Friday, April 23, 2010

ART ESCAPES MUSEUM! CAFAM Launches Innovative Community Initiative FOLK ART EVERYWHERE

Los Angeles has long been known as a sprawling city lacking broadly shared experiences. Folk Art Everywhere offers a new way to build common ground. Think of it as a cultural treasure hunt that releases beautiful and curious art objects from private collections and installs them in unexpected public spaces—restaurants, parks, coffee shops, bookstores, cultural centers—places where people naturally gather.

Folk Art Everywhere is designed to inspire exploration of diverse communities and neighborhoods in Los Angeles through art and culture. To get the adventure started, CAFAM has partnered with 25 diverse and novel art venues throughout Los Angeles County. Together with our collaborators, CAFAM has placed stunning cultural objects that tell quite a tale, in surprising locations that will rotate every three months. The first rotation is April 19 - July 15). These attention grabbing artworks represent cultures from around the world, and are drawn from the museum, local artists and private collections.


With engaging objects as a jumping off point, Folk Art Everywhere attempts to coax audiences beyond casual curiosity to deeper cultural wisdom. A fuller experience of culture is planned through a series of “Happenings” -- poetry readings, documentary film screenings, intimate musical performances, and festive cultural block parties that bring folks together in an artful exchange of stories.


“I, like many others, grew up in a household immersed in art, culture and ritual. Culture was part of my daily life and an extension of my identity,” explains CAFAM Executive Director, Maryna Hrushetska. “The notion that art is only found on white walls or in an institutional setting is actually a manufactured one. Folk Art Everywhere aims to remind us of the artistic beauty that naturally occurs in our daily midst and to spark a larger conversation about how we celebrate and transmit culture in our cosmopolitan metropolis.”


Folk Art Everywhere Locations, April 19 – July 15:


Boyle Heights


La Casa del Mariachi


Downtown

Little Tokyo Branch Library

East Hollywood


Panos Pastry

Thailand Plaza Fine Thai Cuisine


Echo Park


Edendale Branch Library

Nahuí Ohlín


Exposition Park


24th Street Theatre

Mercado La Paloma


Highland Park


Figueroa Produce


Historic Filipinotown


Pilipino Workers Center

Remy’s on Temple

Tribal Café


Koreatown


Pio Pico Branch Library


Leimert Park


Adassa’s Island Café

Eso Won Books

Lucy Florence Cultural Center



MacArthur Park


Mama’s Hot Tamales


Mid-City/Mid-Wilshire


Craft and Folk Art Museum

Little Ethiopia Restaurant

Levantine Cultural Center

Saturn St. Elementary School

St. Elmo Village


San Fernando/Sylmar/Pacoima


Pukúu Cultural Community Services

Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore


West Hollywood

Plummer Park Community Center


The Journey begins! To start your cultural adventure, visit www.folkarteverywhere.com for a map and location information. Spend an afternoon exploring a few sites in one neighborhood or visit one site on your lunch hour. Maybe even try to visit all 25 during one weekend tour!


Location hours of operation are listed on www.folkarteverywhere.com. Calling to confirm opening and closing times in advance is recommended.


Admission is free to all sites. Visitors are encouraged to patronize participating businesses in exchange for their generosity hosting Folk Art Everywhere.


When you arrive, look for the Folk Art Everywhere emblem:


For info: www.folkarteverywhere.com provides more information about the sites, including a map. We will post short written and photographic profiles about each site, surrounding neighborhoods, and related themes during the course of each three-month presentation.


Happenings: Folk Art Everywhere is planning tours, workshops and performances to encourage deeper understanding of the cultures and neighborhoods highlighted. Please visit the website for updates as programs are confirmed.


About CAFAM

…because a shrinking world requires an expanded mind.

In a shrinking world, CAFAM believes in building common ground. As the twenty-first century brings global cultures ever closer together, we often find ourselves traveling in unfamiliar lands. This mapless new landscape requires inter-cultural fluency and frequent trips to CAFAM.

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