured during the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and acquired by London’s National Portrait Gallery. Through rare live performance images, intimate portraits, and candid captures of the scene, Alec Byrne: The Unseen Archive – the photographer’s first feature-length book – brings the era into stunning focus, painting an evocative picture of an inimitable time and place.

Arcana Hosts a Discussion + Book Signing with Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck & Manfred Heiting
2017-12-16 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, December 16th between 4 and 6 pm, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a discussion with Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck and Manfred Heiting, celebrating their two significant new books from Steidl.
VIEWS OF JAPAN FROM THE GLORIA KATZ & WILLARD HUYCK COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS: Most collectors have their own unique attractions and approaches to the objects of their collecting. This exquisitely produced volume features the adventures of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck – two renowned filmmakers who began collecting Japanese photography more than a decade ago – whose ongoing hunt seems indeed like a Hollywood movie. A memoir about their love of Japanese photography and their experiences collecting it, Views of Japan makes available a selection of rare masterpieces from their extensive collection along with a personal “script” recounting how they scouted, debated, selected, and ultimately acquired many of the works. This was no small undertaking considering the rarity of some of the images, particularly those taken before the 1970s. Since 2002, they have assembled an encyclopedic collection of images from the 19th Century to the present, including key works by Nobuyoshi Araki, Hiroshi Hamaya, Eikoh Hosoe, Miyako Ishiuchi, Kikuji Kawada, Daido Moriyama, Ikko Narahara, Issei Suda, Shomei Tomatsu, and Shoji Ueda.
Their collection was shaped into Views of Japan by photographic historian Manfred Heiting, the designer and editor of extensive surveys of German, Soviet, and Japanese photobooks. The resulting volume is a distinctly personal presentation of one of the greatest private holdings of Japanese photography in the world, and an accessible look at a practice long ignored by Western histories.
THE JAPANESE PHOTOBOOK 1912-1990: Edited by Manfred Heiting – who has also designed and edited extensive surveys of German and Soviet photobooks, “The Japanese Photobook 1912-1990” illustrates the development of photography in twentieth Century as seen in the photo publications of Japan. Documenting successively the early Modernist influences of European and American Pictorialism, the German Bauhaus and Imperial military propaganda, to the complete collapse and destruction of the country in 1945, it then records a new beginning with the unique self-determination of a young generation of Post-War photographers and visual artists highlighted by the “Provoke” style, as well as protest and war documentation of the late 1950s to the early ’70s – the signature “Japanese photobook” – as we have come to know it.
This massive, authoritative, and highly visual undertaking presents an essay by Ryuichi Kaneko – the leading historian of Japanese photobooks, contributions from Heiting, Fujimura Satomi, Duncan Forbes, Mitsuda Yuri, Iizawa Kotaro, Shirayama Mari, and Matthew S. Witkovsky, and detailed information and illustrations of over four hundred photographically-illustrated publications. It is the most extensive English-language survey of Japanese photobooks of this period, and a crucial step in making the history of Japanese photography – long-neglected by the Western canon – accessible to the English-speaking world.

MEGA Photobook Saturday at Arcana on 12/9!
2017-12-09 15:00 - 19:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, December 9th between 3 and 7 pm, stop by Arcana: Books on the Arts for a very special afternoon celebrating some of the year’s best photobooks with signings and discussions as part of a month-long collaboration with one of the world’s finest photobook publishers, MACK. An exhibition featuring highlights from their stellar program continues through December 24th.
SCHEDULE
3 to 5 pm
ED + DEANNA TEMPLETON: CONTEMPORARY SUBURBIUM
Signing their new Nazraeli Press collaboration!
3 to 5 pm
MIKE SLACK: THE TRANSVERSE PATH and TIM CARPENTER: LOCAL OBJECTS
Signing their two new The Ice Plant books!
5 to 7 pm
SAM CONTIS IN DISCUSSION WITH KATE WOLF + BOOK SIGNING FOR DEEP SPRINGS
5 to 7 pm
BOOK SIGNING WITH THOMAS DEMAND, ANTHONY HERNANDEZ, FUMI ISHINO, AND MARK RUWEDEL

Join Rejuvenation for a Holiday Launch Party with Hillery Sproatt
2017-12-07 17:30 - 20:00 | Rejuvenation, 8780 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Free
On Thursday, December 7th from 5:30 to 8 pm, stop into the Rejuvenation showroom for an evening of complimentary wine, live music, exclusive shopping perks, and to meet one of their new designer collaborators, Hillery Sproatt.
Hillery will be holding a watercolor workshop providing everything you need to paint your own one-of-a-kind holiday cards.
Mark your calendars, and RSVP here!

