Free Pop-Up Photography Festival in Century City Will Feature Over 55 Exhibitions, Installations, Programs and Workshops in Spring 2019
LOS ANGELES – To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Annenberg Space for Photography – the premier destination for photography in Los Angeles – is hosting Photoville LA, a huge outdoor extravaganza with more than 55 exhibits showcasing world-class photography, plus video projections, workshops, nighttime discussions and family-friendly activities. Photoville is the brainchild of United Photo Industries (UPI), co-founded by Sam Barzilay, Dave Shelley, and Laura Roumanos in Brooklyn, where the Photoville festival has hosted thousands of photographers and photography fans for nine days every fall for the last eight years.
Annenberg Space for Photography Presents Photoville LA will run for two weekends: April 26-28 and May 2-5, 2019. It is open to all ages and is free of charge. Parking rates vary depending on the time and day but will always be under $5.00.
As they’ve done with Photoville’s original location in picturesque Brooklyn Bridge Park, the UPI team will transform Century Park (adjacent to the Photo Space in Century City) into an immersive photography village, including multiple galleries made from repurposed shipping containers, photo cubes, and photographic banner installations.
Photoville LA’s exhibits will focus on the power of visual storytelling, showcasing images from across California, the country, and around the world. The festival gives photographers and photographic organizations the unparalleled opportunity for thousands of people – from the general public to industry professionals – to discover their work. It will also give Southern Californians a spectacular place to see, listen, and learn about photography. The festival also offers plenty of opportunities to eat and drink in the beautiful backyard of the Annenberg Space for Photography – where visitors will find Photoville LA’s famous community beer garden. Smorgasburg LA, known for its craft and unique style, will bring over 20 local food vendors to Century Park for the very first time on Saturday, April 27, and will feature a limited number of vendors on other days.
Working with more than 60 programming partners, Annenberg Space for Photography Presents Photoville LA will feature groundbreaking work by more than 200 visual artists – including a retrospective of the work of internationally-renowned war photojournalist Lynsey Addario, acclaimed Mexican-American photographer Estevan Oriol’s lowriders, and for the first time in Los Angeles, East Side Stories, by photographer/social commentator Joseph Rodriguez.
Additional exhibits include California Sunday Magazine’s At Home: In the American West; the Los Angeles Times’ Photography Department’s California Calamities; For Freedoms artists David O. Alekhuogie, Muna Malik, Fumi Ishino, and Cassils, Las Fotos Project, Los Angeles Center for Photography, and the premiere of Brian L. Franks’ Forced Displacement Across California.
In addition, the festival will offer exhibits featuring The New York Times, United Nations OCHA, Two Bit Circus, and nighttime programs featuring National Geographic, ESPN, the Los Angeles Times, among others. There will also be demonstrations and workshops by Leica Camera and Adobe Creative, plus aneducation day for hundreds of Los Angeles middle- and high-school students, panel discussions and talks, family-friendly photo activities, and curated tours.
“I’m thrilled to kick off the Annenberg Space for Photography’s 10thanniversary with Photoville LA,” said Annenberg Foundation Chairman, President, and CEO Wallis Annenberg. “When we opened our doors in Century City a decade ago, it was my hope that this would become the premier venue for photography in Los Angeles. And so it has. This is the place where world-class photographers and photography fans alike can gather and share their love for what is my own favorite art form. And now Photoville LA is the perfect expression of our goal: bringing people together to celebrate this art that is for everyone.”
In fact, immersion and interactivity are at the heart of Photoville’s success and popularity, and have made it the largest annual photographic event in New York City and among the most-attended photographic events nationwide. Photoville NY welcomes more than 90,000 visitors over the course of its run each year, providing participating photographers with an unparalleled opportunity to have their work seen. No other museum, gallery, or festival presents work by such a wide range of photographic artists and photojournalists to so many people in so little time – for free.
“United Photo Industries is proud to bring the wondrous photo spirit and the extraordinary partners we have cultivated over the last eight years to the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles,” said Laura Roumanos, co-founder of UPI. “We are excited to celebrate their 10thanniversary, to celebrate the photo community of Los Angeles, and to be able to introduce talented artists from around the globe. This is a unique opportunity for us to discover a whole new group of local photographers, while also making these powerful visual stories from a diverse group of artists and organizations accessible to all Angelenos.”
