Helms Design District

Wine and Weave with George Haroonian of The Rug Warehouse
2023-06-22 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | The Rug Warehouse, 3260 Helms Ave., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join George Haroonian for a design talk about the rug industry today, in addition to The Rug Warehouse’s creative offerings.
Sip some wine, socialize, and snack while you discover The Rug Warehouse’s custom rug opportinities and new collection. Gift bags will be given to the first 50 guests.
The Rug Warehouse
3260 Helms Ave. Culver City, CA 90232

The Latinx/e Experience in Design
2023-06-22 17:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
A panel of Latinx/e Designer/Educators discuss their pathway to graphic design as students, professionals and educators.
They will discuss how their experiences inform their teaching, practices and how design, as an industry, can become more inclusive and supportive of Latinx/e design and designers.
Speakers: Shannon Doronio + Michelle LeClerc + Alma Juarez +Ana Llorente + Hazel Mandujano
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

RSVP HERE

Photo above of Shannon Doronio

Susan Maddux Art Exhibition
2023-06-22 12:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Los Angeles artist Susan Maddux uses origami-inspired folding to transform paintings, creating hybrid objects that exist in the space between painting and sculpture.
As a 4th generation hapa-Japanese born and raised in Hawaii with stints on the continent growing up, Maddux has a complex relationship with her heritage. This work explores reconnection with personal history and place through the transformation of material and the ritual of gesture.
Maddux has a degree in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and worked professionally as a surface pattern designer for many years. A decade ago, she began creating powerful pieces by gently folding paintings composed of repeating patterns. Forms that bring to mind a kimono or a cape began to appear, bringing together her interests in the figure, spirituality, and textiles.
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture
2023-06-22 12:00 - 18:00 | Close to the Edge Exhibition, 8707 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture explores the multidimensional influence of hip-hop on our urban fabric.
Curated and designed by Sekou Cooke, and jointly presented by SoCalNOMA, the A+D Museum, and Helms Bakery District, this dynamic exhibition dives into the rich and vibrant world of hip-hop, from its fundamental elements of emceeing, b-boying, and graffiti, to its influence on the world of design and architecture.
The exhibition shows how hip-hop has been translated into the creation of innovative spaces and structures, effectively introducing a new narrative in architecture. The works on display include groundbreaking contributions from students, academics, and practitioners, ranging from experimental visualizations and innovative installations to façade studies and urban development proposals. Also on show: a wall newly graffitied by Los Angeles artist Prime.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture is more than an exhibition. It’s a journey into a revolutionary design movement, revealing a shared vision for the future of architecture that’s deeply rooted in the core ethos of hip hop: identity, process, and aesthetics.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture opens on June 22, with an opening reception on June 24th from 6 pm to 9 pm. It will be accompanied by talks and tours presented by SoCal NOMA, A+D Museum, and Helms Bakery District.
Curator: Sekou Cooke
Exhibition Design: Sekou Cooke
Graffiti Artist: Prime
Artwork above: HHA Signifyin’ project by Nate Williams, 1993.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.
8707 Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90232
Exhibition Dates: June 22 – September 17
Hours: Thursday – Sunday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

RSVP HERE

Close to the Edge Exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

Close to the Edge exhibition at Center for Architecture, New York, NY. Photo Erik Bardin.

Close to the Edge Exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

Design & Art In California, a curated collection of books by Cisco Home & Burntsienna Research Society
2023-06-22 12:00 - 17:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Cisco Home and Burntsienna Research Society have curated a collection of books centered around Design & Art in California for the Los Angeles Design Festival.
Cisco Home is honored to partner with Burntsienna Research Society, an independent institute of art book reference and design thinking founded by Jason EC Wright. Burntsienna builds reading rooms and programming around art and design books and teach principles on responsible research and design thinking.
Jason and the Cisco Home team look forward to welcoming you to view the Cisco Showroom and talk about design, books, art and beauty.
Cisco Home
8705 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232

Book Signing at Arcana with Jason Lee: CA | TX 17
2023-06-17 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join Arcana for a Book Signing with Jason Lee
Saturday, June 17th | 4:00 – 6:00 PM
For the past fourteen years, artist, actor, and skateboarder Jason Lee has traversed America making quiet, reflective photographs detailing the landscape and its oft-overlooked and forgotten places. TX | CA 17 is the first time Lee has published images from a single outing.
They are presented in geographical and (rough) chronological order – North Texas, NM, AZ, the California desert, and finally DTLA, where we see the gentleman awaiting his bus. The exposures were made primarily along and surrounding Highways 287, 40/66, 62, and 10.
Book designed by Ed Templeton

If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy, please call Arcana Books at 310-458-1499 or visit their site.

