Explore Mid-City.....by bicycle!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3
Folk Art Bike Ride

Gather time: 12:00 pm
Ride time: 12:30 pm
(Ends approx 2:30 pm)

Ride begins and ends at CAFAM
5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90036

Free parking available on 8th St. / Metered on Curson & Stanley

Co-sponsored by Folk Art Everywhere, a project of the Craft and Folk Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
Ride is FREE!

SEE art in the Folk Art Everywhere project
EXPLORE unique shops and cultural centers
TOUR Mid-City/Mid-Wilshire in a fun, easygoing way
MEET other art-and-bike lovers!

The ride begins at CAFAM, where tour-goers may visit two new exhibitions. Then the ride will stop at Little Ethiopia Restaurant, a restaurant in the heart of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax; Levantine Cultural Center, which champions a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa through artistic and educational programs; and St. Elmo Village, a creative community offering workshops, tours, a beautiful garden, and much more…

Total mileage: 6.5 miles, with only slight hills.
Great for beginning cyclists.
Click on map:

Get your Folk! On

Next Wednesday 9/15, Folk Art Everywhere is proud to present a screening of the film Folk! in partnership with the Echo Park Film Center's Filmmobile program. Folk! is about the unique, acrobatic underground world of Ukrainian folk dancing. An often funny peek at what it's like to grow up in a Ukrainian-American community, the documentary is relevant to anyone trying to balance ties to one's heritage in a culturally homogenizing world.

7:30pm gather time
8:00pm screen time
Location: Echo Park Lake
Filmmobile will be parked near the Northwest corner of Glendale Blvd and Park Ave. (see map below)

The screening is FREE
Limited chairs provided, so consider bringing your own
Screening is outside – dress warmly
Parking is available on surrounding streets

Watch a brief film clip here!




View Larger Map

Folk Art Everywhere & Trekking LA present a tour in Leimert Park

Tour Leimert Park on Sunday, September 5 from 3 - 6 as we partner with LA Commons/Trekking LA and the Leimert Park Village African Art & Music Festival to show you around the neighborhood that LA Commons calls home. For our final tour we will mingle with local artists, enjoy live jazz and blues, sway to the sound of drums, sample treats from all over the globe and admire a vibrant and proud community. We will end our tour under the trees of our local park with a hearty meal featuring okra and sweet potatoes.*

*For info and to buy tickets, go to www.TrekkingLA.org*

We plan on stopping at Eso Won and sending visitors into Adassa's Island Cafe next to Ackee Bamboo to highlight the Folk Art Everywhere installations.

Who are the Folk?!

Video project hits the streets of Los Angeles in an attempt to answer this central question.

On a hot Sunday afternoon in April armed with two camera crews, CAFAM traveled through the “micro cultures” of Los Angeles to ask 100 people in 9 locations one question, WHO ARE THE FOLK? The result is a short video (2:24 minutes) that documents the voices of Angelenos encountered on the streets of Hollywood, Little Ethiopia, West Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, South Los Angeles, MacArthur Park and Historic Filipinotown. Watch the humorous and thought provoking video here:



The project aims to highlight our shared humanity in a playful format and was inspired by the late great folklorist and educator Alan Dundes who famously proclaimed “Who are the folk? Among others we are!”

The video is a project of the Folk Art Everywhere initiative (launched by the Craft and Folk Art Museum) designed to inspire exploration of the diverse communities and neighborhoods in Los Angeles. A central premise of the project is that art can serve as a catalyst for cultural understanding and connection. In an increasingly multicultural society, CAFAM believes in the power of art to build common ground. Learn more at www.folkarteverywhere.com

Video production: Stephanie Hubbard and Bee Keeper Productions. www.stephaniehubbard.com

Watch the video and tell us what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK0jQvdRtGI

Then go find some folk art! Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere is now on view, with art waiting to be discovered! www.folkarteverywhere.com/locations.html.

Folk art on the loose (again!)

Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere has just launched! That means new art in your favorite Folk Art sites all over town, with lots of fun and thought-provoking Happenings in the works. Stay tuned.......

LAST CHANCE to see Folk Art Everywhere!

Folk Art Everywhere is about to wrap up its first incarnation and we want to share the art with you! Whether you live in Highland Park or Boyle Heights, Mid-city or the San Fernando Valley, there is art to be found and neighborhoods to be explored.

This weekend, look for Folk Art Everywhere!

(Monday is the last day, but location hours vary. Check here before planning your cultural treasure hunt: http://www.folkarteverywhere.com/locations.html)

If you can’t explore this weekend, don’t despair! Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere will soon begin, with art in your neighborhood! Stay tuned….

Images, l. to r.: Figueroa Produce & 24th St. Theatre

* * * * * * * * * *

Upcoming Folk Art Everywhere Happening:

Saturday, August 7
11am – 3pm

FREE Folk Art Workshop
Presented by St. Elmo Village and Folk Art Everywhere

St. Elmo Village
4830 St. Elmo Dr.. Los Angeles CA 90019

SEE art in the Folk Art Everywhere project
MAKE your own art
EXPLORE the wonderland that is St. Elmo Village

11am – 1pm Painting & Drawing
1pm – 3pm Digital Media

The Painting & Drawing workshop will be a hands-on activity, while the Digital Media workshop will be more observational.

The workshop is a FREE event

Parking: St. Elmo Village is located in a residential neighborhood. Parking is available on surrounding streets.

From Cotton to Agave....and beyond

Folk Art Everywhere recently led curious Angelenos on walking tours of the Leimert Park and Boyle Heights neighborhoods. In Leimert Park, we explored the sculpture-like home of artist Timothy Washington, then visited our Folk Art Everywhere partners, Lucy Florence Cultural Center, Eso Won Books and Adassa's Island Cafe.

Among other things, Timothy described his sculptural process, which involves a creative and strong goo based on cotton and glue!

See for yourself...





And in Boyle Heights, we started out learning about how spools of white thread-like substance from the agave plant are used for embroidery in mariachi hats!




From there, artist and urban planner James Rojas led us around Boyle Heights, beginning at the Mariachi Plaza--whose bandstand not only sits on top of a new Gold Line station, but also marks the spot of a now-gone donut store that used to serve as a gathering spot for mariachi musicians.



We then moved on to peek into some intriguing front yards in the neighborhood.


To conclude the first rotation of Folk Art Everywhere, we held a "Folk Wedding" at Plummer Park in West Hollywood last weekend. Performers shared traditional wedding dances from Estonia, Armenia and Uzbekistan...




And then the whole village broke out in dance:




There's more where that came from. Stay tuned for more Folk Art Happenings!