Helms Design District

Get Your Garden in Shape! Modernica and Mickey's Plants Pop Up At Rejuvenation
2018-07-22 12:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Rejuvenation, 8780 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Free
On Sunday, July 22 from 12 to 5 pm, join Rejuvenation for two FREE workshops with Modernica and Mickey Hargitay Plants.
Modernica and Mickey’s Plants will provide their expertise on choosing the right greenery for your planter, plus tips and tricks on plant care during the workshops. Drop-in workshops will take place at 1:00pm and 2:00pm.
Save 20% on all Modernica planters during this event!

Little Bite Gallery Returns to Helms with a Solo Exhibition by Melissa Falco Williams
2018-07-21 19:00 - 22:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, July 21st from 7 to 10 pm, join us for the second installation from Little Bite Gallery inside the Helms Design Center, presenting Inch by Inch, a solo exhibition featuring 70+ works of art by Melissa Falco Williams, as part of the Helms fine art series remnants & artifacts.
After the opening night, Inch by Inch will be available to the public on Friday, July 27th and Sunday, July 29th, time TBD. ALL OTHER TIMES, the exhibition is available BY APPOINTMENT ONLY through August 2nd, by contacting Alyssa at Info@littlebitegallery.com.
“My inspiration comes from life, from every experience I’ve had, from every person I’ve met. Perhaps I’ve always had a desire to discover a greater connection to the world around me and bring beauty and understanding in moments that can sometimes feel scary and harsh—to find the extraordinary in the smallest details and kindness in every expression.
Through art, I have discovered a place of serenity, a place of freedom. Creating art has been a pathway to my heart and also to my community. It has given me the courage to embrace a bigger piece of me, to connect and share with fellow artists and join hands in the spirit of discovery.” -Melissa Falco Williams
“I first met Melissa three and a half years ago. Her curious, vibrant approach to creativity always enthralled me. Over the years I’ve witnessed the unabashed expression and truth Melissa conveys through her artwork. Her work makes a resounding mark on all who view it, leaving us to bask in the glory of it’s unedited expression. You can feel the catharsis, the freedom and release Melissa feels when she paints. How she makes sense of the world and lovingly adds to it. My hope in presenting her work is to present as many people as possible to this expressive resonance and color, and the power of Melissa’s honest and emotive movement. Inch by Inch challenges the viewer to look closely, to feel deeply, and to express fully. Can you feel the freedom?” -Alyssa, Director of Little Bite Gallery
About renmants & artifacts
A well-lived life is often driven by a search to find meaning and purpose within a world that frequently appears irrational and chaotic. We use our collected experiences — encounters with people, places, objects, literature, music and art — to develop a personal paradigm, an internal language that helps us make sense of our significance and define our reason for being.

Please join us for an ongoing art series that examines the idea of ‘remnants and artifacts’, the small remainders, residues, and unexpected revelations of the artist’s collected experiences as discovered within their body of work and provide us with a possible avenue for a deeper appreciation of the worldview that underlies their creative hopes, dreams, and fears.

AIA Presents: Small Firms 101 - A Seminar Series
2018-07-20 08:00 - 12:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Friday, July 20th from 8 am to 12 pm, join AIA Los Angeles for SMALL FIRMS 101: A series of hands-on professional development workshops that will serve as a forum to give architects and designers insight and access to the tools and resources which will help organize and operate a successful architectural & design practice.
Each workshop will be four hours long- comprised of four presentations of 30-40 minutes, with a 20-30 minute interactive Q&A. All three seminars eligible for 3.5 Continuing Education Series Learning Units each!
Workshop Two: Growth, Strategy, and Effective Management as a Small Firm
Panelists Include:
Jessamyn Davis – Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Rios Clementi Hale Studios author of “Financial Management for Emerging Design Firms”
Dan Brunn, AIA – Founding Principal, Dan Brunn Architecture author of “Creating Your Brand”
Julie D. Taylor, Hon. AIA – Founding Principal, Taylor & Company
Donna Peters Haldipur – PR Account Executive, Taylor & Company author of “How to Maximize your PR Potential”
Maggie Hattan – Human Resources Consultant, HR Prescriptions author of “Human Resources Management- Employee vs. CA Independent Contractor”
Registration: $60 AIA Members | $80 Non-Members
AIA Members: Register for all three workshops and pay $150!
Series Schedule
Friday, September 14: Alternative Practices + Future Planning for Small Firms

Kevin McCollister and Lynell George Explore Hidden L.A.
2018-07-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, July 7th from 7:30 – 9:30 please join us for a reception and discussion with photographer Kevin McCollister and award-winning author and friend, Lynell George.
Kevin McCollister’s photos featured in the pages of his book, East of West LA, steer us far away from stock images of Los Angeles. Image to image, he reveals an L.A. of quiet stretches, faith, hard work and humble accommodations. In an evening of photographs and conversation, we’ll travel into those intimate spaces and discuss the hidden Los Angeles — and Angelenos — McCollister has come to know.
This event is open to the public.