L.A. GOAL and Helms Bakery District present Moving Together, an Inclusive Art Exhibit
2023-06-10 11:00 - 15:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Inclusive Art Exhibit Moving Together Explores Movement Through Art
Saturday, June 10th, from 11 am to 3 pm
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
L.A. GOAL, a non-profit organization committed to creating opportunities and equity for adults with developmental disabilities so they can live more fulfilling lives, presents Moving Together, an inclusive art exhibit exploring the theme of “movement” through various art forms.
Moving Together is an art exhibit that explores various interpretations of “movement” through art created by artists in Los Angeles County. The exhibit will showcase the artwork of L.A. GOAL’s professional Artists with developmental disabilities alongside artwork created by artists from the broader community.
“We are thrilled to showcase the incredible talent of our Artists at L.A. GOAL, who have put their hearts and souls into creating beautiful pieces that embody the theme of movement,” said Petite Konstantin, Executive Director of L.A. GOAL. “The exhibit is a celebration of the power of art to unite people from different backgrounds and abilities.”
All the artwork displayed at the exhibit will be available for sale, and sale profits will go towards defraying the costs of L.A. GOAL Artists’ salaries and supplies. Additionally, handmade and designed products by L.A. GOAL Artists will be available for purchase.
The Moving Together exhibit is an opportunity to support the creative expression of individuals with developmental disabilities and to promote the inclusion of all members of the community in the arts.
For more information about the exhibit or to learn more about L.A. GOAL, please visit: https://www.lagoal.org/

Creative / Perspectives: Exhibit (02) Visual Contrast Studio
2023-06-08 17:00 - 19:00 | H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic, 3225 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles,, CA, 90034, United States
Thursday, June 8th, from 5:00-7:00 pm
H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic
3225 Helms Avenue, Culver City, CA 90232
Join us this Thursday for opening night of the second installment of Coco Republic’s newest art exhibition, featuring Los Angeles based art studio Visual Contrast as they display their custom collection at H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic.
Visual Contrast brings a thoughtful new approach to the production of fine art. Looking to the shape, color, and texture of Coco Republic furniture and furnishings to dictate the designs. This collection was created by their team of artists exclusively for Coco Republic.
RSVP HERE
The exhibition will remain on view thru July 6 .

A reception, lecture, and discussion with Jennifer Bonner from MALL
2023-05-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Please join us on Thursday, May 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, for a reception, lecture, and discussion with Jennifer Bonner from MALL.
In collaboration with the Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly SLO LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Lecture is Free and Open to the Public
RSVP

Jennifer Bonner
Jennifer Bonner is Associate Professor of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Bonner founded MALL in 2009, a creative practice that stands for Mass Architectural Loopty Loops or Maximum Arches with Limited Liability—an acronym with built-in flexibility.
Born in Alabama, Bonner is a recipient of the 2021 United States Artist Fellowship, Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, Emerging Voices Award (AIA/ Young Architects Forum), Progressive Architecture (P/A) Award and Next Progressives (Architect Magazine). Her creative work has been published in architectural trade publications including Architectural Review, Metropolis, Gray, Azure and Wallpaper*, as well as, more experimental journals including a+t, DAMN, PLAT, Offramp, Room One Thousand, Flat Out, and MAS Context. She is the co-editor of Blank: Speculations on CLT (with H.Kara), author of A Guide to the Dirty South: Atlanta, faculty editor of Platform: Still Life, and guest editor for ART PAPERS special issue on architecture and design of Los Angeles. Bonner has exhibited work at the Royal Institute of British Architects, National Building Museum, WUHO gallery, HistoryMIAMI, Yve YANG gallery, pinkcomma gallery, Armstrong Gallery at Kent State, Yale Architecture Gallery, Istanbul Modern Museum, Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
Bonner received a Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Photos (left to right): Exterior Image of HouseGables (photo by NAARO), Image of Jennifer Bonner (photo by Chris Dibble), and Interior Image of HouseGables (photo by NAARO).
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, FAIA, PhD, Principal of Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) and professor, director, Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo).

A reception, lecture, and discussion with Nima Javidi and Behnaz Assadi of JA Architecture Studio
2023-05-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Join us on Thursday, May 18, 6:30-8:30 pm, for a reception, lecture, and discussion with Nima Javidi and Behnaz Assadi of JA Architecture Studio
In collaboration with the Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly SLO LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Lecture is Free and Open to the Public
RSVP

JA Architecture Studio
JA Architecture Studio, a Toronto-based practice led by Iranian-Canadian architect Nima Javidi and landscape designer Behnaz Assadi, combines the rootedness of a local architecture firm with the broad interests of an international design studio. From small to medium sized buildings that confront detail-level building constraints to ambitious international competitions, the studio’s work tries to find meaningful tangencies between iconographic, geometrical and formal properties of architecture of different backgrounds and invests in inventing new architectural hybrids as responses to the diverse realities of 21st century cities.
Nima Javidi is a registered architect in Toronto and the 2021 Gwathmey Professor of Design at the Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, where he teaches and coordinates core design studios. Nima’s interest in design is in the intersection of geometry, structure, and typology in architecture. He has a Master of Architecture degree from University of Tehran and a Master of Urban Design from University of Toronto. Prior to joining the Cooper Union, Nima taught architecture design studios at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design.
Behnaz Assadi is a Landscape designer and a founding partner at JA Architecture Studio. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. Behnaz holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from University of Tehran.
In 2022, JA received The Architectural League of New York Emerging Voices Award, Architectural Record Design Vanguards, a Progressive Architects Award and the Wallpaper Magazine Architects directory.
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, FAIA, PhD, Principal of Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) and professor, director, Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo).
Photos (left to right): Image of Forno Cyltura Bakery Toronto, Image of Behanz Assadi and Nima Javidi, and Image of One and A Half.

