Kicking Off Summer 2021
Welcome to the official kick-off of Grand Performances’ 2021 programming season – Summer is Back! We have scheduled some exciting artists for you to enjoy online this month - all leading up to our return to live events at Cal Plaza in July. Our first Feature Presentation of 2021, happening tomorrow on our YouTube and Facebook pages, will feature the artist Mndsgn whose performance was captured at Ron Finley’s Gangsta Garden. You can read more on this and our June online program in this newsletter.
We want to hear from you. First, with our in-person presentations starting back up in July, how do you feel about returning to live performances as the state plans to fully reopen on June 15. Second, we want to invite you to a private in-person mini tour of the new Cal Plaza on Thursday, July 8 at 6pm. I will be on hand to welcome you during this 30-minute tour along with knowledgeable GP staff who can answer your questions regarding the renovated venue. Please fill out this short GP Member Survey or in this newsletter below to let us know about attending live performances. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a raffle for a gift, so please fill it out today. The Cal Plaza mini-tour invitation will be sent out early next week.
In this month’s newsletter you will meet our new GP Programming Intern Sequoia Sherriff who joins us this summer as part of the Los Angeles County Arts & Culture Internship Program. We also continue or member spotlight with GP member Kara Barton.
Finally, we want to share some exciting news. GP will receive a two-year grant in the amount of $555,000. We were one of 90 recipients of the California Community Foundation’s LA Recovery Art Fund. These funds come at a critical time as we emerge from this pandemic which has severely impacted the arts community in our region.
As always, thank you for supporting Grand Performances and we’ll see you next month back at Cal Plaza.
Warmly,
upcoming gp programming
Mndsgn - Friday, June 4 @3pm PST
Grand Performances is proud to present the first Feature Presentation of 2021 celebrating the release of Mndsgn’s new album Rare Pleasure captured in Ron Finley’s Gangsta Garden, a former swimming school teeming with plants, flowers and produce located in South Los Angeles.
Tune in to watch the free event on June 4 at 3pm PT on Grand Performances' Facebook and YouTube platforms!
Mndsgn (born Ringgo Ancheta) grew up in south New Jersey, raised with Gospel music at church, and B-Boy culture at home. Experimenting with beat-making, he befriended fellow producer Knxwledge and the two formed the Klipmode. Mndsgn's music flourished when he moved to Los Angeles, catching the attention of Stones Throw who released his music since his debut album Yawn Zen (2014). https://www.mndsgn.co/
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.
Neel Agrawal COLA 2021 Feature Presentation - June 18
Fellow Neel Agrawal will take 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.
Neel Agrawal is a multi-percussionist incorporating various musical styles into his own unique sound. He performs with leading musicians in a wide range of contexts, including jazz, world fusion, Indian and Western classical, rock, jazz, electronic, hip hop, and film soundtracks.
Neel recently received the 2021 Individual Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. He also completed a fellowship at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab for his groundbreaking research on African Drumming Laws. In 2016, Neel participated in “Celebrate the Connections”, an intensive urban arts and education tour of India sponsored by the U.S. State Department (coordinated by Cultural Vistas in New York). http://www.neelagrawal.com/
Sarah Elgart COLA 2021 Feature Presentation - June 25
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.” http://sarahelgart.com/
And a sneak peek for our first online July performance!
Dayramir Gonzalez - July 1
Dayramir will perform a live medley of selections infused with Afro-Cuban jazz. Known as the earliest form of Latin jazz, it mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation.
Dayramir began his professional career as a pianist and composer with former Irakere member, Oscar Valdes’ Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Diákara at the age of 16. Since winning Havana’s JoJazz festival in 2004 and 2005, Dayramir has gone from winning three Cubadisco awards for his 2007 debut album “Dayramir & Habana enTRANCé” to becoming Berklee College of Music’s first Cuban national “Presidential Scholarship” recipient to performing in 15,000-seat stadiums with legends like Chucho and Bebo Valdes and headlining Carnegie Hall, representing the young generation of Afro-Cuban jazz. https://dayramirgonzalez.com/
GP MEMBER SURVEY
We Want To Hear From You!