Local Mercato Pop Up at HD Buttercup - CANCELLED
2017-12-06 17:00 - 22:00 | H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic, 3225 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles,, CA, 90034, United States
We’re sorry to announce that this event has been cancelled due to the fires. Our hearts go out to those affected. We will keep you posted about rescheduling the event.
On Wednesday, December 6th from 5 to 10 pm, head over to HD Buttercup for a little shopping, sipping, and tasting as they welcome Local Mercato for a holiday pop-up extravaganza. Featuring over 25 designers, Local Mercato’s gift shop is a carefully curated selection of items sure to fulfill all your gift-giving needs.

Block Printing + Sewing Workshop at Helms Bakery District
2017-12-02 10:00 - 16:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Saturday, December 2nd from 10 am to 4 pm, please join us in welcoming Akogare Trading Co. for a one-day-only Block Printing + Sewing Workshop.
In the morning, fiber artist and educator Carrie Burckle will introduce block printing techniques on unfinished textiles. Students will design and carve their own foam blocks, then experiment with color and pattern. Come afternoon, students will work with fashion designer and master sewer Yoshimi Radstrom of Kaban+ to transform their newly printed textile into a finished piece or pieces. Patterns will be available for an apron, simple wrap shirts, scarf, or simple zippered or drawstring pouches. Students may also bring their own fabric (natural fibers only) if they’d like to experiment with overprinting.
We’ll supply the raw materials you’ll need, including a selection of zippers and cording – as well as a light lunch, beverages, and great conversation! $50 material fee payable to instructors at the class.
This class is for beginning and intermediate students. Click HERE to register.
Fee: $150
PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER HERE. No refunds will be honored within 24 hours of the beginning of the workshop.

Harbour Outdoor Invites You Over for an Aussie Party
2017-11-30 17:30 - 20:30
Free
On Thursday, November 30th from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, please join Harbour Outdoor for an opening reception featuring their new indoor furniture collection!
Meet the design duo, brothers Nicholas and Harrison Condos, over Aussie cocktails and light bites and hear all about how they expanded their outdoor living vibe, taking it inside your home with the same luxurious look and feel.
FREE Parking is available in the lot near the Harbour showroom entrance. Please RSVP to camille@harbouroutdoor.com.

Meet Publisher Michael Mack and Special Guests at Arcana Books!
2017-11-25 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, November 25th from 4 to 6 pm, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts in celebration of the launch of an extraordinary exhibition of books, prints, and special editions spanning the history of the eminent London-based publishing house, MACK Books.
Among the guests in attendance will be publisher Michael Mack, photographers Thomas Demand, Anthony Hernandez, Torbjørn Rødland, Fumi Ishino, and more! This MACKstravaganza will continue through December 24th with rarities for sale, book signings, discussions, and special events.
We hope to see you Saturday and stay tuned for info on upcoming MACK events!

Arcana Books Hosts a Conversation with Author Emily Spivak
2017-11-12 15:00 - 17:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Head over to Arcana: Books on the Arts on Sunday, November 12th from 3 to 5pm to celebrate the publication of Emily Spivak’s Worn In New York, and enjoy a conversation with the author and contributors including artist Catherine Opie (whose leather jacket graces the cover), producer Alicia Van Couvering, and writer + artist Mel Shimkovitz!
“The boots a passenger had on when his plane landed on the Hudson River, the tank top Andy Warhol’s assistant wore to one of their nightclub outings together, the jacket a taxi driver put on to feel safe as he worked the night shift…”
These and over sixty other clothing-inspired narratives make up Worn in New York – the latest volume from New York Times bestselling author Emily Spivack. In these first-person accounts, contributors in and out of the public eye share surprising, personal, wild, poignant, and funny stories behind a piece of clothing that reminds them of a significant moment of their New York lives. Worn in New York offers a contemporary cultural history of the city – its changing identity, temper, and tone, and its irrepressible vitality – by paying tribute to these well-loved clothes and the people who wore them.
Included are contributions from Adam Horovitz, Amy Heckerling, Andre Royo, Anna Sui, Aubrey Plaza, Catherine Opie, Coco Rocha, Dick Cavett, Eileen Myles, Fab 5 Freddy, Gay Talese, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, J.D. Samson, Jenji Kohan, Jenna Lyons, Kyp Malone, Lena Dunham, Pee Wee Kirkland, Thelma Golden, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and many, many more.
About the Author
Emily Spivack is a Brooklyn-based artist, writer, and editor who writes a recurring column for T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar.