Westside Urban Forum Breakfast Talk: Al Fresco Dining in the Public Right-of-Way: Whose Space is it?
2023-05-18 07:45 - 09:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
How are Different Cities Responding to the Shifting Landscape of Outdoor Dining?
Thursday, May 18th, 2023
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City
8:30 am – 9:30 am PST
Doors open at 7:45 for registration, breakfast and networking.
RSVP Required!

Members Register Here

Nonmembers Register Here

On March 4, 2020 Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Many jurisdictions followed with local emergency orders which called on residents to limit all activities outside of their homes. These restrictions included prohibiting restaurants and retail food facilities from providing indoor dining in coordination with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The financial impact of the public health emergency was particularly difficult for small restaurants.
Soon after came the temporary outdoor dining programs that have helped to alleviate the financial stress of the indoor dining prohibition. These new programs often suspended certain regulations in order to provide restaurants and other food establishments with an alternative to full indoor dining – temporarily.
Now that we moved from the pandemic to an endemic and full service indoor dining is allowed, how do cities transition and take the best of what outdoor dining offered during the height of the pandemic into the future? Can cities reclaim the public right-of-way from the very businesses that provided the public a safe respite and gathering place? Will businesses be able to adjust as regulations are enforced and the cost of outdoor dining increases for operators?
How has the urban landscape shifted, literally and figuratively, and who do our streets and sidewalks belong to after all? Join us to discuss these questions and more.
Panelists:
Andrew Thomas, CEO, Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
John Keho, Director of Planning and Development Services, City of West Hollywood
Raimonda Gintaliene, owner of Uppers Cafe and Bakeshop, Santa Monica
Madeline Brozen, Deputy Director, UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Moderator:
Annette M. Kim, Ph.D, Associate Professor, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
Registration Fees
$50 Members
$65 Non-Members
$10 Student Members & Retired Members
$15 Student Non-Members & Retired Non-Members
Pre-registration closes on Wednesday, May 17th, at 4:00 PM. After Wednesday, May 17th, onsite registration will be available at the cost of an additional $10. No refunds or credits will be provided after this day.
Event Time
7:45 am – 9:30 am
7:45 am – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am – Panel Discussion
Location
The Helms Design Center is located at the Helms Bakery campus at 8745 Washington Boulevard in Culver City.
Directions
Avoid the stress of rush hour and skip traffic! The Helms Design Center at 8745 Washington Blvd in Culver City is conveniently located a short, pleasant walk from a number of transit lines, including:

Metro Rail “E” (Expo) Line Culver City Station (1 block west at Washington and National Blvds), and
Culver City Bus “1” and “1C1” lines (at the adjacent Washington Blvd/Helms Avenue street corner).

Protected bike lanes along Washington Blvd. connecting to Culver City’s larger bike lane network also provide a convenient, safe way to get to the Design Center.
For those who choose to drive, parking is available in the adjacent interior parking garage at 8711 Washington Blvd (look for the red banners), or there is parking available throughout the Helms Bakery complex.
Parking Map
Sponsor Provided Tickets
Thanks to the generosity of our annual Sponsors, WUF has a small number of free tickets available to members of the community. If you are not able to join as a member or purchase a ticket for this month’s panel presentation, but would like to join us, please write us at info@westsideurbanforum.com to inquire if we have any remaining sponsor provided tickets.
Thank You for Your Donations…
As a non-profit organization we are dependent upon donations in order to continue our monthly programming. Please keep this in mind when registering for this event; we appreciate contributions of any amount.
www.westsideurbanforum.com

A reception, lecture, and discussion with Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA
2023-05-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Join us on Thursday, May 11, 6:30-8:30 pm, for a reception, lecture, and discussion with Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA
In collaboration with the Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly SLO LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Lecture is Free and Open to the Public
RSVP

Lorcan O’Herlihy
Lorcan O’Herlihy is an internationally renowned architect and urban designer with offices in Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan. After a career working with esteemed firms including Kevin Roche, I. M. Pei and Steven Holl, O’Herlihy founded Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA] in 1994 where he is the Founding Principal and Creative Director. He has built a robust portfolio of work rooted in embracing architecture’s role as a catalyst for change. Enacting a powerful alliance of inventive designs with vigorous social ideals, O’Herlihy’s work prospers whether it is supportive affordable housing in South Los Angeles, working with grassroots neighborhood advocates in Detroit, or designing cultural institutions like Chapman University Dance School. In addition to building over 100 projects across three continents Lorcan has been published in over 20 countries and recognized with 150-plus national and international awards, including the 2021 AIALA Gold Medal, Architect’s Newspaper Best of Practice North America Firm Award, the AIALA Firm of the Year Award, the AIA California Distinguished Practice Award, and was ranked the #1 Design Firm in the US by Architect Magazine in 2018.
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, FAIA, PhD, Principal of Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) and professor, director, Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo).
Photos (left to right): Image of Sandi Simon Center, Image of Isla Intersections: Here and Now Agency, and Image of Lorcan O’Herlihy.