With our in-person presentations starting back up in July, we want to get your feedback about returning to live performances as the state plans to fully reopen on June 15. Please take a moment and participate in our brief survey. You will also be automatically enrolled to win a gift as token of our appreciation.
In addition, you will be receiving an invitation next week to join us on Thursday, July 8 at 6pm at Cal Plaza for a private tour with GP staff with some light refreshments afterwards.
We hope you can join us as we are excited to show you the new Cal Plaza - up close and personal!
gp funding news
Grand Performances Secures LA Recovery Arts Funds
On May 21, Grand Performances was one of 90 non-profit small to mid-sized cultural organizations that were selected as grantees for the L.A. Arts Recovery Fund administered by the California Community Foundation (CCF).
The Fund provides operating support grants ranging from $5,000 to $2 million over a period of two to three years to ensure that recipients can sustain vital contributions to their communities and recover and re-envision their futures for a post-pandemic rebuilding.
A community review panel engaged the collective expertise of more than 50 panelists with deep knowledge of the Los Angeles arts sector to incorporate valuable community input and insights into the grantmaking process. The panel ensured cultural representation and proportionality by discipline to reflect LA’s diverse and vibrant arts ecosystem.
More than 400 non-profits submitted an application and only 90 were selected. As a result, GP received a two-year grant in the amount of $555,000 to be paid half this year and the rest in 2022.
The review panel recognized the work of GP as a leader in free programming to the greater Los Angeles area. These critical funds will help to ensure we continue to deliver on our mission to inspire community, celebrate diversity, and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts. We thank CCF and their partners for this wonderful gift.
member spotlight - kara barton
We continue our Grand Performances member spotlight this month with Kara Barton. Kara was kind enought to share her thoughts on GP. Here's what she said:
1. What is it about GP that makes you continue to support us?
I actually don’t think I have attended many events in the past couple of years, but I started attending in the mid-90’s, maybe 1995 or 1996, when I was earning less money and in the midst of a career change, so I used the red bucket for cash or check contributions. The performances enrich my life! I support monthly now because I am able to and because I want any Angeleno who wants to take a deep dive into art and culture to be able to attend GP events.
2. What was the first show you saw at GP?
I don’t remember my first show, but I have so many beautiful memories of showing up early, picnicking with friends, playing Scrabble as the plaza filled up. I love watching all the people from all walks of life meet up, join in, run into old friends, meet strangers. I remember Luis Alfaro in the water, Ekova, Ozomatli, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, The Belle Brigade, The Triplettes of Belleville, so many weekends I came two nights in a row!
3. What made you increase your monthly contribution?
I don’t give a lot, but I am happy to give regularly. I have had so many educational and joyful experiences at GP that I want it to be here forever! It is like a joy vortex in the center of LA: sit next to Chinese elders, watch bemused tourists wander in (or look out the Omni Hotel windows!), dance to live music under the stars, learn about dance, film, and music from all over the world, and social justice history of our city. It is accessible and free!
4. What does the future of GP look like to you?
I am so excited to see the reconstructed California Plaza and how GP will use the new space. If GP can manage in a pandemic, the sky is the limit! The future of GP looks like a continuation of the joy vortex: more strangers from all over the city gathering to celebrate our rich and complicated humanity under the LA sky. I have lived in Los Angeles most of my life and appreciate the rich diversity and access to new experiences.
Our thanks to Kara for her participation!
grand performances - production internship
Sequoia Sherriff has joined Grand Performances as a Production Intern for our upcoming programming season at Cal Plaza. Sequoia, who is currently a junior and majoring in film school at New York University (NYU), started June 1 and is knowledgeable on film production, both pre-production and on set work, per her previous intern experience at Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP) – a film and television production company that focuses on feature films and television series.
With a full school schedule she was also the Associate Director and Submissions Co-Head at NYU’s student run Fusion Film Festival, which recognizes the work of women and non-binary creators. As a high school student, three films she directed premiered at Sony Studios and she is a recipient of the National Young Arts Award for Cinematic Arts 2018. Sequoia will graduate from NYU in 2022. A native of Vancouver, Canada, she moved to L.A. when she was 11 and calls the City of Angels her home.
For samples of her work please visit her Vimeo page and give her a warm welcome if you see her at our events this summer.
partners
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.
Support/donate
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.
