Dear ICA LA Community,

We’re happy to report that the I-10 freeway will be completely reopened through DTLA next Tuesday. In the meantime, we know that it might be a little harder to get to us, so we’ve included some helpful tips below for beating the traffic and getting to the museum—whether by car, by bike, or by metro.

Test out these new routes and to kick off your weekend with a happy hour tour tonight of Barbara T. Smith: Proof, led by Caroline Ellen Liou, Curatorial Assistant, and Tania Colette B., Learning & Engagement Assistant. Then on Wednesday, November 29, artist Jordan Slaffey will present her work in progress titled Sadferociousjoy as a part of our Infinite Rehearsal public programming. On Friday, December 1, World AIDS Day, we will be partnering with the New York-based nonprofit Visual AIDS to present Day With(out) Art 2023: Everyone I Know Is Sick, a program of five newly commissioned films that generate connections between HIV and other forms of illness and disability. Stop by anytime that day as the films will be on loop throughout open hours. And finally, our beloved fundraiser INCOGNITO returns in two weeks! You still have time to purchase your tickets to this legendary benefit art sale, which takes place on Saturday, December 2 at Hauser & Wirth. With as many as 400 artworks to choose from, you're bound to go home with a work that you love.

As a reminder, ICA LA will be closed on Thursday, November 23 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, but we will re-open on Friday with our regular hours. We can’t wait to welcome you and your family and friends to ICA LA throughout the holiday season.

See you soon,
Team ICA LA

GETTING TO ICA LA

Please give yourself extra time to drive and park when planning your visit to ICA LA this week because of the major fire under the I-10 freeway and resulting closures. Though they are open, due to congestion, we suggest you avoid both 6th Street and 7th Street when driving to the museum.

Nearby parking is available at the Mateo Public Parking Garage at 1262 Palmetto Street, a nice 10 min walk to ICA LA. You’ll pass neighborhood favorites like Zinc Cafe, Blue Bottle, and AFURI dumpling house and avoid the traffic on 6th and 7th Streets. Alternatively, you can find street parking on either Mill or Mateo streets closer to ICA LA.

You can also get to us using public transportation, which is a great excuse to check out the new artist commissions across the city’s Metro stations! The nearest Metro station is the Little Tokyo A/E station, at the intersection of 1st Street and Alameda, a 10 min bike ride to ICA LA. Bike rental locations are available at all Metro stations, The Row, and Joe’s Downtown Market on nearby Mateo Street.

For more information about the closure and recommended routes, visit https://emergency.lacity.gov/updates.

UPCOMING PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Day With(out) Art 2023: Everyone I Know Is Sick
Friday, December 1, 12-6pm, In-person

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, ICA LA is proud to partner with Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2023 by presenting Everyone I Know Is Sick, a video program that draws connections between HIV and other illnesses and disabilities. The films will be screened on loop in ICA LA’s learning space all day during open hours.

The program features newly commissioned work by Dorothy Cheung (Hong Kong), Hiura Fernandes & Lili Nascimento (Brazil), Beau Gomez (Canada/Philippines), Dolissa Medina & Ananias P. Soria (USA), and Kurt Weston (USA). Learn about each film on our website.

INCOGNITO 2023
Saturday, December 2, 6pm, In-person
Hauser & Wirth, Downtown Los Angeles

The most fun museum benefit in town is only two weeks away! Now in its 15th iteration, this year’s INCOGNITO will feature 350+ artists who each contributed a 12 x 12-inch work of art in a medium of their choosing. In the spirit of equity and play, all artists remain anonymous or, incognito their identities only revealed after the purchase of their work. The artworks are pouring in and can say with full confidence that this is an event you do not want to miss!

Purchase tickets 

RECENT PRESS

"The Messy Energy of Turning Life into Art"
by Jori Finkel, New York Times

"Jenelle Porter, who curated the show at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, pointed to something else that sets Smith apart from other performance art pioneers like Abramovic and Carolee Schneemann. 'One thing that differentiates Barbara for me is that she continually mined her own biography and made work that is not publicity- or market-friendly,' Ms. Porter said, describing how her work resisted formulas stylistically and materially. Ms. Porter tried to capture that range through the mix of videos, drawings, sculptures and ephemera in the show. 'The show is messy — life is messy,' she said."

Full Story

"Move over, Barbie, it’s ‘the year of’ 92-year-old L.A. artist Barbara T. Smith"
by Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times

"The most beautiful physical object is surely the casting mold for a sculpture of the rind of an enormous winter squash, presented as a reliquary atop a rough-hewn altar, that was the centerpiece of an uninhibited 1971 performance. The Celebration of the Holy Squash was a weeklong feminist parody of a pious ceremony, but it took seriously a woman’s role as agent of communal ritual. The event centered on an elaborate dinner party at which guests devoured sweet Hubbard squash, a symbol of abundance and fertility, carefully prepared for consumption. The cast resin squash made gentle fun of the industrial, aerospace underpinnings of Light & Space art, which featured cast resin geometric forms. Its iridescent casting mold looks almost like a chrysalis awaiting the emergence of a monumental butterfly."

Full Story