Crowd of people enjoying the event activities.
Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts, a citywide series of cross-cultural collaborations, bringing together award-winning artists from diverse communities across Los Angeles to create original works of art, will culminate in a day-long festival showcasing all five Voices of LA artist collaborations in addition to a food stage featuring cooking demonstrations with local chefs, programmed and hosted by Evan Kleiman of KCRW’s Good Food; kid-friendly interactive art workshops; food trucks and carts (with kosher options); and an indoor and outdoor stage featuring performances of klezmer, mariachi, Korean, and Persian music and dance, along with representation from many other communities within Los Angeles. The festival will take place in and around the newly renovated and historic 1929 campus of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Voices of LA is a showcase of Los Angeles’s varied art practices, including music, dance, spoken word, and visual arts. The Voices of LA Summer Series was held in venues across metropolitan Los Angeles throughout July and August. This art series brought together more than 45 Los Angeles-based artists representing various cultures, languages, and artistic styles that are indicative of Los Angeles. Newly commissioned works of art include:
- LA SANTA CECILIA & YUVAL RON ENSEMBLE
A lively world music presentation combining the Middle-Eastern, Israeli sounds of Yuval Ron and his seven-person ensemble with the energetic and modern Latin beats of 2014 Latin Grammy®-winning East Los Angeles-based band La Santa Cecilia. This concert will blend several genres of music, languages, and performance styles for a rousing modern-day fusion of Latin and Middle-Eastern sounds.
2014 Latin Grammy Winner La Santa Cecelia and Yuval Ron Ensemble on stage.
- WIL-DOG OF OZOMATLI & JARELL PERRY
An energetic soul-drenched performance by members of Grammy®-winning Ozomatli, including Wil-Dog Abers and Justin Porée, and alt-R&B singer-songwriter Jarell Perry. This collaborative performance will feature a mash-up of Ozomatli’s signature bass-pounding Latin, funk, and rock beats with the soulful, progressive vocal styling of Perry, creating an eclectic salsa-pop-reggae-hiphop-soul fusion. - FOR NOW FEATURING ATE9 DANCE COMPANY & OMID WALIZADEH
This collaboration will explore the parallel worlds of movement and sound, through a performance between Ate9 Dance Company and Persian-American underground hip-hop, electronic producer Omid Walizadeh. This original piece is choreographed by Israeli-born dancer-choreographer Danielle Agami, artistic director of Ate9 Dance Company. - VERANDA: CONTEMPLATING SPACES IN BETWEEN
Co-curated by Anne Hromadka (Jewish Artists Initiative) and Hirokazu Kosaka (The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center), this original visual arts exhibition is centered on the theme of “cultural sustainability” and brings together artists from the Los Angeles Jewish and Japanese American communities. Featured Artists: Joshua Abarbanel, Melinda Smith Altshuler, Noriko Furunishi, Andrea Hodos, Hiroko Ikuta, Wakana Kimura, Yoku Kitajima, Jessica Shokrian, and Cathy Weis. - ALONG THE HYPHEN
A spoken-word and musical performance comprised of four diverse poets and four musical artists, who will examine life along some of the many hyphens of identity in Los Angeles – Korean, Jewish, Filipina, Latin, and African-American. Featured Artists: Kamau Daáood, Marisela Norte, Irene Suico Soriano, and Doc Whisper, along with musical guests Gustavo Bulgach, L-Boogie Chalwell, Joseph DeRusha, and Daniel Pritchett.
Doc Whisper is a veteran Korean-American emcee, and is part of the spoken-word ensemble entitled “Along the Hyphen.”
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Wilshire Boulevard Temple, 3663 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90010-2798
INFO: Voices of LA is free of charge, and open to all ages. For the latest information, follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Voicesoflafest, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VoicesOfLAFest, and Instagram @VoicesOfLAFest, #VoicesOfLA.
GETTING THERE:
- Valet park: Available for a charge along Wilshire Blvd., in front of Wilshire Boulevard Temple
- Self park: Parking lot behind 3600 Wilshire Blvd.– entrance is at 693 Kingsley Dr.; Daily max $14; Parking lot at 670 S. Serrano Ave., Daily max $12
- Public Transit: From Union Station: Take the Purple Line to Wilshire/Western Station. Walk east on Wilshire Blvd. for 0.2 miles. For more information, please visit: http://www.metro.net.
Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts is generously funded through a grant from The Harry and Belle Krupnick Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, presented by Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and produced by Community Arts Resources.
Kpop Buddy
* All photography is credited to Gary Leonard.
