experience 22: a love letter to the california coast with jasmine nyende
A large scale embroidery work on monks cloth installed in ESMoA's Entry. Visitors are welcome to add to the installation during the run of Experience 43: PLANT, October 24, 2019 until January 25, 2020.
As the lead artist, Jasmine Nyende asks visitors to consider their relationship to the coast – the land, the sea – and how we as a community protect it, honor it, and remember the diverse histories that shape it.
Wickedly Trans - Voices from the Rainbow
To celebrate the closing of Experience 43: OZ, Trans Chorus of LA - TCLA performed a selection of music inspired by Oz: “Ease on Down the Road,” “One Short Day (in the Emerald City),” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and “True Colors.”
Experience 20: queens & kings, a royal drag show
ESMoA hosted Experience 20: Queens & Kings, A Royal Drag Show on September 20, 2019. Co-produced/Emceed by Ellie Cota & Holly M. Crawford, the event included performances by Crystal Palace, Die Anna, Mr. Whoopdeedoo, and Porshaa Lejayy with DJ Rubella Spreads. Local participating organizations: PFLAG Manhattan Beach, South Bay LGBTQ Center, and Mykie's Bakery. The performance coincided with Experience 41: OZ, June 24 to September 22, 2019.
Experience 18: Sari Sari Store at the El Segundo Farmers Market
Sara Chao (b. 1990) was the inaugural recipient of ESMoA’s Experience Scholarship with her interactive installation Sari Sari Store (2019). Sara’s art practice is based in installation, extending to collage and sensory performances. Fueled by a lifelong habit of collecting paper ephemera, her work acts to memorize the look and taste of the everyday life, in anticipation of future nostalgia. In using eminently recognizable materials, she invites viewers to make their own connections to their daily experiences, bringing the texture of the present into focus before it passes from view.
After a trip to Lipa City in the Philippines in 2016, Sara was inspired by the warmth and connectivity she felt interacting with local business owners to create her own sari-sari store; sari-sari means “variety” in Tagalog. Additionally, she learned that for a short period of time prior to immigrating to the United States, her maternal grandmother operated a sari-sari store at the front of her house in Lipa City. At Sara’s Sari Sari Store visitors were invited to try a snack that connects to her childhood; connect with one another, and learn more about Filipino culture.
Sara activated the Sari Sari Store at the El Segundo Farmers Market in May 2019 during Experience 39: EAT which ran from February 18, 2019 to May 18, 2019.
karla diaz: prison gourmet
A re-staging of Karla Diaz's multi-disciplinary installation Prison Gourmet took place in ESMoA's gallery in March 2019. Prison Gourmet encourages visitors to think about the politics of food and resistance. The project evolved from the artist’s personal experience with an imprisoned family member. During the performance, Diaz recreates one of the prison recipes she has collected from inmates and give samples of the dish to the audience. Prison Gourmet took place during Experience 39: EAT.
experience 39: eat,
Curatorial assistant
Experience 39: EAT celebrated the diversity and creative power of food and featured artworks by over 50 artists working in L.A. and around the world who work at the intersection of food preservation, cultivation, presentation, and celebration.
Dream Workshop with Naomi Buckley, MFT
Dreams are a maze of symbols woven together. Each image represents something that is happening in our inner world and is asking to be seen and worked through. In this workshop, participants spent time with the artwork in Experience 23: MATTER in a unique way by spending the night at ESMoA surrounded by the art. In the morning, participants delved into the meaning of their dreams through journaling and explored ways to ground their dreams energy into their lives.