UPI and the Annenberg Space for Photography will announce additional programming and partners as Photoville LA approaches. For more information, visit www.photoville.la. The hours of operation are as follows:
Friday, April 26th – 6pm -10pm
Exhibitions, Evening Programming featuring CONTACT HIGH photographers and artists & Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
Saturday, April 27th – 12pm-8pm
Exhibitions, Talks, Workshops, Evening Programming with National Geographic, and Large Smorgasburg Fair
Sunday, April 28th – 12pm-8pm
Exhibitions, Talks, Workshops & Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
Thursday, May 2nd – 4pm-8pm
Exhibitions and Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
Friday, May 3rd – 4pm-10pm
Exhibitions, Night Time Programming with Los Angeles Times & Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
Saturday, May 4th – 12pm-10pm
Exhibitions, Talks, Workshops, Evening
Programming with ESPN celebrating 10 years of the Body Issue & Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
Sunday, May 5th – 12pm-8pm
Exhibitions, Talks, Workshops & Smorgasburg Beer Garden open
The 55 exhibitions presented in shipping containers, outdoor photo cubes, banners, and interactive installations will include:
- Of Love & War premieres award winning photographer Lynsey Addario’s breathtaking retrospective, comprising over 20 years documenting our complex world in all its inescapable chaos, conflict, and beauty.
- The Mash Up, is a series co-curated by iconic music photographer Janette Beckman and legendary street artist Cey Adams, an outdoor exhibition celebrating four West Coast artists – Mister Cartoon, Jules Muck, Maxx 242 and Jeff Soto– who “mash up,” paint, and remix Beckman’s old school hip-hop photos.
- At Home: In the American West is an extension of California Sunday Magazine’s December 2018 issue, featuring work from 20 emerging and established photographers exploring the theme of ”home” across the American West. This will be the first time these stories will be exhibited in California as a multimedia and photography exhibition.
- California Calamities: A State of Emergency will feature visual stories from the Los Angeles Times’ staff photographers who capture how nature, global warming, and development are clashing in deadly and destructive ways.
- Katie’s New Face presented by National Geographic and featuring Maggie Steber and Lynn Johnson, takes viewers inside the groundbreaking face transplant that gave a young woman a second chance at life.
- ESPN BODY ISSUE explores 10 years of iconic images, all dedicated to the power of the athletic form.
- Soul R&B Funk Photographs 1972-1982 is presented by the Lucie Foundation as an official program from Month of Photography Los Angeles and explores R&B and soul music as seen through the lens of the iconic Bruce Talamon as a young African American photographer at the start of his career.
- The New York Times’ This is 18 aims to capture what life is like for 18-year-old girls across oceans and cultures. The project was shot entirely by other young women, ages 17 to 22. Curated by Jessica Bennett and Sandra Stevenson, this exhibition mark its United States premier.
- Past Tense: California is the first project from the archival storytelling project of The New York Times. As they digitize nearly 6 million photo prints from their files, which date back more than 100 years, the events and characters of the past are brought to life in the present moment.
- Esta Soy Yo is a landmark retrospective of Las Fotos Project’s youth self-portraits created over the course of eight years, reflecting each girls’ individuality and photographic creativity.
- Parallax presented by Authority Collective exhibits the work of Naima Green, Melinda James, Oriana Koren, Nancy M. Musunguzi, Charmaine Poh, Gabriel Garcia Roman, Tia Thompson, Ka-Man Tse, Brian Vu, Dana Washington, Justin J. Wee, Elizabeth Wirija, Salgu Wissmath – queer artists of color who are revisioning the lexicon that imagines the queer form, framing it as beautiful, strong, complex, and multi-faceted.
- East Side Stories is the first exhibit in Los Angeles of photographs by Joseph Rodriguez that put a human face to gang members in Los Angeles, showing them in their homes and with their families over a span of 30 years.
- Clubhouse Turn (2013-2016) by photographer Michele Asselin is the final documentation of Hollywood Park racetrack and the surrounding community, before the historic Los Angeles landmark was demolished.
- Women & The American West is a collection of images by Women Photograph members: Sophia Nahli Allison, Louise Johns, Arlene Mejorado, Karoliina Paatos, Cara Romero, that shows the importance of women as champions and storytellers in the American West – a space where women were often excluded from or forced into the background.