Arcana Hosts a Popup with Jewelry Designer Larisa Laivins
2017-11-11 15:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Tis’ the season to start your holiday shopping!
If you’re searching for a special, one-of-a-kind gift, head over to Arcana: Books on the Arts on Saturday, November 11 from 3 to 6pm for a one-day popup with jewelry designer Larisa Laivins. Check out Larisa’s new collection while enjoying refreshments and light bites.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to hurricane relief.

Little Bite Gallery presents Artist Edmound Veyna
2017-11-04 19:00 - 22:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join us on Saturday, November 4th from 7 to 10 pm for the inaugural opening of Little Bite Gallery. Their first show welcomes the artwork of Edmound Veyna in his long-anticipated debut solo exhibition titled UTOPIA: A perfect paradise that doesn’t exist, but which we all dream of anyway.
Edmound’s paintings transport viewers to a familiar and beckoning place, while at the same time confronting the limitations of being human. This disenchantment creates an unexpected effect; it alludes to the power of creativity humans harness to manifest vivid inner realities. His work humbles and inspires, breaks down and builds up perception. What are viewers left with? The depth and beauty of interacting with a static and vast landscape. They are left to manifest their own desire, awe, and nostalgia; they are left to wonder what they might create if their inner realities were as vivid and unapologetic as Edmound’s.
UTOPIA will be on view for the opening celebration and November 12th from 2:30 pm to 6 pm.
ALL OTHER TIMES by appointment only through November 16th at Helms Design Center.
To schedule a viewing, please call or text Alyssa at (203) 900-4980.

LA Design in the Age of GLOW: The Eighties!
2017-10-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Join us on Thursday, October 26 from 6 to 8 pm, as we welcome Louise Sandhaus and a panel of 1980s design giants – April Greiman, Jeri Heiden, Jayme Odgers, Paul Prejza, and Peter Shire – to remind us of the iconic LA design heyday and explore the motivations and design scene of this moment.
In the 1980s the world’s design eye did a double-take as it swung from New York and Europe to Los Angeles and the west coast. It was bright! It was fun! It glowed! Full of swashes, squiggles, pixels, and teaming with attitude and freshness, LA was shining. April Greiman was creating a new visual language via the freshly-released Apple Mac computer; Jayme Odgers’ new wave design and experimental collage photography was making the scene; Peter Shire gave tangible ceramic form to a California vibe; Sussman/Prezja’s design for the 1984 Olympics may have garnered more global attention than the sports themselves; all of which was accompanied by the visual sound track of album cover design and art direction by Jeri Heiden.
Please RSVP as space is limited.
Free Valet Parking is located inside the interior parking garage at 8711 Washington Boulevard, next to the Room & Board showroom.
Reception: 6:00 pm | Discussion: 6:30

About the Panelists:

April Greiman
In the ’80s I was the two inches taller, long curly-haired director of CalArts Visual Communications Program, with clients such as; Pacific Design Center, Ron Rezek Lighting, MoMA, Fortuny Museum Venice, Walker Art Center (Graphic Design in America exhibition branding; Design Quarterly Magazine) and Sci-Arc’s first identity branding. Additionally, my introduction into the built environment projects began with Barton Myers Architects working on the environmental and graphics package for the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Working in photography, video, computer and hybrid processes, a completely wacky body of work and interests helped me pioneer a career, which, to this day, is hard to live down but rewarded me with inclusion in Apple’s first documentary film, Mac@30.

Jeri Heiden
Jeri Heiden started as a junior designer at Warner Bros. Records in 1982 and rose to VP, chief art director in 1986. She designed packaging, merchandise and advertising campaigns for artists on the WB roster, in addition to supervising and growing the art department. a-ha, Brian Wilson, Chris Isaak, k.d. lang, Madonna, and Van Halen are among hundreds of artists she has collaborated with.

Jayme Odgers
By the 1980s, I moved from doing graphic design (1964-1973) to becoming a photographer. Of course, I couldn’t forget the designer in me, so I became an unwitting photo-designer starting in the mid-1970s. My concerns were about combining graphic design’s up-down-left-right, with photography’s foreground-middle-ground-background.