Book Signing at Arcana with Ed Templeton for Wires Crossed
2023-05-06 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join Arcana for a Book Signing with Ed Templeton!
Please join us Saturday, May 6th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM for a very special book signing with artist / photographer / skate legend – and all-around awesome human being – Ed Templeton! Hot off the presses, his latest is the years-in-the-works Wires Crossed, which documents nearly twenty years of life on the road with some of the most notable skaters of his generation.
Publisher Aperture has created a special edition for the event limited to two hundred and fifty copies featuring a special sticker drawn by The Tempster just for Arcana.

If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy, please call Arcana Books at 310-458-1499 or visit their site.

Creative Perspectives Art Exhibition at HD Buttercup | Coco Republic
2023-05-05 - 2023-06-06 | H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic, 3225 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles,, CA, 90034, United States
Free
Creative Perspectives: (01) Monica Perez by Coco Republic
A series of art exhibitions exploring the talents of creatives across California by Coco Republic. Explore the work of the first inaugural artist, Monica Perez. Her artwork explores what has disappeared, yet still lingers in our hearts and minds, offering a unique perspective on our world.
Coco Republic, the renowned Australian furniture store, has just made its US debut at HD Buttercup Design Center. Now exclusively available at this premier destination for interior design, Coco Republic offers a unique range of furniture, homewares, and stylish décor items that reflect the brand’s signature blend of classic and contemporary design.
Viewing Hours:
Mon- Sat: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 11am – 6pm

Kohler Design Open House
2023-04-28 - 2023-04-29 | Kohler Signature Store, 3250 Helms Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90034
Join Kohler Signature Store on April 28th and 29th for a private consultation on bathroom design. As part of this exclusive offer, guests will receive a complimentary design session with one of Kohler’s expert bathroom designers. During the consultation, the designer will provide valuable recommendations such as floorplan modifications and more to enhance your bathroom’s overall aesthetic and functionality. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to receive top-notch design advice tailored to your specific needs.
If you’re interested in a full design solution, Kohler will be extending a special offer in store on their KOHLER Bathroom Design Services – starting at $299.
Kohler encourages guests to bring inspiration, measurements, questions, or photos of your current bathroom to the consultation (not required).
Please sign up for an appointment here.
Friday April 28 and Saturday April 29 only
Kohler Signature Store Culver City
3250 Helms Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034

RSVP HERE

Westside Urban Forum Breakfast Talk: Mayor Bass' State of the City
2023-04-27 07:45 - 09:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Digging into Mayor Bass’ State of the City Address – Goals, Challenges and Accomplishments
Thursday, April 27th, 2023
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City
7:45 am – 9:30 am PST
Panel from 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Doors open at 7:45 for registration, breakfast and networking.
RSVP Required!

Members Register Here

Nonmembers Register Here

The City of Los Angeles is emerging from a global pandemic into a ‘recovery’ period, and many Angelenos have high hopes following the election of Mayor Karen Bass, whose tenure has also been accompanied by the dramatic recomposition of the City Council. But cautious optimism is tempered by an unstable economic environment, a crisis in housing and services for housing insecure Angelenos, aging transportation and utility infrastructure, and widespread staff vacancies. How can the region’s largest city meet these challenges and ensure an equitable economic recovery?
The State of the City mayoral address will occur in mid-April, closely followed by the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Please join us to hear from invited experts on the issues facing the City of Los Angeles in 2023, and what initiatives could – or should – be in play to build an inclusive, sustainable, and economically sound future for all Angelenos.
Speakers
Alan Greenlee, Executive Director, Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing
Michelle Banks-Ordone, Senior Manager, Transit-Oriented Communities, LA Metro
Adam J. Fowler, Founding Partner, CVL Economics
Moderator
To be Announced
Registration Fees
$50 Members
$65 Non-Members
$10 Student Members & Retired Members
$15 Student Non-Members & Retired Non-Members
Pre-registration closes on Wednesday, April 26th, at 4:00 PM. After Wednesday, April 26th, onsite registration will be available at the cost of an additional $10. No refunds or credits will be provided after this day.
Event Time
7:45 am – 9:30 am
7:45 am – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am – Panel Discussion
Location
The Helms Design Center is located at the Helms Bakery campus at 8745 Washington Boulevard in Culver City.
Parking & Transportation
Parking will be available in the adjacent, interior parking garage at 8711 Washington Blvd., Culver City (look for the red banners), or there is ample parking throughout the Helm Bakery complex. Alternately, the Expo Light Rail line is located one block to the east of Helms Bakery.
Click Here for Public Transportation & Parking Information
Covid Update
Please note that while the use of a face mask will not be mandated, we highly encourage all of our attendees to wear a mask at all times while indoors.
Thanks to the generosity of our annual Sponsors, WUF has a small number of free tickets available to members of the community. If you are not able to join as a member or purchase a ticket for this month’s panel presentation, but would like to join us, please write us at info@westsideurbanforum.com to inquire if we have any remaining sponsor provided tickets.
www.westsideurbanforum.com

