Grand Performances is proud to announce a magical Feature Presentation celebrating the release of Mndsgn’s new album Rare Pleasure captured in Ron Finley's Gangsta Garden. ⁠

With its evocative instrumentation and intricately crafted atmosphere, the new album brings together the music that has inspired Mndsgn over the years – R&B, soundtrack music, psychedelia and jazz – into a rich, expansive sound.
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Tune in to watch the free event on June 4 at 3pm PT on Grand Performances’ YouTube and Facebook pages.
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Grand Performances' first Feature Presentation of 2021 will feature multi-instrumentlaist Mndsgn, performing music from his new album Rare Pleasure, broadcasting live from Ron Finley's Gangsta Garden. ⁠
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Mndsgn grew up in south New Jersey, raised with Gospel music at church and B-Boy culture at home. Mndsgn's music flourished when he moved to Los Angeles, catching the attention of Stones Throw, who has released his music since his debut album Yawn Zen.⁠

Mndsgn describes the concept of ‘Rare Pleasure’ as an appreciation of sharing life, inward reflection, and the gift of joyful catharsis. Threaded throughout the album is a Rare Pleasure theme inspired by soundtrack music; its repetitions and variations “echo the recurring motifs we experience in life, sometimes being revisited by the same lessons in different shapes and forms.”

Horticulturalist/artivist Ron Finley, a self-described “Gangsta Gardener” plants gardens in public spaces around the city of Los Angeles as an act of resistance and empowerment. Equating gardening with graffiti, Finley transforms unused urban spaces into places of community and congregation. The “Renegade Gardener'' unknowingly started a revolution by planting organic vegetables in the parkway in front of his home. Finley’s TED Talk on guerilla gardening in South Central L.A. enjoys over 3 million views to date, and thanks to his petitioning, Los Angeles has since legalized curbside gardens for community use. Finley now travels the world speaking to international communities and hosting workshops on how to take back the soil. ⁠

Thursday June 4 @ 3pm PST

Grand Performances

presents
 

MNDSGN
 

An Online Cinematic
Music Experience

Broadcasting From 
Ron Finley's Gangsta Garden

CLICK TO RSVP

neel agrawal

On Thursday, June 17, COLA Artist Fellow Neel Agrawal takes the stage at the iconic Skirball Cultural Center to present his collaboration with legendary Indian violinist and vocalist L. Shankar. Agrawal is a multi-percussionist incorporating Indian, Middle Eastern and jazz percussion with electronic textures and soaring vocals.

He will be performing with L. Shankar, who has worked extensively over his 50-year career alongside Ornette Coleman, John McLaughlin, Peter Gabriel, Frank Zappa and many more.

Thursday June 17 @ 8pm PST

Grand Performances

presents
 

NEEL AGRAWAL
 

An Online Cinematic
Music Experience

Broadcasting From The
Skirball Cultural Center

CLICK TO RSVP

sarah elgart

On Thursday June 24th, COLA Artist Fellow Sarah Elgart will present a site-specific dance performance at the Skirball Cultural Center in collaboration with Grand Performances.

Sarah Elgart has been on the forefront of dance in Los Angeles as a choreographer, director, and producer for many years. Elgart’s work engages audiences by transforming and catalyzing bus terminals, airports, museums and more with movement, music, and media to make magic out of the mundane, allowing viewers to see “old places with new eyes.”

In addition to her live work, she has choreographed extensively for film, commercials, and television, working with noted directors including JJ Abrams, Catherine Hardwicke, Fredrik Bond, David Lynch and others.

From prisons to hospitals, Sarah Elgart has also worked extensively in communities both teaching and creating dance based and film works with populations such as maximum-security women inmates, children facing critical illness, and at-risk youth for many years.

Thursday June 24 @ 8pm PST

Grand Performances

presents
 

SARAH ELGART
 

An Online Cinematic
Music Experience

Broadcasting From The
Skirball Cultural Center

CLICK TO RSVP

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Grand Performances thanks our partners for their commitment to our mission to inspire community, celebrate diversity, and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts.

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Grand Performances’ mission is to inspire community, celebrate diversity, and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts. While all our programming is free, producing it is not. Please support our mission today with a tax-deductible gift or membership ensuring access to GP's performing arts experiences for the people of Los Angeles.