Happy Holidays & New Year
Farmlab Open By Appointment Only December 25-January 4

Dear Friends,

The Metabolic Studio -- Farmlab and Chora included -- will be open by telephone appointment only** to the public from Wednesday evening, December 24, 2008, through Monday morning, January 5, 2009.

[The Public Salon Series resumes Friday, January 9, 2009 @ noon. And the Chora Prints 2008 installation reopens Jan. 5 @ 10am.]

On behalf of everyone here, here's wishing you and yours a great holiday season and a happy new year!

We'd also like to take a moment to offer our great thanks to each of you for the support, inspiration, comraderie, suggestions, participation, and so much more that so many of you have shared with us during these past twelve months.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon, we'll have more news about the Studio's structure and various projects in the coming months, and, best of all, here's to a great 2009.

Sincerely,
The Farmlab Team
(323) 226-1158


**Chora Prints may be purchased online at www.chora.info

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Chora Prints Available For Sale



The artworks from the exhibition, "New Political Posters From TJ2LA / Nuevos Posters Políticos: de TJ a LA" are available for purchase.

The prints cost $100 each, or $250 framed. They can be ordered online on this page, or by visiting Farmlab in-person.

The limited edition prints were produced during October, 2008, by master printers Joe Apuche at Self-Help Graphics in East Los Angeles, and Jose Diaz at La Casa Del Tunel: Art Center, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Participating artists include Mark Bradford, Sandow Birk, Brandy Flower, Mely Barragan, Daniel Ruanova, 2Cent, John Carr, and Lauren Bon. For a complete list of artists, to see and purchase prints, plus watch video about the show and see a photo gallery and blog, please visit the official www.chora.info website.

 



 

Seed Harvest Giveaway
Saturday, December 20, 2008 @ Noon



A note from Farmlab's Olivia Chumacero:

"Please bring your own containers to take your seeds home, as well as your own eating and drinking utensils. This GiveAway is
potluck, bring your favorite dish to share and do please RSVP.

"ALL OUR SEEDS ARE FROM HEIRLOOM STOCK MARIGOLDS, HOPI CORN, PIPICHTLE, PAPALO, AMARANTH

"At The Metabolic Studio / Farmlab
1745 N. SPRING AVE., L.A. 90012
office #: 323.226.1158
info [AT] farmlab [DOT].org"

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Not A Cornfield and Farmlab in 'Actions' Exhibition


Not A Cornfield and Farmlab are among the works featured in, "Actions: What You Can Do With The City," a survey exhibition curated by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, in Montreal, and on display at that institution through April 19, 2009.

Also included in the exhibition are many individuals and groups familiar to readers of this blog. A short list includes past Farmlab Public Salon participants such as Fallen Fruit, Los Angeles Urban Rangers, Parking Day, and Islands of L.A. Fellow Public Salon participant Fritz Haeg wrote for the 'Actions' catalog.

Here's the link to the interactive online component of the 'Actions' show.

Not A Cornfield (2005-2006), of course, was a work by Lauren Bon. Bon then created Farmlab (2006-).

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Studio Participates In Good Space Launch

The Studio was invited by the good folks from Good magazine to participate in the ongoing December, 2008 launch of the Good Space, located on Melrose Avenue near Orange. The Studio's Janet Owen Driggs spent time on opening nights with mag folks, Islands of L.A., and other invitees, discussing public space. The Good Space launch continues through December 19.

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'The Water Tanks Are Here'


"The Water Tanks Are Here."

That was the excited subject line of an email sent by one Farmlab team member to her colleagues late last week.

What purpose will the tanks serve? And where will they serve them? Check back with this blog in the coming days and weeks for more information...

Farmlab Photo by Sarah McCabe

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The Metabolic Studio presents
The Moth: It Takes Two To Tango
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 7pm (food), 8pm (stories)

FOR MORE INFO: CLICK HERE


Please join us for a night of storytelling, dance performed by casebolt and smith, and live tango music at The Metabolic Studio.