- Underground Chefs of South Central is a photographic exploration by Oriana Koren of the continuing contributions to American cuisine by Black people using a hyper-local focus on South Central, Los Angeles and five chefs who have harnessed the power of social media to run thriving food businesses.
- Visual Communications: A Celebration of Community is a modular display of monochrome and color images from Visual Communication’s Asian Pacific Photographic Archive that celebrate the heritage, struggles, and achievements of the Asian Pacific American communities.
- Between represents work by Venice Arts advanced photography students who have spent over a year working on intimate storytelling that explores such issues as coming out, the intersection of work and family life, and the trauma of domestic violence.
- Set in the Street, from photographer Justin Bettman, consists of elaborate interior set-pieces built and displayed in public places. After photographing these “rooms” outside, the sets are left up where passersby can shoot their own photos and share using the Instagram hashtag #SetintheStreet.
- Freedom of Expression: Art Instruction in California Prisons presented by California Lawyers for the Arts, features photos by Peter Merts of California state prison inmates, both male and female, engaged in making art, including visual, performance, and literary forms.
- EUSA from photographer Naomi Harris is a series of photos of American-themed places around Europe, and European-themed places in the United States. It is a reaction to the homogenization of European and American cultures and an examination of the results of globalization.
- Welcome to the Circus presented by Two Bit Circus Foundation– featuring Shwalami, Greg Wilk, and Joshua Levy –showcases the future of fun by building experiences and fun games that get people playing together. The work presented will also feature absurd and satirical pieces of art.
- OYAKO is a series of photographs of Japanese parents and children. Featuring the work of Bruce Osborn, it explores how culture changes and adapts as it moves from one generation to the next.
- Typecast is a satirical portrait series by Haruka Sakaguchi and Griselda San Martin that addresses cultural stereotypes perpetuated by the entertainment industry. The series is presented as a photo-cube exhibition and day portrait session inviting local actors to participate.
- Photographic Greenhouse L.A. created by André Feliciano is a new photographic greenhouse where nature becomes the photographer and we become free to pose without being judged.
- ALTAR: Prayer, Ritual Offerings presented byMFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora engages photography as a practice that merges with attributes and religious traditions of Africa and its diaspora.
- Undocumented showcases a decade of Getty Images Photojournalist John Moore’s work, photographing issues of undocumented immigration to the United States from Central America and Mexico.
- Viewfinder: The Art & Craft of the Film offers a glimpse behind the scenes of motion picture sets from the archives of the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers.
- Los Angeles Times’ 5 Photographers to Watch features the work of local talent nominated by the photography department of the Los Angeles Times: Jessica Pons, Bear Guerra, Isadora Kosofsky, Stuart Palley, and Malike Sidibe.
- Pit Bull Flower Power is a series of photographs by Sophie Gamand of shelter pit bulls wearing flower crowns. The project questions the way humans have abused pit bulls, aims at rebranding these misunderstood dogs, and helps find them homes.
- There is Only One Paul R. Williams by Janna Ireland highlights the work of Paul R. Williams, a brilliant and prolific Black architect who made a name for himself in pre-Civil Rights Movement America.
- Estevan Oriol’s This is LA takes a look at East L.A.’s near-spiritual car culture which becomes larger than life in his print photography.
- For Freedoms is a platform that promotes greater participation in the arts and civil society. As advocates for inclusive civic participation they will showcase the work of Cassils, Fumi Ishino, David O. Alekhuogie, and Muna Malik.
- The Palace Wild– conceptualized and photographed by Mimi Haddon (who has had unprecedented access to the Palace Costume archive) exhibits her collaboration with dancers and the historic costumes.
- TRANSFORMATION: Water as Art is a project created by Roger Fishman intended to inspire and motivate us to protect water, the most valuable resource for life.
The Photoville LA evening programming consists of a series of multimedia events in the community beer garden that showcase traditional documentary storytelling, as well as eclectic performances, created in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, ESPN, National Geographic, and CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, currently on view at Annenberg Space for Photography.