Paul Prejza, Sussman/Prejza
In 1980, Sussman/Prejza was on the threshold of momentous growth and becoming a major player in environmental graphic design. They had just landed two new clients who would provide them with a significant portion of their work over the decades – working on office buildings and retail shopping centers. Paul, had been working full time at Deborah Sussman & Co. for six years and before that moonlighting there for three years. The firm was incorporated and renamed Sussman/Prejza & Co in 1980. The 80s would be the most significant decade of their careers. They created the image. They WERE the image.

Peter Shire
The 1980s: 80 solo exhibitions (some very good, and some better: completed 30 public sculptures; and collected by 40 public institutions. I am !! years old, and I have tied my shoes 18,528 times (more or less) since I was 5 years old. My friend Ettore Sottsass, described my work as plainly as I see it. His work is, “sort of a collage, a sort of unstable collage of more or less broken geometric volumes, more or less broken mathematical surfaces, and then there are lines crossing everything and there are memories on top; most of the time the memories are of pale Californian colors and landscapes, maybe of beaches, or of sundaes, or maybe of Sundays with candy-girls skating all around.”

An Evening with AIGA and Artist & Designer Rebeca Méndez
2017-10-18 18:45 - 21:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Wednesday, October 18 from 6:45 to 9 pm, join us in welcoming AIGA Los Angeles for an evening with artist, designer, and UCLA professor Rebeca Méndez and enjoy live music by singer/songwriter Analiz Castillo, who will be performing some of Méndez’s favorite songs as we kick off the night.
Rebeca Méndez will present recent projects and introduce her new initiative, the UCLA CounterForce Lab—a research and fieldwork studio based at Design Media Arts and the School of the Arts and Architecture. The lab is dedicated to using design and art to develop creative collaborations, new fields of study, and methods to research, create, and execute projects around the social and ecological impacts of anthropocene climate change.
Méndez’s art is driven by her interest in perception and embodied experience–exploring design and media art in public space, critical approaches to public identities and landscape, and artistic projects based on field investigation methods. Register now to get an inside look at the design philosophy of one of Los Angeles’ own design icons. Click here to purchase tickets.
AGENDA
6:45 PM: Live music by Analiz Castillo
7:30 PM: Introductions
7:50 PM: Rebeca Méndez
8:30 PM: Q&A
8:45 PM: Closing Remarks
8:50 PM: Giveaways
9:00 PM: After Party at Father’s Office
TICKET PRICING
Members (Contributing & Supporting): $15
Members (Sustaining & above): Free
Non-Members: $25

Arcana Books Welcomes Senon Williams for a Book Launch + Exhibition
2017-10-07 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, October 7 from 4 to 6 pm, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a special Book Launch and Exhibition of Senon Williams’ Hunted & Gathered.
Native to Los Angeles, Senon Williams is a lifelong visual artist and musician. Williams’ work finds space in the natural, exposing outstanding and devastating stages of human evolution. “To provoke thought, a question works better than answers. I enjoy to start a story I resolve in different ways depending on my mood,” says Williams. With imagery ranging from stark silhouettes to lush landscapes and human forms staged in undetermined acts of hope, his pairing of words and imagery suggest deeper meaning. A poignant visualization of the inherent human struggle both ancient and contemporary.
Hamilton Press was established in 1990 by master printmaker Ed Hamilton and artist Ed Ruscha to encourage artists to produce art in a peaceful, unhurried atmosphere. Steeped in traditional book making in a modern age, the publication itself is a fine object created by an esteemed team. Designed by Lorraine Wild and Marina Mills Kitchen of Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles, color separations by Echelon Color, Santa Monica and printed by Dr.Cantz’sche Druckerei Median GmbH, Ostfildern, Germany. The first edition consists of 750 bound copies. There is a limited edition of 50 copies with an original work on paper by the artist. Both editions will be available at the event and are available now for pre-order.

Culver City ArtWalk 2017 Comes to the District on October 7th!
2017-10-07 14:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Free
As we transition from summer to autumn, the art scene around town also shifts seasons with new gallery openings, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, and over in our little bit of the city, CULVER CITY ARTWALK – a self-guided walking tour and celebration of all things creative in our community.
On Saturday, October 7th from 2 to 6pm, we are pleased to welcome artists and makers who will activate the Helms Bakery campus and engage our community in a creative dialogue. Begin your tour at Helms Avenue heading east along Washington Boulevard for an arts and entertainment adventure. A full calendar of events includes music, art installations, performances, gallery openings, dance, a doggie parade and much more! Check out the Culver City Arts District website and Facebook page for complete details.
Here are the not-to-miss happenings at Helms Bakery, inside the Helms Design Center and along Helms Walk, our pedestrian plaza on Helms Avenue.