Seeding the City: Nature’s Story
2023-04-22 12:00 - 20:00 | Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Free
Saturday, April 22, 2023
12:00 to 5:00 pm Campus-Wide
12:00 to 8:00 pm Helms Design Center
Being in nature can change our mood, impact our health and well-being, and provide respite from daily lives dominated by technology, in surroundings of concrete and steel. Even viewing depictions of nature can reduce stress and serve as a tonic.
Join us on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22nd, 2023 for a full day of playful visualizations to spark your (re)connection with nature.
The day will feature artworks and activities by artists, designers and filmmakers who have created powerful imagery celebrating nature — from dreamy fairy gardens and a scavenger hunt to captivating illustrations of the wild animals that live amongst us; from interactive workshops with storytellers, poster designers and poets, to a screening of My Garden of a Thousands Bees, plus so much more.

Book Signing with Melba Levick and Rubén Mendoza for Casa Santa Fe
2023-04-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Please join Arcana: Books on the Arts on Saturday, April 8th, 4:00 – 6:00 pm for a book signing with Melba Levick and Rubén Mendoza for Casa Santa Fe!
Casa Santa Fe: Design, Style, Arts, and Tradition
Photographs by Melba Levick, Text by Rubén G. Mendoza

“Desert hues, natural materials, thick hand-plastered walls, and adobe brick construction are hallmarks of the Santa Fe Style, which is as much an expression in architecture, interior design, art, and crafts as it is a way of life. Rooted in a sense of earthy comfort inspired by its history, the surrounding desert, and Native American and Hispanic design influences, the style has a timeless appeal and vibrant ongoing life that has resulted in these extraordinary homes.
With features such as eighteenth-century peeled vigas, tin chandeliers, romantic iron sconces, and hand-hewn wood-beamed ceilings, each house is a rich yet harmonious invitation that will engage the senses and speak to the soul. Beyond the houses, the writer and photographer spotlight those details and spaces that together convey the magic of this very special place, including patios and gardens; fireplaces, kivas, and hornos; ceramics; Native American arts; cabinets and trasteros; folk art; and weaving.
Casa Santa Fe is the definitive sourcebook for architects, designers, builders, homeowners, and interior decorators seeking to expand their visual repertoire of historically defined and classically inspired architectural details and interior appointments.”
Melba Levick is an internationally renowned photographer based in Los Angeles and Paris, with more than sixty books to her name. Her most recent publications from Rizzoli include The Spanish Style House, The California Missions, The Ranches: Home on the Range in California, The California Casa, and Classic Homes of Los Angeles.
Dr. Rubén G. Mendoza is an archaeologist, photographer, and founding faculty member of the California State University, Monterey Bay. He is the author of several books including The Spanish Style House, The California Missions, and Mission San Miguel Arcángel.

If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy, please call Arcana Books at 310-458-1499.

Small Infrastructures: Exhibition & Panel Discussion
2023-03-30 - 2023-04-02 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232

Exhibition Opening & Panel Discussion:
Thursday, March 30, 2023
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Join us on Thursday, March 30th at the Helms Design Center for a reception and thought-provoking panel discussion featuring Rudabeh Pakravan from Sidell Pakravan Architects, Andrew Atwood from First Office, and Melissa Shin from Shin Shin Architecture. The discussion will explore how building assembly can provide a strong foundation for experimentation in designing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
RSVP

Exhibition Viewing Hours:
Friday, March 31: 12:00 to 5:00 pm
Saturday, April 1: 12:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, April 2: 12:00 to 4:00 pm

In March 2021, the Biden Administration released the American Jobs Plan, earmarking $213B for “quality” and “affordable” housing, yet the bill lacks specificity on how houses are to be built. Here housing’s problem is split into two: a social one of accessibility and equity, and a material one of wood, metal, and rocks. Architects can play a unique role in bridging abstract policy ambitions to real construction as these connections are made every day in practice.
Although accessible housing has been cast in many forms, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have been a catalyst for including architects in direct policy development. For the first time, cities are directly contracting with architects to provide designs for private property through pre-approved ADU programs. These programs reflect a plurality of ideas, though without rigorous consideration for how the costs of site work, labor, materials, and energy make quality housing sustainable.
Small Infrastructures is an exhibition of ADU designs that uses the economics of building assembly as the groundwork for experimentation and addresses how cities can work with architects to build quality, affordable housing under the American Jobs Plan. Ten architects teaching at Harvard GSD and Berkeley CED consider the overlaps between academia, where cost is often external to conceptual work, and practice, where budgeting is an integral task. The architectural design of each office will be represented by two boards and a 3/8″ = 1′-0″ handmade architectural model.
Curated by Michelle Chang and Rudabeh Pakravan

Participants Include:
Lyndon Neri & Rossana Hu, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
Lisa Iwamoto, IwamotoScott Architecture
Sean Canty, Studio Sean Canty (SSC)
Andrew Atwood, First Office
Yasmin Vobis, Ultramoderne
Mark Anderson, Anderson Anderson Architecture
Neyran Turan, NEMESTUDIO
Michelle Chang, JaJa Co.
Rudabeh Pakravan, Sidell Pakravan Architects

Material and Mind: An Author Talk with Chris Bardt
2023-03-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Material Encounters in partnership with PLP So Cal is delighted to welcome Christopher Bardt, AIA, to discuss his recent book, Material and Mind.
In Material and Mind, Christopher Bardt delves deeply into the interaction of mind and material world, mediated by language, image, and the process of making. He examines thought not as something “pure” and autonomous but as emerging from working with material, and he identifies this as the source of imagination and creative insight. This takes place as much in such disciplines as cognitive science, anthropology, and poetry as it does in the more obvious painting, sculpture, and design. In some fields, the medium of work is, in fact, the very medium of thinking—as fabric is for the tailor.
More info and tickets available here.
Brought to you by Material Encounters, in partnership with PLP So Cal.