Remaining true to the ethos of Photoville, a host of panel discussions and hands-on workshopson a wide variety of topics will be provided free of charge with a refundable deposit for those who attend.Photoville LA’sfree talks will feature some of the most innovative work and pressing issues in photography today from the Committee to Protect Journalists, The New York Times, For Freedoms, MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, Month of Photography Los Angeles, Adobe, Leica, Joseph Rodriguez, and many more. The full programming and artist lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
Photoville’s Interactive Workshops and Activitieswill provide practical, skills-based instruction in some of photography’s most sought-after markets, led by some of the most talented working photographers in the industry. Workshop highlights include an exclusive family and youth workshop with Janette Beckman andCey Adamsbased on their celebrated Mash Up Series; a hands-on Dance and Costume Photography workshop with celebrated photographers Mimi Haddonand Aline Smithson; and a self-portrait workshop catered to local youth hosted by L.A.-based organization Las Fotos. All workshops are BYOC (bring-your-own-camera) and will meet for an introduction and presentation in the Photoville Workshop Area before heading out on a live, guided shooting session. A live presentation and demonstration space will also be provided by Adobe Lightroom; and Leica Camerawill conduct conversations, workshops, demonstrations, photo walks, and more.
Photoville LA will also be collaborating with local organizations and festivals, such as exhibiting local photographer Lluvia Higuera at Grand Park’s week-long spring arts experience, Grand Park’s Our L.A. Voices.
The full schedule and programming details for talks, workshops, and activities will be announced soon.
Photoville LAwill feature a Student Education Day andProfessional Development Workshop for Teachers, created and produced by United Photo Industriesand with additional support by education partner PhotoWings. On Thursday, May 2, hundreds of public school students from across Los Angeles will converge on the park to experience the power of photography and interact with acclaimed curators and artists for an event dedicated solely to the students. In addition to tours, the students will attend panel discussions featuring youth photographers currently enrolled in photography programs with Las Fotos, Venice Arts,and the Los Angeles Center for Photography. On Saturday, May 4, educators who want to incorporate visual storytelling into their curriculum are invited to participate in a free one-day professional development workshop. UPI’s Teacher Professional Development workshop will blend teaching demonstrations with artist talks, and will culminate in a hands-on lesson planning session in collaboration with five Photoville LAfeatured photographers.
Annenberg Space For Photography Presents Photoville LA, created and produced by United Photo Industries, appreciates the partnership of Smorgasburg, Leica Camera, Adobe, California Institute of the Arts: CalArts, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and DAS Design Works. We also value our community partners, including Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Grand Park.Additional support is provided by Epson, Digital Silver Imaging, Chromaluxe, Hahnemühle FineArt, Epilogue, Image Wizards, and Blazing Editions.
Premiering simultaneously at Annenberg Space for Photography, CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hopcelebrates the photographers who have played a critical role in bringing hip-hop’s visual culture to the global stage. The exhibition is an inside look at the work of hip-hop photographers, as told through their most intimate diaries: their unedited contact sheets, and is based on the bestselling book of the same title. Before the book’s release, selections from CONTACT HIGH were featured at Photoville NY, which inspired the full debut exhibition at the Photo Space. CONTACT HIGHis curated by Vikki Tobak with Creative Direction from Fab 5 Freddy, and is produced in partnership with United Photo Industries.
About Annenberg Space for Photography
Annenberg Space for Photography is a cultural destination dedicated to exhibiting both digital and print photography in an intimate environment. The space features state-of-the-art, high-definition digital technology as well as traditional prints by some of the world’s most renowned photographers and a selection of emerging photographic talents as well. The venue, an initiative of the Annenberg Foundation and its trustees, is the first solely photographic cultural destination in the Los Angeles area, creating a new paradigm in the world of photography.
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About United Photo Industries
United Photo Industries is a New York-based nonprofit organization that works to promote a wider understanding of and increased access to the art of photography. Sam Barzilay, Dave Shelley and Laura Roumanos launched United Photo Industries in 2011. Over the past eight years, United Photo Industries has rapidly solidified its position in the public art landscape by consistently showcasing thought-provoking, challenging, and exceptional photography from across the globe.
Proudly devoted to cultivating strategic partnerships, creative collaborations, and community spirit, UPI has presented dozens of public art installations in partnership with a number of agencies and organizations, including the NYC Department of Transportation, the United Nations, the NY Department of Parks, NYC Ferry, numerous arts festivals both domestic and international, as well as creating and producing the marquee event, Photoville, New York City’s premier free photo destination. United Photo Industries acknowledges the New York Photoville Founding partners, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Two Trees Management, and Photo District News (PDN).
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