ART GALLERY INSTALLATION: 2 to 6 pm
PLACE
New Works by Renée Amitai, Kim Abeles, Rachel X Hobreigh, and Debra Dobkin
PLACE refers simultaneously to a location and the action for going there. In this way, we can remember the places of our past, and imagine others in a sense of longing. The four artists in the exhibition make use of painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture to define the ethereal dream that is PLACE. Click here for more information.
Helms Design Center 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City

INSTALLATION + PERFORMANCE: 2 to 6 pm
STRANDS, featuring artists Amabelle Aguiluz, Joy Wu and Si Jie Loo
Strands draws from three artists’ unique mediums and perspective to demonstrate a common contemplation of the past and future, traditions and modernity, eastern and western art practices, and the struggle to juggle multiple identities such as women and artists (to name just two) ALL at once within one given time and space.
In addition to the open gallery, we will host two 15-minute performances at 3 pm and 4 pm. The performance piece is a visualization and reenactment of how ‘strands’ is perceived by three female Asian artists. These artists use traditional tools to give voice to contemporary issues, using lines from textile, brush strokes and instruments to connect us, bind us, and hopefully de-tangle all the knots of illusions that are detracting us from the ‘truth’. Click here for more information.
Helms Design Center 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City

TEXTILE ARTS LA POPUP COLLECTIVE: 2 TO 6 PM

We are excited to partner with Textile Arts LA to bring you a one-day-only popup collective of artists and makers whose work explores texture, form, sculpture, materials and purpose. Artists + Makers include: Jeff Morrical, Ruth Katzenstein Souza, Carrie Burckle, Carol Shaw Sutton, Kaban+, Jonas & Muse, Jen Cheung, John Henry Woodworking, and Slumwear108.
Helms Avenue between Venice and Washington Boulevards.

ARCANA BOOK LAUNCH AND EXHIBITION: 4 TO 6 PM
Senon Williams: Hunted & Gathered
Native to Los Angeles, Senon Williams is a lifelong visual artist and musician. Williams’ work finds space in the natural, exposing outstanding and devastating stages of human evolution. “To provoke thought, a question works better than answers. I enjoy to start a story I resolve in different ways depending on my mood,” says Williams. With imagery ranging from stark silhouettes to lush landscapes and human forms staged in undetermined acts of hope, his pairing of words and imagery suggest deeper meaning. A poignant visualization of the inherent human struggle both ancient and contemporary. Click here for more information.
8675 Washington Boulevard, Culver City

FOOD & BEVERAGE: All Day
Helms Bakery is home to acclaimed restaurants including Father’s Office, La Dijonaise Cafe, Lukshon, the Helms Bakery treat truck and the Let’s Be Frank hot dog truck. Spend the day with us!
Helms Bakery Complex

