From the LAMAG ArchiveCOLA20 Salon Conversations
Because the COLA program runs in annual cycles, fellows connect only with their classmates. As one aspect of the twentieth anniversary of COLA (COLA20), the Department of Cultural Affairs sponsored ten salon conversations to record at least twenty hours of intergenerational dialogue. And although social, collegial, and/or pedagogical relationships have drawn most fellows to meet at LAMAG before or after their enrollment in COLA, a surprising number of salon participants were meeting each other for the first time, or the first time within a staged dialogue. In relation, it was particularly meaningful for this element of COLA20 to cross-connect respected members of our large region’s literary, performing, and visual-design communities.
The themes of these exchanges were curated yet flexible. The transcriptions showcase aspects of the rich context of LA as well as some continuity within historical and intellectual pathways. Years of peer panel debates informed each salon’s topical question, and these leading questions were given centrifical rather than limiting treatments by teams of moderators. Two topics were repeated with different players, showing distinctively additive outcomes with sparse duplication. This experiment indicated how much more exists to be cast and/or recast.
See below for the videos and transcriptions of each of the salon conversations as part of the twentieth anniversary exhibition, COLA20. Click here to learn more about this exhibition.
Moderated by Karen Atkinson and Heidi Duckler with Lynne Berman, Anna Boyiazis, Nancy Buchanan, Paolo Davanzo, Ernesto de la Loza, Elizabeth Leister and Phil Ranelin. This conversation focused on the following question: performances of art outside of the gallery, museum, or theater (i.e. the street scene and urban interventions) are important expressions in Los Angeles. What historical and cultural experiences have propelled our “street scene”?
Moderated by Hirokazu Kosaka and Lynne Thompson with Linda Arreola, Jennifer Celio, Joyce Dallal, Bia Gayotto, Clement Hanami, Malathi Iyengar, Michael Pierzynski, Maryrose Mendoza, Corey Stein and Denise Uyehara. This conversation focused on the following question: Los Angeles has been a preeminent space of artistic integration of Western and non-Western peoples and ideas. What aspects of LA history and culture have propelled this integration?
Moderated by Eileen Cowin, Jen Hofer and Jesse Lerner with maRia Bodmann and Sam Erenberg. This conversation (session 1 of 2) focused on the following question: how have the rich cinematic storytelling and documentary traditions of LA’s film and television industry influenced the literary, performing, and visual arts?
Moderated by Janie Geiser, Ken Roht and Kent Young with Sarah Maclay. This conversation (session 2 of 2) focused on the following question: how have the rich cinematic storytelling and documentary traditions of LA’s film and television industry influenced the literary, performing, and visual arts?
Moderated by Cheri Gaulke and Terry Wolverton with Kaucyila Brooke, Marsian de Lellis, Phyllis Green, Jessica Rath, Coleen Sterritt and Denise Uyehara. This conversation (session 1 of 2) focused on the following question: what are the shared and divergent strategies employed by artists who embed feminist and/or LGBTQ ideas in their works? How have artists working at this intersection shaped a national dialogue?
Moderated by Kaucyila Brooke and Simon Leung with Susan Silton. This conversation (session 2 of 2) focused on the following question: what are the shared and divergent strategies employed by artists who embed feminist and/or LGBTQ ideas in their works? How have artists working at this intersection shaped a national dialogue?
Moderated by Gloria Enedina Alvarez, Harry Gamboa Jr. and Claudia Rodriguez with Judithe Hernández. This conversation focused on the following question: what are the past and potential impacts of Latina/o-based cultural traditions, politics, and multiplicities emanating from Los Angeles?
Hosted by Miyoshi Barosh and Jeff Colson with Nancy Buchanan, Miles Coolidge, Joe Davidson, David DiMichele, Hae Kyung Lee, Brian Moss, Danial Nord, Ave Pildas, Lara Jo Regan, Fran Siegel, Oguri, Roxanne Steinberg and Doug Wickert. This conversation focused on the following question: what are the many challenges and benefits of a two-artist household?
Moderated by Tony de los Reyes, Amy Knoles and T. Kim-Trang Tran with Karen Atkinson, Jane Castillo, Joe Davidson, Margaret Honda, Stas Orlovski, Sue Ann Robinson, Barbara Strasen and Scott Uriu. This conversation focused on the following question: what are the strongest elements in the cultural context of Los Angeles that encourage artists to employ new technologies or innovative ideas? What excites LA artists to take intellectual and conceptual risks in advancing the boundaries of art making?
Moderated by Bruce Bauman, Stephen Berens and Katharine Haake with Alexandra Grant, Sarah Maclay and Susan Silton. This conversation focused on the following question: with regards to publishing and community building, how have books, art magazines, and artist-writers thrived or struggled in Los Angeles?