Hosted by Jonathan Ames

Featuring Stories by:
novelist Jonathan Ames, writer Brian Finkelstein, comedian Anthony Griffith, filmmaker Ellie Lee and Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez

Doors open at 7pm
Stories start on stage at 8pm

$20 tickets (which include complimentary drinks and Mexican food!) are on sale NOW at

www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444.

Born eleven years ago in the New York living room of George Dawes Green, THE MOTH features simple, old-fashioned storytelling on thoroughly modern themes by wildly divergent raconteurs. Each show is cast with five carefully selected individuals, who have been coached to share real tales from their lives with no script and no notes. Past storytellers at THE MOTH have included Pulitzer-prize-nominated writers, a pick-pocket, fire-fighters, a professional black jack player, a voodoo priestess, and an astronaut, among many others.

Email, [email protected] for more info.

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Farmlab Public Salon
David Riccitiello
Friday, December 5, 2008 @ Noon
Free Admission

New Street Standards and Urban Design Guidelines for Downtown Los Angeles


About the Salon

Mr. David Riccitiello of the Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) will discuss the Agency's efforts to create more walkable, pedestrian-oriented streets in Downtown Los Angeles. The CRA/LA, together with the Urban Design Studio of the City Planning Department; the Los Angeles Department of Transportation; the Bureau of Engineering; and other City agencies, are currently developing new street standards and urban design guidelines that will 1) reduce street widening that would result in wider sidewalks to support pedestrian-oriented activity and street life, and 2) provide guidance for street-level improvements to create a livable, walkable Downtown. The "Design for a Livable Downtown Downtown Design Guide" will include both standards (requirements) and guidelines (suggestions).

The Downtown Design Guide encourages Downtown Los Angeles to develop as a more sustainable community. To achieve this goal, good choices must be made at all levels of planning and design – from land use and development decisions to building massing and materials choices – with a emphasis on walkability and the making of great streets, districts and neighborhoods. The focus of the Downtown Design Guide is on the relationship of buildings to the street, including sidewalk treatment, the character of the building as it adjons the sidewalk, and connections to transit. The successful treatment of these key features, coupled with particular attention to the details of a project in the first 30-49 vertical feet, form the basis for continuing high quality development at a human scale.

Other topics covered in the Downtown Design Guide include parking and access; on-site open space; architectural detail; streetscape improvements; signage; and public art.

About the Salon Presenter

Mr. Riccitiello is the Regional Administrator of the CRA / LA. He joined the staff of the CRA/LA in 1985. His early accomplishments as a member of the planning staff included the Convention Center Expansion project and the AB283 residential rezoning for downtown. He has received a number of promotions during his tenure, becoming a project manager in 1991. His project assignments included major commercial and residential developments and public improvement projects. Examples of his accomplishments include the 801 Tower, 777 Tower, Renaissance Tower Apartments, Grand Hope Park, FIDM, and most recently Metro Lofts. He is particularly proud of the affordable housing projects he has had the opportunity to work on, including Villa Del Pueblo, Villa Esperanza, Villa Flores, Metropolitano, Young Apartments, Ninth Street Housing and Grand Avenue Apartments, currently under construction. He was also the lead on the new downtown supermarket being developed by the CIM Group. His most visible accomplishment is Staples Center. He was responsible for securing the entitlements, design approval, and the assemblage of the land for the project. He was also responsible for developing the design standards for the Staples Center II master plan. Since August 2003, he has been responsible for establishing the East Valley Regional Office and has been instrumental in resolving problems with several major developments such as NoHo Commons.

Before joining the agency, he served three years as community development and planning director for the City of Gallup, N.M. Prior to that, he was a project planner for the McKinley Area Council of Governments. Mr. Riccitiello has a BA in Environmental Design from the University of New York at Buffalo, a BS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a master’s of management from the Robert O. Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Riccitiello is the CRA/LA Regional Administrator for the Downtown Regional Area. The Downtown Region is responsible for the Bunker Hill, CBD, Central Industrial, Chinatown, City Center, CD9 and Little Tokyo project areas.


Photo by Pat Smith, Landscape Architect