"STRANDS", an Art Installation + Performance with Amabelle Aguiluz, Joy Wu and Si Jie Loo
2017-10-07 14:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, October 7 from 2 to 6 pm, please join us for STRANDS, a special presentation and performance of three artists, Amabelle Aguiluz, Joy Wu and Si Jie Loo, in partnership with the Culver City Arts District.
Amabelle is a fiber artist and sculptor with extensive background in clothing design, Joy is a masterful Chinese dulcimer player trained in China Central Academy Of Fine Arts who also plays the electric bass, and Si Jie is an ink painter who dives into the spirit of ancient China to contemplate modernity. All of them work in mediums that are traditionally passed down from generation to generation but yearn to grow and innovate in this ever changing world as citizens of today.
The performance piece is a visualization & reenactment of how ‘strands’ is perceived by three female Asian artists: Amabelle Aguiluz, Joy Wu and Si Jie Loo. These artists are using traditional tools to give voice to contemporary issues, using lines from textile, brush strokes and instruments to connect us, bind us, and hopefully de-tangle all the knots of illusions that are detracting us from the ‘truth’. Two 15-minute performances are scheduled at 3 pm and 4 pm.
“Strands” draws from these artists’ unique mediums and perspective to demonstrate a common contemplation of the past and future, traditions and modernity, eastern and western art practices, and the struggle to juggle multiple identities, such as women and artist, ALL at once within one given time and space.
Amabelle Aguiluz has joined Helms as an artist in residence from September 21 thru October 8. You may visit her in the studio on Tuesdays from 11:00 am to 3 pm.
About the Artists
Amabelle Aguiluz is a fiber artist living in Los Angeles. She expresses the flow of life as an infinite web of interconnections using the medium of fiber as a symbolic map; linking us to the past, revealing stories about culture, and connecting us together. Her preference for using found materials allows her time to explore the process of transformation while collecting and analyzing the materials of her production. Amabelle uses her art as a means to connect with history, nature, and her surroundings. Her practice incorporates clothing, textile, sculpture, and installation processes that are presented as free form sculptures and are often incorporated into live performance, video, and photographs. She studied at Politecnico di Milano, Italy and graduated in 2011 from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York BFA in Fashion Design. Aguiluz’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including the La Triennale Internationale des Arts Textiles in Outaouais, Canada.
Si Jie Loo is a multi-disciplinary artist who is interested in capturing the spirit of humanity, primarily with Chinese Ink. She received her BA from Dartmouth College with an honors in Studio Art and has since exhibited in both US and Malaysia. As an artist in the diaspora, she is constantly on the move between places, cultures, music genres and languages. One of Si Jie’s creative processes involves tapping into the spirit of Ancient China by embarking on an annual art pilgrimage through various region in China. She inks down captivating people, musicians, dancers and nature on the road to further inspire her studio work. Most recently, she traveled to the Tibetan plateau and the Silk Route in Northeast China. Since returning from her art residency in Malaysia last December, Si Jie has been working from her home studio in Santa Barbara, occasionally spotted taking pottery classes, dancing, drumming and practicing Taichi in her community.
Joy Wu is a musician and a lover of culture, music, film and art. She started her music journey at the age of four, influenced by her dear grandmother. Trained in classical music, she went to Central Conservatory of Music, in Beijing, China, for her traditional Chinese instrument Yangqin. Joy is a member of China Nationalities Orchestra Society, CNOS. To follow her love for American culture, she moved to California and received her BA from UC Santa Barbara. Joy is currently based in Los Angeles.
About Yangqin: Yangqin is also called “Chinese dulcimer”. Similar hammered dulcimers are played in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Portugal, Italy, India, Iran and Pakistan. The origin of Yangqin is still a mystery to us today. Many historians say it is originally from Persia, now modern Iran, during the Ming Dynasty (late 14th c. to 15th c.) through the Silk Road. Others say it is introduced by sea through the port of Canton during the 16th century when the Portuguese and Italian traders performed for locals. It has been in China for hundreds of years. The construction of Yangqin has a considerable resemblance to Iran’s Santur. It has five bridges, up to 140 more strings, and to play with a pair of hammers made with bamboo.

Join us for "PLACE", an Art Installation + Reception Featuring Four Artists
2017-10-01 15:00 - 19:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join us on Sunday, October 1 from 3 to 7 pm for an artist reception and special installation of PLACE: Works by Renée Amitai, Kim Abeles, Rachel X Hobreigh, and Debra Dobkin. The exhibition will be on display from September 28 through October 7.
PLACE refers simultaneously to a location and the action for going there. In this way, we can remember the places of our past, and imagine others through a sense of longing. The four artists in the exhibition make use of painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture to define the dream that is PLACE.
Renée Amitai’s gates imply passage, and as we move from one place to another, a threshold of the journey is defined. Kim Abeles considers place as the desire to physically engage with the urban environment. Rachel X Hobreigh’s work reflects the human impact on the sacred feminine ocean, where the power of water gives life ten-thousand-fold and asks for nothing in return. Debra Dobkin defines a sense of place by combining the dynamics of real and imagined environments in relation to the people who move through them.
We are living in a time when our individual relationships with the world are shifting and the tangible blends with the ethereal. The mixed media artworks in this exhibition use the metaphor of PLACE and move through its multiple meanings.
Hours: Thursdays and Fridays 11 am to 2 pm, or by appointment.
About the Artists
Renee Amitai graduated from l’Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris, France and gained professional experiences in Fine Art and architecture in France, Israel, Italy and America. Her artistic interest evolved from printmaking to painting to sculpture. She moved to the United States in 1984, where she taught printmaking, painting and architecture in San Antonio Texas and in Los Angeles California. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and Paris, France. Her work is exhibited in California, France, China, Japan, Korea and around the globe.