AIA Presents: Small Firms 101 - A Seminar Series Copy
2018-06-29 08:00 - 12:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Friday, June 29th from 8 am to 12 pm, join AIA Los Angeles for SMALL FIRMS 101: A series of hands-on professional development workshops that will serve as a forum to give architects and designers insight and access to the tools and resources which will help organize and operate a successful architectural & design practice.
Each workshop will be four hours long- comprised of four presentations of 30-40 minutes, with a 20-30 minute interactive Q&A. All three seminars eligible for 3.5 Continuing Education Series Learning Units each!
Workshop One – Starting Small: Best-Practices + Business Development for Small Firms
Panelists Include:
Christopher Warren, AIA – Founding Principal, WORD author of “READY, SET, GO: Taking the big leap toward starting a new practice.”
Rebecca Rudolph, AIA – Co-founder, Design, Bitches
Catherine Johnson, AIA – Co-founder, Design, Bitches author of “Hustle & Flow – How to get and deliver the projects you want to do.”
Tim Corbett – Founder & President, SmartRisk author of “Correlation of Enterprise Risk Management on Performance”
Ryan J. Kohler – Partner, Collins Collins Muir + Stewart author of “Indemnity, Insurance, and the Standard of Care: Key Legal Factors in your Contract”
Registration: $60 AIA Members | $80 Non-Members
AIA Members: Register for all three workshops and pay $150!
Series Schedule
Friday, July 20: Growth, Strategy, and Effective Management as a Small Firm
Friday, September 14: Alternative Practices + Future Planning for Small Firms

L.A. GOAL's Community Art Exhibition Pops Up at the Helms Design Center
2018-06-16 11:00 - 16:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, June 16th from 11 am to 4 pm, please join us for L.A. GOAL’s second annual inclusive community art exhibition.
Through a select group of artwork, the employed Artists of L.A. GOAL -in collaboration with L.A. GOAL staff and volunteers- share a feeling, memory, thought process, person, food or abstraction that flavors their lives. Come see what adds spice and meaning, the unique ingredients and/or perspectives that shape who we are and how we arrived at this moment.
This exhibition is open to the public one day only!!! What is your Secret Recipe?
Exhibition photo by Jonathan Sirand.

Arcana Books Celebrates Shaniqwa Jarvis' First Book
2018-06-09 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, June 9th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, head over to Arcana: Books on the Arts to meet Shaniqwa Jarvis and celebrate the arrival of her fabulous new book!
Shaniqwa Jarvis’ first book Shaniqwa Jarvis presents one hundred and sixty pages of editorial and personal work spanning two decades drawn from the photographer’s archive. This lovely hardbound volume published by Baque Creative features an introduction by photographer Ryan McGinley accompanied by a meticulous selection of pictures from her favorite personal series such as “Bathroom Portraits” – shot in the toilets of bars in the early 2000s – along with editorial work for clients like The Gap, The New York Times, Supreme, Billboard, and Riposte that includes portraits of SZA, Lee Scratch Perry, George Condo, Cardi B, and a few requisite selfies.
Ms. Jarvis’ work is known for blending the aesthetics of modern fashion photography with the sensitive, unfiltered emotion of art portraiture. In some of her best-loved imagery she captures vivid reality across a wide variety of subjects that always appear to be an extension of herself. The images speak to raw, disparate feelings imbued with a deep sparkling optimism. The photos in this collection are an invitation to join Jarvis on a journey to see the world from her vantage point – one that is female, black, tirelessly hardworking, and brimming with raucous, positive vibrations. These are images of celebrities who seem like best friends, vintage shots of downtown New York notables in their heyday, children, loved ones in all colors of the rainbow, and delicate landscapes and travel souvenirs. Here is sorrow and joy commingling in pictures, many of them highly autobiographical, all representing a progressive and optimistic world.