Book Signing for Family: The Source Family Scrapbook
2023-03-26 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join us Sunday, March 26th, 4:00 – 6:00 PM for an Exhibition, Discussion, and Book Signing for Family: The Source Family Scrapbook!
We are delighted to invite you to attend a very special Sunday afternoon presentation with authors Isis Aquarian, Jodi Wille, and Charlie Kitchings to celebrate the publication of Family: The Source Family Scrapbook. For the event the three will host an exhibition of rare photographs and printed materials from the Source Family Archive housed at the UC Santa Barbara Library’s Special Research Collections, engage in a discussion about the Family and the book, and sign copies afterwards. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy of this, or one of the other Source Family items we will be offering in limited supply, please place your order here, or call Arcana at 310-458-1499.
Isis Aquarian is the Source Family’s archivist. As one of Father’s fourteen wives, she photographed and filmed Father and the Source Family, recorded audio, maintained scrapbooks, and helped manage the Family business. She is co-founder and Vice-President of the Source Foundation, and was an associate producer of The Source Family documentary. Isis has published her award-winning memoir, The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod: Ya Ho Wa 13 and The Source Family, and produced the record Isis: The Crone. She has supervised the release of other Source Family music, created a Source Family comic book, and her own tee shirt line.
Jodi Wille is a filmmaker and curator known for her work exploring American subcultures. She is director of the feature documentary The Source Family, and the Co-Founder and editor of book publishing companies Otherworld, Process Media, and Dilettante Press. She has edited and published a number of award-winning books including The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, YaHoWha 13, and The Source Family; Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!; Pure Country: The Leon Kagarise Archives 1961-1971; and Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan, by amateur photographer Gary Lee Boas. She has curated numerous museum and gallery exhibitions related to her book and film projects in Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Portland, and London.
Charlie Kitchings is an independent curator and art advisor. He founded AMBACH & RICE in 2009 and organized over fifty exhibits during the gallery’s six-year tenure in Seattle and Los Angeles. He is currently a partner in record manufacturing company SunPress Vinyl.

Westside Urban Forum Breakfast Talk: Intended Taxes & Unintended Consequences: Measure ULA’s Real Estate Transfer Tax
2023-03-23 07:45 - 09:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Intended Taxes & Unintended Consequences: Measure ULA’s Real Estate Transfer Tax
Thursday, March 23rd, 2023
Helms Design Center
7:45 am – 9:30 am PST
Panel from 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Doors open at 7:45 for registration, breakfast and networking.
RSVP Required!

Members Register Here

Nonmembers Register Here

In the November 2022 election, Los Angeles voters approved ballot Measure ULA to enact a new real estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing and tenant assistance programs. Marketed controversially as the “Mansion Tax,” Measure ULA taxes all real property transactions valued over $5 million, both commercial and residential, with very few exceptions. The measure is anticipated to generate hundreds of millions or even one billion dollars annually that will be deposited in a special trust fund, known as the “House LA Fund,” intended to be used to subsidize housing, preserve affordable housing, prevent homelessness, and guarantee counsel to tenants in eviction court.
Despite the urgency and wide consensus of LA’s housing crisis, some pro-housing advocates and experts question if a transfer tax or the ultimate form of Measure ULA was the right vehicle to support affordable housing and homelessness initiatives. Some industry experts worry that with limited exemptions Measure ULA will result in a halt of the residential and commercial purchase and sale market and actually hinder housing production in the City of Los Angeles. Some Measure ULA opponents are fighting the passage with a lawsuit to strike ULA down, arguing it violates California’s Prop 13, and through a proposed state ballot initiative to invalidate the law.
On the other hand, implementation of ULA is not fully formed and there is an important opportunity for stakeholders to shape the process. Was ULA drafted as housing advocates expected, or will there be unintended consequences including for new developments? And what’s the outlook for the pending lawsuit, prospective ballot initiative, and ULA implementation? Join us to discuss these questions and more.
Panelists to be announced shortly.
Registration Fees:
$50 Members
$65 Non-Members
$10 Student Members & Retired Members
$15 Student Non-Members & Retired Non-Members
Pre-registration closes on Wednesday, March 22nd, at 4:00 PM. After Wednesday, March 22nd, onsite registration will be available at the cost of an additional $10. No refunds or credits will be provided after this day.
Event Time
7:45 am – 9:30 am
7:45 am – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am – Panel Discussion
Location
Parking will be available in the adjacent, interior parking garage at 8711 Washington Blvd., Culver City (look for the red banners), or there is ample parking throughout the Helm Bakery complex. Alternately, the Expo Light Rail line is located one block to the east of Helms Bakery.