Kim Abeles is a Los Angeles-based artist whose installations and community projects cross disciplines and media to explore biography, geography and environment. She has created projects with the California Science Center, air pollution control agencies, health clinics and mental health departments, and natural history museums. Abeles received fellowships from John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, California Community Foundation, and Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Her work is in public collections including MOCA, LACMA, Berkeley Art Museum, California African American Museum, and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Abeles’ journals, books, and process documents are archived at the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art.
Debra Dobkin was born in Chicago and started painting at an early age at the Art Institute of Chicago children’s program. In addition to pursuing a life in the visual arts, she is an accomplished percussionist/drummer. While traveling and playing music professionally around the world, she has continued to study, draw, photograph and paint. Her work now holds the richness of those experiences. Dobkin has exhibited in Los Angeles, around the U.S., and internationally. These mixed media pieces are inspired by her original photos taken on her travels. They evolve through a combination of painting, collage, and photo transfer to convey a captured moment in time.

Rachel X Hobreigh’s work focuses on the environment and the divine feminine. She uses painting, performance art, photography and sculpture to reflect a visual history of moments in her life and her great love and respect for nature. Hobreigh has shown work internationally, most recently at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, the Marie de Paris 8 Gallery and the Mu Gallery in Paris, France as well as the FH Gallery in Jena, Germany. Her US shows include: A solo show at Gallery 417 Los Angeles, CA 2017; The Museum Contempo in Olympia, Washington, Building Bridges Art Exchange at the Bergamot Station in Santa Monica and the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles as well as the SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco. She has a Masters Degree in Public Art from California State University Northridge, where they also retain a permanent public installation of her work.

Room & Board Hosts an Evening with LA Family Housing
2017-09-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Room&Board, 3231 Helms Avenue, Culver City, CA, 90034
Free
In collaboration with Angeleno magazine, please join Room & Board on Wednesday, September 13 from 7 to 9 pm, for a special art show featuring works by over 100 local, contemporary artists in support of LA Family Housing (LAFH), which is dedicated to helping people transition out of homelessness and poverty.
Through September 24th, designated artwork on display in their showroom will be available for purchase for $400 with 50% of proceeds going directly to LAFH.
Stop by for inspired conversation and light bites. Please RSVP.

Rejuvenation Hosts "Modern Royal" with designer Ryan Saghian
2017-08-31 18:00 - 20:00 | Rejuvenation, 8780 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
On Thursday, August 31st from 6 to 8PM, please join Rejuvenation in hosting Ryan Saghian, one of Beverly Hills’ rising stars of interior and furniture design. He will be presenting a pop-up capsule collection featuring new selections from his own line, vintage pieces, and Rejuvenation furnishings that remind him of what the Persian Royal family residence might look like today had they continued their reign.
Come catch Ryan’s exuberance and truly modern take on a “more is more” maximalist tradition. Persian teas, light bites and good design!

Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre Screens Their Performance of "Technicolor Drip" on Helms Walk
2017-08-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Helms Walk, 3270 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90034
The third in the 1988 series, Technicolor Drip, features Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre dancers in the window frames and hanging window/art vitrines of the parking garage where Technicolor Drip by artist Jen stark (2015) is installed. The artwork highlights Culver City’s movie history through the rainbow concept in the film The Wizard of Oz. The title references the historic film coloring process employed in movie making. This work is 12 minutes and will continuously loop between 1-3pm. Later that evening from 8-9pm we will host a screening of the performance on Helms Walk, our pedestrian plaza on Helms Avenue, followed by a Q & A with Heidi Duckler, Jen Stark and Marla Koosed.
The performance and screening are free and open to the public though reservations are required. All necessary day-of information (parking, check-in procedures, etc.) will arrive in a “Know Before You Go” email prior to the performance.
Technicolor Drip Performance
Sunday, August 6, 2017
1:00pm-3:00pm
Platform
8850 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
Technicolor Drip Screening
Sunday, August 6, 2017
8:00pm-9:00pm
Helms Walk, pedestrian plaza on Helms Avenue
8800 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
For additional information visit heididuckler.org.

Join us for a Special Screening of "Landfill Harmonic"
2017-07-15 17:00 - 19:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, July 15th from 5 to 7:30pm, please join us in welcoming The Possibility Project and Mending as Metaphor for a reception and special film screening of Landfill Harmonic, immediately followed by a Q+A with The Possibility Project‘s founders, Kim Pearce and Kath Davis. Also featured is a clothing pop-up from the slumwear108 line, with proceeds supporting the social justice work of Pearce and Davis.
About Landfill Harmonic
‘The world sends us garbage, we send back music’
We live in an unprecedented time of social and environmental upheaval, so what might the possibilities look like when there is harmony between the two? Landfill Harmonic is a feature length documentary that follows the journey of a Paraguayan Youth Orchestra that makes its instruments entirely out of waste. The film masterfully demonstrates how ordinary people can make extraordinary choices to rise above conflict and create so much hope in the process.
The Possibility Project is an Australian based social enterprise, that collaborates with slum communities in India to create a slow clothing label called slumwear108. The founders will share their insights on how people around the world are collaborating to enact peaceful, social, and environmental cohesion.
Space is limited. Please RSVP to ruthkatzensteinsouza@gmail.com.