Come Listen to a Lively Presentation by the Students and Jurors of AIA's 2x8 Competition
2018-06-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
How do next generation designers envision the future of their city and individual buildings within it? What are student designers’ priorities for architecture? Which conventions will they break from and which will they choose to follow? These answers can be found in the winning entries of 2×8, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles chapter’s 2018 student competition, and revealed further in a corresponding live event on Thursday, June 7, from 6 to 8PM at the Helms Design Center.
Join us for a rapid and eclectic presentation by winners of this year’s AIA|LA 2×8 student competition + live, insightful commentary from this year’s jury.
This event is free and open to the public. RSVP HERE to let us know you’re attending.
Dubbed “2×8: Inside Stories”, the evening will feature rapid-fire presentations by winning students, augmented by real-time commentary by this year’s competition jury Carlos Madrid – SOM; Catherine Johnson, AIA – Design, Bitches; and Jeanne Chen, AIA – Moore Ruble Yudell Architects.
Fifteen students representing seven schools across the region received $13,000 in scholarships for their 2×8 work, including first place winner Sally Park of Otis College of Art and Design – Architecture | Landscape | Interiors who was awarded $5000 by the AIA|LA for her entry “Collage City.” Student work is currently displayed on Helms Avenue until June 19, 2018.
Park’s entry recognized the significance of lifestyle in driving design, an emphasis on functionality as well as aesthetic. In this case, Park organized a multi-family residential building according to lifestyles inhabitants might pursue, apportioning some areas of the multi-level residence for dwellers who might lead academic lives, others who followed athletic or artistic pursuits and so on. Carlos Madrid, a competition juror, noted that Park’s “clarity” drove recognition of her entry. “This was a strong, clear concept, that the student communicated with great simplicity,” he noted.
Here’s a complete list of 2018 2×8 Winners:
First Place: Sally Park
School: Otis College of Art and Design – Architecture | Landscape | Interiors
Entry: “Collage City”
Second Place (The Montalba Architects Scholarship): Socrates Medina and Joyce Abarsosa
School: CalPoly Pomona Department of Architecture
Entry: “Agnes Martin Museum”
Second Place (The BaronHR Scholarship): Siqi Zhang
School: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Architecture & Urban Design
Entry: “Steel Fabric”
Third Place (The AIA National Component Scholarship): Ashley Mangus
School: University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture
Entry: “City Seed”
Third Place: Yeqi Wang and Kyle Reckling
School: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Architecture & Urban Design
Entry: “Interpelago”
Honorable Mention: Armen Janazyan and Ka Kit Chiu
School: Woodbury University School of Architecture
Entry: “Between The Lines”
Honorable Mention: Bianca Lin and Wilson Fung and Joshua Park
School: California College of the Arts, Architecture Division
Entry: “Dead Ends Aren’t Dead”
Honorable Mention: Sarah Sager and Jiming Bai
School: University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture
Entry: “Interstitial Space”
Honorable Mention: Chris Danielle Caracena
School: East Los Angeles College Department of Architecture
EbtrtL “The Irony on the Iconic”
What is 2×8?
2×8 is a competition, exhibition, and scholarship fund for architecture students at institutions of higher education throughout California. Academic institutions select two projects by student teams, which is then considered by a jury of architects and designers who select winning entries. Winners and scholarship recipients are announced at the exhibition opening but all entries are displayed.

Curatorial Hub Uses Arcana Books as Their Outpost
2018-06-03 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Curatorial Hub is an online gallery featuring diverse and affordable works by well-known and emerging artists from Los Angeles and beyond. To complement its cyberspace-seat at curatorialhub.com, a new exhibition series in a brick-and-mortar outpost will launch in June at Arcana: Books on the Arts! The first show will feature artists David P. Earle and Emily Joyce, with an opening reception on Sunday, June 3rd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.
These month-long exhibitions at Arcana will be cozy two-person joints curated by the artists along with C⚡H founder, Bettina Hubby. This partnership provides a space for artists to showcase their work, while also sparking conversation about the meaning of and the relationship between the physical and virtual worlds and how our lives now occupy both.
David P. Earle‘s altered books are both excavations and constructions. Unearthing buried histories, finding aesthetic concordances and building new narratives, Earle burrows wormholes through paper, splices together photographs, and removes text exploiting the flatness of the page to suggest a parallel universe contained between the covers.
Emily Joyce’s paintings and sculptures are investigations into the underlying structure of the physical world; its mysteries and mathematics. The formally rigorous geometry in her work is offset by a purposefully awkward or playful gesture designed to destabilize the viewer. Taking her cues from early abstractionists and the Surrealists, she transforms found patterns and objects into hybrid creations whose parts add up to a whole that is new and familiar at the same time.
The concept for Curatorial Hub was created by artist Bettina Hubby who generously devotes part of her own practice to collaboration and connection, both of which are central to this new venture that draws on her strengths of curating, collaborating, and poetic outreach. “Democratizing access to creative output benefits everyone. Curatorial Hub offers a clean and simple way to get works out into the world while giving artists an opportunity outside of the traditional gallery setting to create supplemental income between exhibitions and projects.”

Lecture and Discussion with Christoph Kumpusch of Forward-slash / Back-splash ARCHITEKTUR
2018-06-02 17:00 - 19:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, June 2, from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Christoph Kumpusch of Forward-slash / Back-splash ARCHITEKTUR.

About Christoph Kumpusch of Forward-slash (/) Back-slash () ARCHITEKTUR
Christoph A. Kumpusch is a New York-based architect and the Core I Coordinator at Columbia GSAPP, where he also directs the Extraction Laboratory and teaches design and visual studies.
Kumpusch is the director of Forward-slash (/), a multidisciplinary practice founded in 2008, and the head of Back-slash (), the experimental arm of Forward-slash (/), investigating technology and material effects on form and tectonics. Kumpusch grounds his work in a concentrated research program focused on architectural details and the spawning of new buildings from the smallest parts outward. A theoretical project runs parallel to this work, identifying historical and cultural contexts triggered by detail innovation. The office is both a design and publishing outfit — producing essays, books, exhibitions, installations, podcasts, performances, films, and buildings. Forward-slash (/) strives to be intellectually rigorous, materially sustainable, and socially responsible.
In 2017, Kumpusch founded the Extraction Laboratory, a Columbia GSAPP research laboratory examining architecture derived from situation, rather than place. In the summer of 2017, the lab’s summer workshop was based at the Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, where they designed and built a set of nine roof structures. The upcoming 2018 workshop, Dry – Wet, will travel to one of the driest landscapes on earth, the United Arab Emirates, then contrasted with one of the wettest, the Republic of the Maldives.
Kumpusch was a Leonardo da Vinci Fellow, a Rudolf M. Schindler Scholar in Residence at the MAK Center, a USAA Scholar, a National Collegiate Engineering Award-winner, and a 2013 and 2015 Graham Foundation Grantee. Kumpusch is co-author of System Wien with Lebbeus Woods, Anthony Vidler and Manuel DeLanda (Hatje Cantz, 2005); editor of IDEA(u)topsy ( / Productions, 2010); IDEA(L) ( / Productions, 2011); Built Ideas (Theoharis David, 2012); Light Pavilion (Lars Müller Publishers, 2013); Urban Hopes – Made in China (Lars Müller Publishers, 2014) and Detail Kultur – If Buildings Had DNA (AADCU, 2016).
He has also taught at Cornell University, Cooper Union, MIT, Ohio State University, Pratt, and SCI-Arc. Kumpusch completed his Ph.D. at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst – Wien. Recent projects include an elephant playground and water park in Patong, Thailand; an East Village Think Tank; a co-working space in Shoreditch, London and a feasibility study for a theater in Havana, Cuba. Forward-slash (/) was the winner of an international competition to build a hub and theater-space for Performa 15 – a world-renowned venue for performing arts in New York’s TriBeCa. The Light Pavilion at the Sliced Porosity Block in Chengdu, China, one of several projects spanning a decade of collaboration with Lebbeus Woods, was recently completed.

Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design Student Exhibition and Reception will precede Christoph Kumpusch’s lecture at the Helms District Design Center

Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos (top, left to right): Christoph Kumpusch, Burning Man; (below): Earthwave

Take 5: A Series of Creative Talks Comes to the Helms Design Center
2018-06-01 18:00 - 21:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Friday, June 1 from 6 to 9 pm, please join us for Take 5: A Series of Creative Talks presented by our newest partner, Use All Five. This series of short creative presentations explores the 5 senses – sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch – in an effort to bring together creative innovators in various fields around LA, building a community across disciplines.
Take 5 is a platform for engagement among industry leaders, organizations, and businesses.
Speakers:
Ria Dolly Barbosa: Exec Chef of Paramount Coffee Project and Go Get Em Tiger (Taste)
Saskia Wilson-Brown: Founder of The Institute for Art and Olfaction (Smell)
Alex Reed: Ceramic Artist (Touch)
Levi Brooks: Co-founder & CEO of Use All Five (Sight)
Corey Regensburg: Musician/ Producer – AKA Moon Bounce (Sound)

These talks are free and open to the public but please RSVP.
Schedule:
6:00 – 7:00: Drinks & Social (Beer & Wine)
7:00 – 7:30: Speaker Presentations
7:30 – 8:00: Q&A / Panel Discussion
8:00 – 9:00: Drink & Mingle
This event will be brought to life by the team at Use All Five.

Lecture and Discussion with Bryan Cantley of Formu:LA
2018-05-31 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Thursday, May 31, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Bryan Cantley of Formu:LA

About Bryan Cantley of Form:uLA
Form:uLA is an experimental design practice owned by Bryan Cantley that attempts to blur the indeterminate zone between architecture and its representation.
An alumnus of UCLA, Bryan has lectured at a number of architecture schools internationally, and has taught as visiting faculty at SCI-Arc and Woodbury.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art purchased eleven of Bryan’s models and drawings in 2001 as a part of their permanent collection. He is also the recipient of a Graham Foundation Grant (2002) and has held a solo exhibition and served as the International Guest Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture in 2008 and 2017. Cantley’s work has been exhibited at the SFMOMA, UNCC, and UCLA, among other institutions.
Cantley’s solo exhibition “Dirty Geometries + Mechanical Imperfections” premiered at SCI-Arc in 2014, and his work was featured in AD Magazine’s “Drawing Strength From Machinery” in 2008, and “Drawing Architecture” in 2013. Cantley has also had drawings published in the Journal of Architectural Education and numerous other international magazines including Surrealism and Architecture (2016) and Celebrating the Marvelous: Surrealism in Architecture (2018). He is presently working on a follow-up to his first monograph, Mechudzu (2011), tentatively titled “Speculative Coolness”.

Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos (top, left to right): Bryan Cantley, (untitled); (below): Taxo 3B

Upcoming Event
Saturday, June 2:
Christoph Kumpusch of Forward-slash (/) Back-slash () ARCHITEKTUR
alongside Cal Poly Student Design Exhibition

Room & Board Hosts Artist, Maker and Author Emily Katz
2018-05-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Room&Board, 3231 Helms Avenue, Culver City, CA, 90034
Free
On Wednesday, May 30th from 6 to 8 pm, please join Room & Board and the fiber-obsessed community from Knit Wit magazine for a special evening with Emily Katz, the Portland-based macramé phenomenon and author of the new book Modern Macramé.
Explore the rich design subculture of macramé, meet Emily and purchase her new book, available for signing. Please RSVP.
The conversation begins at 7 pm. Refreshments and light bites will be provided.