Groundwork: So Cal Fibershed Symposium
2023-03-04 10:00 - 15:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
The inaugural Groundwork: So Cal Fibershed Symposium will bring together ranchers and farmers, designers, advocates, academics, and changemakers for a day of project presentations and networking. If you’re interested in regen ag and local fiber (or sheep and goat grazing for fire mitigation), please join us.
We’ll be sharing projects underway in our Fibershed, and encourage networking and resource sharing before, during, and after the event. Confirmed speakers include Jenya Schneider of Cuyama Lamb, Christina Wheeler of Greg Lauren, Cole Bush of Shepherdess Land & Livestock, Tony de Verya of Rodale Institute (hemp!), Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens also of Rodale (but here to talk cotton), and one more special guest, we hope!
Ticket purchase includes programming, networking opportunities, morning coffee-tea service, lunch (primarily vegetarian options), a closing reception, and free onsite parking.
More info and tickets available here: https://www.socalfibershed.org/groundwork

Path of Resistance Charity Event
2023-02-25 15:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Love. Freedom. Ukraine. event series
Path of Resistance Charity Event
February 25, 2023 | 3:00 to 6:00 pm
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Path of Resistance is a pop-up exhibition and a silent auction featuring a selection of fine art pieces by contemporary Ukrainian artists that celebrate creative authenticity and share with the audience their vision of beauty, hope, freedom, and love.
A few fine art images can be seen here: https://www.art-territory.com/gallery/
All proceeds go to buying equipment for a new Children’s Hospital in Lviv, Ukraine and to support the Ukrainian artists who have become refugees after the war broke out.
Ukraine is a country of striking natural beauty and of truly beautiful people. Today, when Ukraine is devastated by war, its once beautiful landscapes are maimed by the bombs and the rockets, but the beauty of its people is heightened by their inner strength, their continuous support of one another, their never-ending willingness to resist, and their ability to see beauty even in the darkest hour.
Together with their countrymen, Ukrainian artists chose to overcome the horrors of combat by creating canvases that depict beauty rather than dread. This is their “Art of war”, their path of resistance – the artworks that celebrate life in a time of terrible peril.
This exhibition features 30+ works by contemporary Ukrainian artists and creatives who continue to fight back by choosing life and beauty and showing us wondrous images of the world that could be, and not the one disfigured by the war. The world needs love, now more than ever. The world needs beauty and the world needs Ukrainian art.

Featured artists:
Tata Kolesnik, Polina Kuznetsova, Konstyntyn Lyzogub, Anna Bondar, Kateryna Ivonina, Oleh Kalashnik, Anna Moskalets, Artem Volokitin, Tetyana Malinovska, Nataliya Karpinska, Inna Kharchuk, Nina Murashkina, and Yevhenii Shapovalov
Organized by:
Art Territory Ukraine
Stand With Ukraine Foundation
Supported by:
Helms Bakery District
Poster Territory
The 4th Block
Featured painting by Tata Kolesnik

War Time Graphics Poster Exhibition
2023-02-15 - 2023-04-04 | Washington Corridor Gallery, 8723 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232, United States
Free
Love. Freedom. Ukraine. event series
War Time Graphics
Extended thru April 4, 2023
By appointment only: please email posterterritory@gmail.com
Helms Bakery Washington Corridor Gallery
8723 Washington Boulevard, Culver City
Graphic arts were always one of the quickest forms of creative response to current social and political issues. War Time Graphics is an exhibition of war posters featuring anti-war 50 posters by contemporary Ukrainian artists. Organized by The 4th Block association and PosterTerritory.
More info at: https://www.art-territory.com/ukrainian-anti-war-posters/
Featured artwork by Yana Boyko

LAXART's director Hamza Walker with Yusuf Hassan and Kwamé Sorrell of BlackMass Publishing at Arcana Books
2023-01-28 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
In collaboration with the University of California, Irvine and Arcana Books, we are excited to announce an in person discussion between LAXART’s director Hamza Walker and Yusuf Hassan and Kwamé Sorrell of BlackMass Publishing. Their discussion will be held at Arcana Books on Saturday, January 28th at 4pm.
Founded by Yusuf Hassan in 2019, BlackMass Publishing is a New York-based collective and independent press. At once a structure of coherent units and a collection of disjointed parts, BlackMass invokes an aggregate of Blackness, of matter in resistance. Combining archival photographs and found print material with poetry and jazz music, BlackMass grapples with the blurred lines and idiosyncrasies which make up the collective improvisation of African diasporic culture.
BlackMass have publications included in the permanent book collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, RAW Material Company, Dakar, Center for Book Arts, New York, The Thomas J. Watson Library, New York, The Whitney Museum Library, New York, The Houghton Library, Cambridge, The Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, New York, The New York Public Library, and The Evergreen State College, Washington.

