Kind light /Բարի լույս*to you, dear neighbors, artists, collaborators, community partners, co-conspirators, supporters of arts in Skid Row and of doodles without borders,
*the morning greeting in Armenian translates as “kind light” (բարի լույս [baree looys])
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Highlights:
1) THIS Saturday, May 13, 2 – 6 PM, LA Annual Kite Festival at LA State Historic Park (1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012). FREE with lots of activities! Doodles w/o Borders will be there with a table!
2) Artwork Storage as a Human Right – a glimpse from the Community Arts Depot story, and Skid Row Now and 2040 passes the latest hurdle despite multi-billion business interests
ALSO, Selection of UPCOMING ACTIVITIES in May, Monthly Skid Row Commun/Arts Calendar, Some Community/ Arts Resources, doodles in person and online, Support Community Arts Depot and Quote of the month
For previous newsletter(s), go to www.doodleswithoutborders.com homepage
UPCOMING in and near SKID ROW, April 2023
Some neighborhood events, celebrations, and parties to join
This Fri, May 12, 3:30pm – Doodles without Borders is at Transformative Arts LA with a drawing workshop.410 S Spring St. If you are interested, please reply to reserve a spot!
THIS Saturday, May 13, 2 – 6 PM, LA Annual Kite Festival at LA State Historic Park (1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012). FREE with lots of activities! Doodles w/o Borders will be there with a table!
Thursday, May 18, 10:30am-12noon: Creative Writing monthly workshop is back on at Skid Row Museum, monthly meeting hosted by Ivy @ Skid Row History Museum and Archive (250 S. Broadway). If you are interested, please reply to let us know.
Friday, May 19th, 7pm: MOVIE NIGHT”Ornette: Made in America” @ Skid Row Museum (250 S. Broadway).
Saturday, May 20th, 2pm: Systemic change in Action @ Skid Row Museum, 250 S Broadway
Friday, May 26, 3-6pm: GRAND OPENING of Creating Justice LA @ 116 E 5th St, 90013
Friday, May 26, 5-7:30pm – OPEN MIC + bdays with Hayk, FEATURING Guest Co-Host Tyson this month @ Skid Row Museum (250 S. Broadway)
Printable/Online Monthly Skid Row Calendar of some arts and community activities here.
ONGOING
Thur-Sat, 2-5pm: Cosmology and Community: Networks of Liberation – exhibit by community curator Charles Porter, who makes connections between Africa, Black diasporan heritage, his own family history in New Jersey’s Porterville, and Skid Row neighborhood. On exhibit at Skid Row Museum (250 S. Broadway) through July 2023.
THOUGHTS ALOUD
Artwork storage as a human right?
One of the ways to measure neighborhood strength is through all its creative and cultural expressions.Those who know LA’s Skid Row neighborhood, have passed by the Cuban Corner with it’s distinct Afro-Latinx Caribbean sounds, food, and residents, may have heard of Blaze’s Photography Club that used to meet at UCEPP, stopped by the cultural hubs of Stephanie’s White House and Pastor Blue’s Blue Hollywood. You may have noticed Kaniah’s paintings at the Festival for All Skid Row Artists year after year, with her growing up together with the growing body of her work, you may have seen OG’s art at events at General Jeff (formerly Gladys) Park. Poets, painters, bands, singers and performers putting together events, collaborating, hauling musical equipment to and fro. To say nothing of countless creatives who make work and bring together fellow artists in ways that is known to much smaller circles: Koi, and Addy, and Pearl, and so many more. And you know I’m just getting started. (an excerpt from “Artwork Storage As a human right?” , also published in latest Skid Row Arts Alliance’s ArtsZine)
This May 2023 Community Arts Depot renewed its lease with JACCC and SLT with a 3 year term! Looking forward to more collaborations in Skid Row and beyond!
As before, you can help with rent/ insurance/ materials by donating to the ongoing fundraiser: www.givebutter.com/communityartsdepot
And this month as well, after 6 years of Skid Row Now and 2040‘s and Central City United People’s Plan‘s (follow links to read more on this) continued work and pressure resulted in a number of community strengthening recommendations from Skid Row passing as the DTLA 2040 Rezoning plan got approved by LA City Council.
The banner at the top of this email is Doodles Without Borders’ contribution to this collective work.
In the process, council members stripped some of the bare minimum needs from the plan last minute, and went on trivializing years of community work, bothsidism-ing businesses’ violent, anti-human money interests and community resident needs, while making empty self-congratulatory statements. So the struggle (and the joy of collective struggle and mutual support!) continues!
It is very important to recognize this milestone on the zoning plan passing, with all credit going to collective community efforts from Skid Row and neighboring neighborhoods! Congratulations to all the community activists and many thanks to the LA’s Planning Dept, too!
Last but not least, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and mother figures!
Per special request, Doodles’ current banner we’re working on (still in progress) is dedicated to Mother’s Day.
Lastly lastly, just got a message from a friend and comrade as I was about to send this, that a very dear unhoused artist who was imprisoned on completely bogus charges is being released as his case was dismissed!
Raising my morning cup of coffee to prison abolition, and together growing collective institutions and structures of an abolitionist, liberated world!
doodles without borders (dwb)
Weekly doodles without borders “How dare you!” community arts table at General Jeff ( formerly Gladys) Park Thursdays, 3-4:30pm. At dwb art is the glue to collectively strengthen community, make local, diasporan, and global connections, and disassemble white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism and patriarchy.
(NOTE: we will be switching to Wednesdays at 5pm on Wed, June 14th!)
dwb ONLINE UPDATES
1) Doodles without Borders (dwb) is now on Instagram / Facebook. Social media is still not dwb’s strong suit 🙂
2) There is also now a monthly dwb Skid Row Community & Arts Calendar. If you do community strengthening work in Skid Row and know of an event/meeting that should be on there, please share.
3) Latest addition – dwb wishlist! You can find it here: bit.ly/dwbwishlist
Why support storage of Skid Row artist work?
A shameless plug asking for your support of Community Arts Depot, a sister project addressing the vital need for artwork storage and access focused on Skid Row neighborhood members and residents.
Community Arts Depot switched to a new platform called Givebutter in December. To donate to the campaign click HERE!
Quote of the month:
“I am who I am despite what America has put before me. I am who I am despite the obstacles that I have faced based upon race and based upon social and spiritual humiliation.” & “Each and every one of you in this room, with your gifts and your power and your skills, could perhaps change the way in which our global humanity mistrusts itself.”
– Harry Belafonte (1927-2023, Rest in Power!)
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You can see the full dwb newsletter #17 here.
Community Artivism 