AIA Los Angeles Exhibits Student Work on Helms Walk
2018-05-22 17:30 - 20:30 | Helms Walk, 3270 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90034
Free
Join us on Tuesday, May 22 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm for a special celebration and installation of AIA|LA’s student competition, 2×8: Interlaced. Stop by to view work by architecture students from across the region, honor the winners, and familiarize yourself with the city’s next generation of designers.
The Opening Party for the 2018 2×8 student exhibition, competition, and winners announcement will take place on Helms Walk, our pedestrian plaza on Helms Avenue. Light Refreshments and Libations will be served. This event is FREE and Open to Members, the Public, and Friends. Please RSVP by filling out the form here.
The installation will remain on display from May 22 through June 19.
About 2×8
2×8 is a competition, exhibition, and scholarship fund for students at institutions of higher education throughout California.

Arcana Books Hosts a Celebration in Honor of Corita Kent
2018-05-19 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, May 19th between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts to celebrate the beautiful new Atelier Éditions publication International Signal Code Alphabet by Corita Kent. Arcana will host a discussion and book signing with Dr. Ray Smith, Director of the Corita Art Center, and artist, curator, and Kent scholar, Aaron Rose.
“Radical American artist, educator and once-devout Catholic nun, Sister Mary Corita Kent’s provocative imagery has entranced audiences for over four decades. Originally completed in 1968, Kent’s International Signal Code Alphabet encompasses a series of twenty-six kaleidoscopic serigraphs integrating scripture, typography, image, icon, and the maritime flags of the International Code of Signals. As 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of both the series’ completion, and the centennial of Kent’s birth, this celebratory publication reproduces this engaging body of work for the very first time in a monographic, fine art format”. It features an introduction by Corita Art Center Director, Dr. Ray Smith along with a foreword authored by noted Kent scholar, artist, and curator Aaron Rose.

Lecture and Discussion with Maxi Spina and Jia Gu of Spinagu
2018-05-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Thursday, May 17, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Maxi Spina and Jia Gu of Spinagu.
JIA GU
Jia Gu (b. Shanghai, China) is an architectural designer, educator, and curator with a special interest in critical and conceptual practices in art and architecture. She holds a B.A in Visual Arts with Honors from UCSD and a Master of Architecture with Honors from UCLA. She is Director of Materials & Applications and Associate Director of UCLA A.UD Summer Programs. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Architecture at UCLA. She is a co-founder of Spinagu.
MAXI SPINA
Maxi Spina (b. Rosario, Argentina) is the co-founder of Spinagu. He is currently Design Faculty and Applied Studies Faculty at SCI-Arc. He was previously the Maybeck Fellow at UC Berkeley, Lecturer at CCA, and Associate Professor at Woodbury. His work has been featured in exhibitions at A+D Museum, SCI-Arc, Jai & Jai, and Wuho Gallery. He received his M.Arch from Princeton University and a B.Arch from National University of Rosario, Argentina.

SPINAGU is a practice dedicated to architecture, curation, and pedagogy, formed of Jia Gu and Maxi Spina. They produce traditional architectural objects, such as follies, houses, and towers, alongside non-traditional objects, such as chess sets, exhibitions, and text. Their work is invested in formal exercises as well as thought experiments. They are interested in architecture as a speculative medium through which to explore technology, history, materiality, and form. They currently teach at SCI-Arc and the University of Southern California, and Jia directs an architectural exhibition space called Materials & Applications.

Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos (Left to Right): Maxi Spina and Jia Gu, Other Turns, Thick

Series Schedule:
Thursday, May 24: Forward-slash/Back-slash – Christoph Kumpusch
Thursday, May 31: Form:uLA – Bryan Cantley

Arcana Books Hosts a Conversation with Photographer John Divola
2018-05-12 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, May 12th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts for a conversation between John Divola and The Getty Museum Department of Photographs curator Amanda Maddox followed by a book signing of his stunning new MACK publication.
Between 1974 and 1975, American photographer John Divola – then in his mid-twenties and without a studio of his own – traveled across Los Angeles in search of dilapidated properties in which to make photographs. Armed with a camera, spray paint, string, and cardboard, the artist would produce one of his most significant photographic projects entitled Vandalism.
To produce this visceral black and white series of images Divola vandalized vacant homes with abstract constellations of graffiti-like marks, ritualistic configurations of string hooked to pins, and torn arrangements of card, before photographing the results. The project vigorously merged the documentary approach of forensic photography with staged interventions echoing sculpture, performance, and installation art. Serving as a conceptual sabotaging of the delineations between such documentary and artistic practices at a time when the ‘truthfulness’ of photography was being called into question, Vandalism helped to establish Divola’s highly distinctive photographic language.

Lecture and Discussion with Julia Körner of JK Design GmbH
2018-05-03 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Thursday, May 3, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Julia Körner of JK Design GmbH.
Julia Körner is an award-winning designer working at the convergence of architecture, product and fashion design – specializing in additive manufacturing and robotic technology. Her work stands out, recognized today at the top level of these disciplines, where it has been featured in National Geographic, at the Venice Biennale, Paris Haute Couture and institutions such as the FRAC Centre in Orleans, the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to name a few. The constantly intriguing aspect of Julia’s work is the embodiment of a beautiful organic aesthetic.
Born in Salzburg, Austria; Julia received master degrees in architecture from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna (with distinction) and the Architectural Association, London. She is currently based between Los Angeles and Salzburg and has previously practiced in London and New York.
Julia is founder of JK Design GmbH, specializing in digital design for 3D-Printing. Her recent collaborations involved 3D-Printed fashion pieces developed with Haute Couture Houses for Paris Fashion weeks as well as 3D printed designs for Hollywood entertainment productions. She recently collaborated with costume designer Ruth Carter on the 3D-Printed fashion designs for Marvel’s Black Panther. In 2015, Julia launched an entirely 3D-Printed ready-to-wear collection entitled ‘sporophyte’.
Julia is faculty at University of California Los Angeles, Architecture and Urban Design Department since 2012; she has held previous academic appointments at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Lund University in Sweden, and the Architectural Association Visiting School in France and Jordan.

Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos (Left to Right): Hymenium Jacken, Speciation, Julia Körner

Series Schedule:
Thursday May 17: Spinagu – Maxi Spina and Jia Gu
Thursday May 24: Forward-slash/Back-slash – Christoph Kumpusch
Thursday May 31: Form:uLA – Bryan Cantley

Arcana Books Celebrates the Release of Alexander McWhirter's Fashion Journal
2018-05-03 18:00 - 20:00
Free
On Thursday, May 3rd between 6:00 and 8:00 pm, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts to celebrate the West Coast launch of Creative Director Alexander McWhirter’s brand new Fashion journal, Public. The beautifully designed, large-format first issue features five portfolios photographed by Glen Luchford, Nadine Fraczkowski, Vivien Solari, Benjamin Lennox, and Greta Ilieva along with images by McWhirter and Alice Neale.
Notes the publisher: “The obvious is all around us. It is a void in which everything has been fine-tuned to such an extent that indistinctiveness prevails. ‘Cool’ has become inoffensive and predictable, and taste is easy to place a pulse on. Issue 1 of Public breaks this pattern of democratized cool, bringing together a body of work that covers a unique perspective on subjects in life.”
Originally from London, Alexander McWhirter began his career in New York as the Art Director at V Magazine before founding McWhirter Studio. His projects focus on working closely with distinctive collaborators to present a narrative that observes human interaction, be that with our environment or with each other. The story is woven together with elements from art and fashion, the resulting idea is unmistakable and inclusive to all. He has collaborated with Visionaire, Suzanne Geiss Gallery, Cultural Traffic, and most recently Calvin Klein, where he worked closely with Raf Simons and Pieter Mulier on 2017 campaigns for Calvin Klein Jeans, Underwear, and the 205W39NYC RTW Collection Book.

Kao Pao Shu Sample Sale is Back!
2018-05-03 10:00 - 2018-05-05 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
On Thursday, May 3 through Saturday, May 5 from 10am to 6pm, Kao Pao Shu, our favorite architecturally-inspired fashion brand, returns to the Helms Design center for their yearly sample sale. Enjoy savings of up to 70% on purses, backpacks, clothing and more!

Lecture and Discussion with Andrew Holder of LADG
2018-05-01 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Tuesday, May 1, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Andrew Holder of LADG.
Andrew Holder is co-principal of LADG (the Los Angeles Design Group) and Assistant Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. His research and design interests include the late baroque architecture of 18th-century Germany, the English picturesque, and the construction of architecture as an inanimate subject. Andrew’s recent work has been published in Young Architects 16, A plus T, Log, Pidgin, Project, and RM 1000. He is a frequent lecturer and guest critic at institutions across the United States and has held teaching appointments at the University of Michigan, the University of Queensland, the University of California, Los Angeles, SCI-Arc, and Otis College of Art and design. Andrew is a Harry S. Truman Scholar, an Oberdick Fellow at the University of Michigan, and a Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Fellow at Lewis & Clark College. He received a Master of Architecture with distinction from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Lewis & Clark College.
LADG
Established in 2004, the Los Angeles Design Group (LADG) is led by principals Claus Benjamin Freyinger and Andrew Holder. The founders see their work as contributing to a longer history of ideas, and draw on this history to craft unexpected solutions to conventional problems in architecture and design. The firm works at all scales, with completed projects in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and the United Kingdom. Recent work includes a free-standing indoor-outdoor restaurant in Southern California and the installation of a contemporary picturesque garden in Loeb Library at the Harvard Graduate School of design. The firm has received numerous professional honors and recognitions, including Progressive Architecture Awards in 2017 and 2018, the 2014 League Prize from the Architectural League of New York, and multiple citations from the Los Angeles Chapter of the AIA.
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos (Left to Right): Andrew Holder, 259 Hampton, Cast of Things

Series Schedule:
Thursday May 3: Julia Körner
Thursday May 17: Spinagu – Maxi Spina and Jia Gu
Thursday May 24: Forward-slash/Back-slash – Christoph Kumpusch
Thursday May 31: Form:uLA – Bryan Cantley

Come Meet Photographer Jessica Antola at Arcana Books
2018-04-21 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, April 21st between 4 and 6pm, head over to Arcana: Books on the Arts to meet photographer Jessica Antola and celebrate the publication of Circadian Landscape.
Jessica Antola’s first monograph entitled Circadian Landscape is a vibrant journey through Sub-Saharan Africa. Traveling mostly by car, she captures the distinctive style and beauty of everyday life in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Togo.
Her striking portraits, landscapes, and vignettes offer an intimate view of life lived in rural villages, big cities and along the remote roadways between the two. Men dressed head to toe in elaborate African wax textiles share a motorcycle; ancestral spirits bridge earthly and supernatural worlds in masked dances; the rich red soil dusts the lush tropical jungle; a girl in an over-sized straw hat steers her boat with a boldly patterned patchwork sail; and a gold jewelry-clad Kumasi King performs a warrior dance. Antola is captivated by how people around the world express themselves in relation to their environments, and her images reflect the astonishing variety of ways people create and define themselves daily through dress and ritual, work and play.