Free Coffee, Pancakes and Music this weekend at H.D. Buttercup
2023-01-28 12:00 - 15:00 | H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic, 3225 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles,, CA, 90034, United States
Did someone say FREE Pancakes?
It’s the last weekend of H.D. Buttercup’s Half Yearly Sale so they are bringing in Coffee + a Pancake pop-up stand to celebrate. Coffee and a DJ spinning music will be set up inside the showroom. Pancake stand just outside the front door.
Saturday, 1/28: from 12 noon to 3:oo pm = Free Coffee & Pancakes
Sunday, 1/29: from 12 noon to 3:00 pm = Free Coffee & Pancakes + Live Music
See you there!

Westside Urban Forum Breakfast Talk: California’s Brave New World of Parking
2023-01-19 07:45 - 09:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Thursday, January 19th at 7:45 am, please join Westside Urban Forum for a breakfast reception and panel discussion about California’s Brave New World of Parking.
For at least two decades, advocates and urban planners have decried the overabundance of parking in many cities. Many of the garages, lots, and spaces in Los Angeles exist not necessarily because they are needed but because regulations require them. The passage of Senate Bill 2097 last year nullifies minimum parking requirements across the state, including large swaths of the Los Angeles region. The goal is twofold: give developers more freedom to build housing and discourage overuse of personal vehicles.
Now developers — along with financiers, architects, and planners — get to figure out what to do with their freedom.
If developers choose to provide less parking, they could, potentially, add more units, experiment with design, and transform entire corridors of the City. This could also set off battles for parking spaces and impose burdens upon neighbors. Please join WUF to discuss whether the relaxation of parking requirements will lead to a development revolution along the major corridors of the Los Angeles region or whether conventional wisdom about car dependency will persist.
Panelists
Donna Shen Tripp, Vice President/Partner, Craig Lawson & Co.
Hagu Solomon-Cary, AICP; Principal City Planner; Los Angeles City Planning
Patrick Tighe FAIA, FAAR; Principal; Tighe Architecture
Additional panelists to be announced
Members Register Here
Nonmembers Register Here
Registration Fees
$50 Members
$65 Non-Members
$10 Student Members
$15 Student Non-Members
Pre-registration closes on Wednesday, January 18th, at 4:00 PM. After Wednesday, January 18th, onsite registration will be available at the cost of an additional $10. No refunds or credits will be provided after this day.
Event Time
7:45 am – 9:30 am
7:45 am – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am – Panel Discussion
Free Parking is located inside the interior parking garage located at 8711 Washington Boulevard, adjacent to the event.

Book Signing at Arcana with Lawrence Weschler: A Trove of Zohars
2023-01-14 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
On Saturday, January 14th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a book signing for Lawrence Weschler‘s brand new Hat & Beard publication, A Trove of Zohars. For the event Mr. Weschler will be joined by photographer and early-photographic process historian Stephen Berkman for a discussion about the book and the shrouded-in-mystery Zohar Studios.
“So Lawrence Weschler was minding his own business, as all his stories begin, when he got a call from Gravity Goldberg (her real name!) who introduced herself as the Director of Public Programs and Visitor Experience at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. She was calling, she told him, to apprise him of an upcoming show – an inaugural exhibition, that is, of a recently uncovered trove of work by Shimmel Zohar, a mid-19th-century Lithuanian immigrant photographer. A contemporary of Mathew Brady, Zohar had chronicled the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side of 1860s – 1870s Manhattan in unparalleled detail, compiling a complete inventory of professions and types. Or not. There was, she suggested, some slippage in the whole story, and they were trying to find someone who might be willing to investigate things, and they were wondering, might he be interested?
Thus begins an antic tale of investigative perplex and vertiginous inquiry, as Weschler tracks down Stephen Berkman, the wet-collodion devotee who claims to have discovered the trove in question, but it’s a long and loopy story. And indeed, Weschler’s account evolves into the fourth volume of his ongoing “Chronicles of Slippage” series, doing for the early history of photography and the long heritance of Judaism what the series’ first volume, the Pulitzer-shortlisted Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder, once did for the history of museums and the phenomenology of marvel.
And that’s just the half of it, for the main text sprouts a veritable delirium of digressive footnotes (taking up more than half the book), constituting what may be the closest we are going to ever get by way of memoir from this confounding and beloved writer.”
If you cannot attend and would like to order a signed copy to have shipped or to pick up at the shop, please contact the store for details or order online.

Come to the Closing of the Art Exhibition in Support of TreePeople
2023-01-07 13:00 - 16:00 | Washington Corridor Gallery, 8723 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232, United States
Trees need people. People need trees.
On Saturday, January 7th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, please join us for the closing of the exhibition, ALL ABOUT TREES inside the Washington Corridor Gallery.
Artists from all over the country have come together to donate all or a portion of their work to help the organization TreePeople plant more trees, steering Southern California to a more water-secure environment by harvesting rain and renewing depleted landscapes.
40 SLMM (The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media) and 40 LA artists have contributed to this non-profit event to support greener and shadier neighborhoods.
FREE Parking is located inside the interior garage at 8711 Washington Boulevard, adjacent to the exhibition.
If you can’t be there Saturday, please contact Rachel X at 310 850-8140 for an earlier appointment.
Exhibition Dates
December 10, 2022 through January 7, 2023
