A dynamic series of events that explore the history and future of art, artists, activism, and cultural organizations in South Los Angeles.
This inspiring two-day series of events will focus on art, artists, and cultural organizations in South Los Angeles since the 1960s. On Friday, April 29, at the USC Roski School of Art and Design, renowned art historian and curator Kellie Jones will give a keynote lecture on her book, South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Jones’s lecture will provide context for three roundtables on Saturday, April 30, at the California African American Museum (CAAM). The first roundtable will explore the postwar histories of several Black arts institutions and community-engaged art practices in the Crenshaw-Leimert Park and West Adams neighborhoods. In the second roundtable, curators and directors from museums and artist-founded spaces will discuss new initiatives, programs, and challenges for art institutions in South L.A. today. At the third roundtable, a curator and a scholar will converse with a younger generation of cultural producers about current artistic practices and the larger cultural landscape in the South L.A. area. The program will culminate with a reception for participants and attendees at the USC Fisher Museum of Art courtyard.