Fireclay Tile Pops Into Rejuvenation for a Home Design Celebration
2018-04-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Rejuvenation, 8780 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Calling all Design Professionals!
On Thursday, April 19 from 6 to 8 pm, please join Rejuvenation and Fireclay Tile for cocktails and thoughtful conversation about in-home design. Share your restoration and renovation ideas with experts from all areas of the design industry. Please RSVP.

Come Celebrate California Missions With Arcana Books
2018-04-15 16:00 - 18:00
Free
On Sunday, April 15th between 4 and 6 pm, stop in Arcana: Books on the Arts to meet author and photographer Melba Levick and co-author Ruben G. Mendoza in celebration of the publication of The California Missions from Rizzoli!
The twenty-one missions of California – from San Diego to San Francisco Solano – are historic treasures and sites of pilgrimage for visitors from the world over. Intrinsically beautiful structures typically built of adobe brick and wood, adorned with towers, domes, whitewashed stucco, often surrounded by lush gardens, the missions are at the very heart of California.
Established by Spanish padres, built by Native Californians, and preserved and restored by historians and architects, California’s missions are unique monuments to the region’s indigenous and European histories. This colorful, informative exploration of all twenty-one sites, each with its own rich story to tell, journeys along the historic Camino Real from Mission Dolores with its flower-strewn courtyard gardens in San Francisco, to San Juan Capistrano, famous for the swallows that flock to its inviting grounds. With lush photography that captures the missions’ details so splendidly, this is the perfect book for mission visitors and lovers of their strong and simple forms.
Upcoming Events at Arcana Books
Saturday, April 21st, 4 to 6 pm
JESSICA ANTOLA: CIRCADIAN LANDSCAPE
Saturday, May 19th, 4 to 6 pm
INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL CODE ALPHABET BY CORITA KENT

KCRW’s Frances Anderton and Avishay Artsy Discuss "Bridges and Walls" Series
2018-04-12 18:30 - 20:30
Free
For the last two months, KCRW’s DnA: Design and Architecture has looked at the structures that connect us and divide us. They called the series Bridges and Walls. Now the series has wrapped but the conversation continues – and we hope it will continue in person with you!
On Thursday, April 12, KCRW hosts a wrap party and discussion inside the Helms Design Center.
6:30pm Reception
7:15pm Conversation and Q & A
8:30pm It’s a Wrap!
Following a reception with refreshments and light bites, KCRW’s Curious Coast reporter Jenny Hamel will interview Frances Anderton and Avishay Artsy, co-producers and co-hosts of Bridges and Walls, about the series and the questions it raised. Some guests from the series will be present to respond to specific questions and join in the celebration. We’d love you to attend and bring your questions and observations about the bridges and walls that connect and divide us. RSVP here!
ABOUT BRIDGES AND WALLS
The impetus for the conversation was then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s repeated calls for building a border wall. KCRW looked into the real and political connections and divisions in California. The result was eight in-depth reports that featured a wide range of guests giving voice to the human impact of the infrastructure that shapes our state.
Bridges and Walls is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

An International Art Exhibition Comes to the Helms Design Center
2018-04-07 17:00 - 21:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, April 7 from 5 to 9 pm, please join us for the opening reception of Bridges between Continents & Memories/ Passerelles entre Continents et Souvenirs, an International exchange exhibition inside the Helms Design Center.
Bridges between Continents & Memories is a collection of works from three American and four French artists using photographic images as source to create contemporary mixed media pieces dealing with memory and modernity.
American artists worked closely with the French organization, Les Seize Agnes, to strengthen the artistic dialogue between International artists. This collection of work was originally exhibited in France in 2016 at the Marie de Paris 8th, and the Mu Gallery in Paris. In 2017 Bridges between Continents was exhibited at St Glidas de Rhuys in the Mayors Gallery in Brittany, and will be presented at Helms Bakery from April 6 – 17, 2018 by appointment only.
California artists include Rachel X Hobreigh, Cris Orfescu, and Debra Dobkin. French artists include Renée Amitai, Jean Pierre Mosca, Patrick Dunand, and François De Verdière.
For more information about the artists and exhibition, please contact: Rachel X Hobreigh, 310 850-8140.

