Civic Imagination

Hosted by artist and designer Rosten Woo, this episode explores how civic art and culture is changing during the pandemic and what that could mean for the future of Los Angeles. This episode opens with Carmen Argote’s “Last Light,” a meditation of walking and memory in the city. Patrisse Cullors, Alexandre Dorriz and Noé Olivas talk about the origins of Crenshaw Dairy Mart and the relationship between art and abolition. Joel Garcia, Mercedes Dorame and Sandra de la Loza discuss the long road to removing the Father Serra and Columbus statues in downtown Los Angeles, how re-thinking monuments can help the public reconcile with difficult histories and some current projects — a proposed memorial to the Sleepy Lagoon killing and trial of 1942 and a temporary installation related to “Memory is in the Present” at the park between Grand Avenue and Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. Comedian Kristina Wong speaks about Auntie Sewing Squad, a grassroots effort to sew and distribute face masks. Architect Jia Gu explains how her organization, Materials & Applications, re-organized itself to distribute water to unhoused people in Echo Park during a heatwave. Violinist Vijay Gupta discusses how he is working to keep cultural continuity in Skid Row. Finally, Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Office for the city of Los Angeles; Lyric Kelkar of Inclusive Action for the City and Tafarai Bayne, Chief Strategist at CicLAvia, discuss how the dynamics of public space are changing in the pandemic and the need to deeply think about equity in access and use of streetspace in this time of social distancing.