Arcana Books Welcomes Authors Barry and Barbara Shaffer
2017-06-24 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, June 24th between 4 and 6 PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts as they welcome Echoes of Bhutan authors Barry and Barbara Shaffer.
Echoes of Bhutan is the first fine art publication from Los Angeles-based photographer Barry Shaffer. Compiled during Mr. Shaffer’s visits to Bhutan in 2001, 2014, and 2015 as a private citizen, a photographer for the Tribal Trust Foundation, and at the invitation of Bhutan’s government and travel Industry, the stunning photographs are accompanied by written contributions from Dr. Robert Thurman, Bhutan’s Queen Mother, Bhutan’s Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Honorable Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, National Geographic editor Costas Christ, and Samten Wangchuk. The book has been selected to receive its Asian release at the “Mountain Echoes International Literary Festival” in Thimphu, Bhutan in August 2017. All proceeds from the sales of Echoes of Bhutan will benefit Bhutan’s Tarayana Foundation.

Arcana Books Hosts a Special Event Celebrating Dan Hicks' Autobiography
2017-06-18 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Sunday, June 18th from 4 to 6PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a special event to celebrate the publication of the late, great Dan Hicks’ autobiography I Scare Myself.
Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of “The Summer of Love”, Dan’s editor and close collaborator Kristine McKenna will be signing copies of the book and moderating a panel discussion about Dan’s life and music featuring Van Dyke Parks, Maria Muldaur, Jim Kweskin, and Hot Licks guitarist Paul Robinson. There will also be a short musical performance by the participants following the discussion.
Though he passed away in early 2016, Dan’s music, and the stories he tells in this book, remain as fresh and irresistible as ever. Combining those stories with dozens of rare photographs and a detailed discography by esteemed writer and critic Kristine McKenna, I Scare Myself takes readers on a journey behind the music, and into the life and mind of the fantastic artist who created it.

This Modern Life: A Design Field Day at Helms Bakery
2017-06-10 12:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Welcome to This Modern Life: Embracing Life’s Imperfections, a campus-wide day of design celebrating the Japanese tradition of wabi-sabi, the art of recognizing beauty in imperfection. Participating showrooms and stores will feature workshops, demonstrations, tastings, sweepstakes and special guests! Plus Local Mercato and Beautiful Things L.A. pop-up for one day only. Pick up a map at the information booth on Helms Walk and explore! Complete info on our dedicated event page.
Free Valet Parking by the Rejuvenation showroom at Helms and Venice.
#thismodernlife

Arcana Books Hosts a day of Art + Salad with Julia Sherman and Evan Kleiman
2017-06-04 15:00 - 17:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Sunday, June 4th from 3 to 5 PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for this extra special event celebrating the publication of Julia Sherman’s fantastic new Abrams book: Salad For President!
Q + A between Ms. Sherman and Evan Kleiman will begin around 3:30, concurrent with the nude figure and vegetable life drawing. Listen, sketch from life, snack on Sherman’s Mexican Fruit Salad (recipe from the book!) and raise a glass! Bring your own art supplies or use the charcoal and newsprint provided by Arcana.

The creator of the immensely popular Salad for President blog presents a visually rich collection of more than 75 salad recipes, with contributions and interviews by artists/creative professionals like William Wegman, Tauba Auerbach, Laurie Anderson, and Alice Waters. Sherman loves salad, and she encourages her readers to consider it an everyday indulgence that can include cocktails, soups, family style brunch dishes, and dinner-party entrées.
Salad—with its infinite possibilities—is a game of endless combinations, not stifling rules. And with that in mind, Salad for President offers a window into how artists approach preparing their favorite dishes. Sherman visits sculptors, painters, photographers, and musicians in their homes and gardens, interviewing and photographing them as they cook. Utterly unique in its look into the worlds of food, art, and everyday practices, Salad for President is at once a practical resource for healthy, satisfying recipes and an inspiring look at creativity.