Lecture and Discussion with Lawrence Scarpa of Brooks + Scarpa
2018-04-05 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Thursday, April 5, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Lawrence Scarpa of Brooks + Scarpa. Lawrence Scarpa has garnered international acclaim for the creative use of conventional materials in unique and unexpected ways. He is also considered a pioneer and leader in the field of sustainable design.
He is the recipient of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Architecture and was also awarded the State of California and National American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award. Over the last ten years, Mr. Scarpa’s firm has received more than 50 major design awards, including twenty-one National AIA Awards, Record Houses, Record Interiors, the Rudy Bruner Prize, five AIA Committee on the Environment “Top Ten Green Building” Awards and the World Habitat Award, one of ten firms selected worldwide. He has also received the Gold Metal from the AIA Los Angeles, the Lifetime achievement awards from Interior Design Magazine and the AIA California Council and the National AIA Collaborative Achievement Award
Mr. Scarpa’s is also the co-founder of the A+D Museum in Los Angeles, Livable Places and the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute.
He in currently on the faculty at the University of Southern California and has taught and lectured at the university level for more than two decades. Some of those institutions include UNC Charlotte, Harvard University, UCLA, SCI-arc, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley. He is a co-founder of the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute Livable Places, Inc.; a nonprofit development and public policy organization dedicated to building mixed-use housing and to help develop more sustainable and livable communities.
brooksscarpa.com
calpolylametro.com
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Photos: Above: Lawrence Scarpa and AngleLake. Below: SUMA

Series Schedule:
Tuesday May 1: LADG – Andrew Holder
Thursday May 3: Julia Körner
Thursday May 17: Spinagu – Maxi Spina and Jia Gu
Thursday May 24: Forward-slash/Back-slash – Christoph Kumpusch
Thursday May 31: Form:uLA – Bryan Cantley

Short Films Walk: LA
2018-03-10 10:00 - 19:00 | Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90034, United States
Free
On Saturday, March 10, from 10am to 7pm, Helms Bakery District will host a day of FREE screenings of over 24 short films on architecture and design. Pop into any of the six participating showrooms on the walk, including Arcana Books, Harbour Outdoor, H.D. Buttercup, Room & Board, Scandinavian Designs, and Vitra to experience a unique program of films curated by Architecture & Design Film Festival. The films will be shown on a loop and play throughout the day so guests have an opportunity to see dozens of film shorts as they walk from showroom to showroom.
The SFW:LA will conclude with the screening of a feature length film, Building Hope: The Maggie’s Centres, followed by a conversation with Frances Anderton, host of KCRW’s Design and Architecture along with special guests. Seating is limited for this portion of the day. Please RSVP.
More info here

Join us for a Lecture and Discussion with Chris Lowe and Axel Schmitzberger of Domaen
2018-03-08 18:30 - 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Thursday, March 8, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm Helms Bakery District and the Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design are excited to host a presentation and discussion with Chris Lowe and Axel Schmitzberger of Domaen. Domaen is a multidisciplinary design-build practice with its seat in Los Angeles. Domaen practices versatile, multidisciplinary design. It is as much a field of action and thought as it is an award-winning full-service practice. The work of Domaen has been widely published and appears frequently in film and commercials.
Chris Lowe, with years of hands-on construction industry experience and widespread recognition in the art world, founded Domaen — the full-scale, multidisciplinary design, construction, and project management company. Prior to Domaen, Chris was a successful artist in Seattle. Having exhibited his work successfully, he applied himself in the construction trade and extended these talents to production and set design upon moving to Southern California. His work has subsequently been showcased in notable local and international publications.
Axel Schmitzberger is a licensed architect and partner at Domaen. He holds a tenured position as Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with emphasis on design and digital construction methods. Having been widely published, Axel has lectured and taught extensively in the United States, Europe, and Asia. With an award-winning career in architecture and graphic design spanning over two decades he has contributed and developed the architectural and visual identity of Domaen.
Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, 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)
Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Series Schedule:
Thursday April 5: Brooks + Scarpa – Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarp
Tuesday May 1: LADG – Andrew Holder
Thursday May 3: Julia Körner
Thursday May 17: Spinagu – Maxi Spina and Jia Gu
Thursday May 24: Forward-slash/Back-slash – Christoph Kumpusch
Thursday May 31: Form:uLA – Bryan Cantley

Arcana Books Welcomes Eames Demetrios for Storytelling + Book Signing
2018-03-03 16:00 - 18:00 | Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
On Saturday, March 3rd from 4 to 6pm, artist, writer, and geographer-at-large Eames Demetrios joins Arcana: Books on the Arts for an intimate storytelling experience and exclusive first book signing of his most recent limited edition publication Kcymaerxthaere: The Story so Far…(Folio 1).
The two-volume set highlights the first 138 installations that exist in Kcymaerxthaere (Ky-MAIR-icks-THEER), the parallel world started by Demetrios in 2003. Through imagery, text, and artwork the publication offers an analog way to experience the global art project and serves as a tool to share this endeavor with the global community that makes the project possible. Sales of the publication will fund its translation into the 23 languages that appear in the installations.
Kcymaerxthaere tells the stories of a parallel world through books, performances, Internet, embroideries, guided collaborations, but perhaps most distinctively through installations—especially physical markers (usually in stone, concrete, or bronze) and far more elaborate historical sites, which can be up to an acre in size, that honor the parallel world in our linear world.
One can think of Kcymaerxthaere as an illuminated manuscript where every page is in a different location. Come explore this rich parallel world and see how the stories connect and extend!
All welcome. RSVP encouraged.
