The Plaza’s Transformation into ‘The Garvey Garden’ is Part of ‘The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence,’ a First-of-Its-Kind Summer Residency Conceived by The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative
LOS ANGELES (June 10, 2024) — The Music Center announces today the launch of The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence, a first-of-its-kind summer residency featuring acclaimed L.A. artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph and spearheaded by The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative. Highlights of Joseph’s ambitious, multi-component project—which blurs the lines of art, journalism, entrepreneurship and cultural critique—includes the transformation of Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center into “The Garvey Garden,” a sprawling garden-themed lounge area adorned with artificial grass and outdoor furniture; a pop-up “BLKNWS® LibraryCafé” that will brew a vibrant atmosphere of communing and study, with beverages available for purchase from Sip & Sonder and a specially curated collection of books for sale and books to read onsite while lounging at The Garvey Garden; daily screening of never-before-seen broadcasts of Joseph’s groundbreaking BLKNWS® “conceptual news program” that challenges, inspires and redefines Angelenos’ understanding of historic and current culture from a Black lens; and so much more.
The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence will continue through Sunday, August 11, 2024. All programs within the 10-week immersive experience, except for retail and beverage purchases, are free and open to the public.
“This unique residency furthers The Music Center’s mission to be a multidisciplinary arts center for the 21st century, a home for classical art forms as well as a dynamic hub for ever-evolving creativity and enriching community engagement,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “By immersing visitors into the world of BLKNWS®, Kahlil Joseph is redefining the Black narrative through his lens. Angelenos of all backgrounds and identities who spend time at The Garvey Garden will discover the joyful and simple art of co-existing, sharing stories and making connections. This unparalleled fusion of art, culture and innovation at a reimagined summer oasis in the heart of Downtown L.A. will be an unforgettable experience.”
The Garvey Garden will be open daily. While relaxing at the garden, visitors can watch BLKNWS® Broadcasts on two giant LED screens with new broadcasts of BLKNWS® presented in the form of a split screen that weaves a dynamic collage of imagery sourced from historical archives, social media and original footage that comments on historic and current culture from a Black lens. Adjacent to The Garvey Garden (at the site of the former Go Get Em Tiger coffee retail store) will be the BLKNWS® LibraryCafé that collages a bookshop, library and café to form a vibrant atmosphere of communing and study for the public. The space offers book and clothing selections co-curated by Black woman-owned bookstore Reparations Club and streetwear apparel company Union Los Angeles. The BLKNWS® LibraryCafé also will be stocked with an exclusive collection of books that visitors can read onsite which were donated from the personal libraries of Arcana: Books on the Arts, Underground Museum co-founder Noah Davis, photographers Catherine Opie and Melodie McDaniel, artist Lauren Halsey, Harmony Holiday and more. The BLKNWS® LibraryCafé will be open Tuesdays thru Sundays, from noon to 8:00 p.m. Visitors may purchase beverages from specialty coffee roastery and cultural cultivator Sip & Sonder on Tuesdays through Sundays, from noon to 4:00 p.m., beginning June 25, 2024.
On select evenings during Joseph’s 10-week residency, Angelenos are invited to participate in a communal reading at The Garvey Garden. Guests may bring, buy or borrow a book of their choice. The free shared reading event, to be known as Read the Garden and hosted by Reparations Club, will be held on Saturday, July 20, from 6:00–9:00 p.m., and Sunday, August 4, 2024, from 2:00–5:00 p.m.
Finally, for Angelenos seeking laughter, the Founders’ Room of The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will become “The Garvey Lounge” on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, from 7:30–10:30 p.m. to host BLKNWS® Comedy Night. Featuring some of the best stand-up comics on the scene and hosted by comedian Alzo Slade, this free one-night-only event promises to be an amazing evening of entertainment.
“Kahlil Joseph has created a rich and meaningful body of work in film, visual art and music that emerges from his love of Black excellence, love and joy. As the former creative director of his family’s Underground Museum, he transformed an unassuming art shop in the Mid-City neighborhood into one of the most influential institutions of Black art in the nation due to, not only the curation of art, but also the cultivation of a genuine place of belonging, expression and conversation within the community,” said The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative Director Kamal Sinclair. “While discussing his highly anticipated feature film BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions, produced in collaboration with A24 and Participant Media, he shared his vision of BLKNWS® expanding beyond the screen into live experiences. I knew The Music Center could be a place to launch this new incarnation of the work where Angelenos can immerse themselves in the world of BLKNWS®, including the BLKNWS® LibraryCafé, the Read the Garden gathering and BLKNWS® Comedy Night. I’m thrilled The Music Center can be a welcoming destination for Kahlil’s brilliance to shine!”
Kahlil Joseph is an American filmmaker and artist. In 2012 he co-founded the Underground Museum in Los Angeles with his late brother and artist Noah Davis. In 2013 his two-channel installation m.A.A.d opened at MOCA in Los Angeles. In 2016 he conceived and co-directed, with Beyoncé, Lemonade—and in 2017 released his single channel film Sampha: Process. In 2018 The New Museum of New York commissioned the single channel sound and video work Flypaper. His video installation BLKNWS® premiered at the Venice Biennale 2019, is currently being adapted into a major motion picture coming to theaters this fall with entertainment companies A24 and Participant.
The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence is the latest public art installation presented by The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative (DII), an exciting 10-year pilot program launched in 2022, which was designed to explore and create free digital and virtual reality experiences throughout Los Angeles. DII launched its first public exhibit, We ARe Here: A Celebration of Legacy, offering Angelenos the opportunity to learn—through AR and with hands-on artistic experiences in Gloria Molina Grand Park—about the legacies of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and individuals who have contributed to Los Angeles County’s rich diversity. Additional DII exhibits have included Our Common Home, which addressed issues of climate change by integrating participants’ live facial expressions and physical movements into digital artworks created in real time and projected on Jerry Moss Plaza’s LED screens, and Cosmogony, a fantastical digital performance that was broadcast live from a dance studio located 6,000 miles away in Geneva, Switzerland.
For more information about The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence, visit musiccenter.org/BLKNWS.
For more information about The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative, visit musiccenter.org/DII.
The Music Center PresentsBLKNWS® in Residence is generously supported by Faith Childs Davis, the National Endowment for the Arts and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
CALENDAR LISTING
WHAT:
The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence
As The Music Center’s artist-in-residency, acclaimed L.A. artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph curates an immersive installation that will challenge, inspire and redefine Angelenos’ understanding of news from a Black lens. The highlight of his residency is the transformation of Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center into a garden-themed outdoor oasis—now open to the public—adorned with artificial grass and lounge furnishings. To be known as The Garvey Garden, the space will be a dynamic hub for exciting creativity and enriching community engagement, which includes a free daily screening of BLKNWS® Broadcasts comprised of Joseph’s groundbreaking BLKNWS® “conceptual news program”; the opening of a pop-up BLKNWS® LibraryCafé; a communal reading on select evenings; and more.
The Music Center Presents BLKNWS® in Residence is a free exhibit conceived by The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative designed to explore and create digital and virtual reality experiences throughout Los Angeles County.
WHEN:
Now through Sunday, August 11, 2024
WHERE:
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
MORE INFO:
Visit musiccenter.org/BLKNWS
ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. Celebrating its 60th year in 2024, the $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
Photos by Stephanie Kao for The Music Center
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