Big City Forum: Writers Edition

Big City Forum in conjunction with LAAA/Gallery 825 present an evening about the written word. Join a group of LA's most talented up and coming authors as they explore the ways in which fiction shapes our thinking about personal and collective narratives.

Los Angeles Art Association
Gallery 825
825 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Wed., May 18th
7 – 9 pm


Presenters:

Harold Abramowitz is a writer and editor from Los Angeles. His books and chapbooks include Not Blessed (Les Figues Press, 2010), A House on a Hill - Part Three (Slash Pine Press, 2010), A House on a Hill - Part One ( Insert Press, 2010), and Dear Dearly Departed (Palm Press, 2008),  Harold co-edits the short-form literary press eohippus labs (www.eohippuslabs.com), and co-curates the occasional experimental cabaret event series, Late Night Snack (www.latenightsnacks.blogspot.com).  He also writes and edits as part of the collaborative projects, SAM OR SAMANTHA YAMS and UNFO.

Grace Krilanovich's debut novel The Orange Eats Creeps, published by Two Dollar Radio, was a finalist for the Starcherone Prize and the Believer Book Award. The novel, called "Bizarrely charming" by Newsday, "Beautiful and deranged" by Bookforum, and "One of 2010's small-press triumphs" by The Week, made year-end lists at NPR, BlackBook, Largehearted Boy and Shelf Unbound Magazine, in addition to being named one of Amazon's Top Ten Science Fiction/Fantasy Books of 2010. Grace is a MacDowell Colony fellow and was a National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree for 2010. 

Margaret Wappler is an arts and culture staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, and is finishing a novel that explores environmentalism, the suburban landscape, and alien spaceships.

Lauren Strasnick is a graduate of Emerson College and the California Institute of the Arts MFA Writing Program. Her debut novel, NOTHING LIKE YOU (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2009), was an RWA RITA award finalist in two categories, Best First Book and YA Romance.  Her second novel, HER AND ME AND YOU (Simon Pulse/S&S in October 2010), will be out in paperback this July.

Design/Social Action/Change

Touch "Uniendo Puntos" installation

TOUCH showroom

Aguiniga installation at CAFAM

Tanya Aguiniga

Big City Forum in conjunction with Marine presents Design/Social Action/Change. You are invited to an intimate conversation with a leading contemporary designer, Tanya Aguiniga, and a curator and product developer, Zoe Melo, as they share their work using design as a transformative tool for social, community, and personal interconnectedness.

Thursday, April 28
7 - 9 pm

Marine
A Contemporary Art Salon
716 Marine Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405

www.marineartsalon.com

Featuring:

Tanya Aguiñiga (b. 1978) is a Los Angeles based furniture designer and artist who was raised in Tijuana, Mexico. She holds an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design, and is a current faculty member at Otis College of Art and Design. She created various collaborative installations with the Border Arts Workshop, an artists' group that engages the languages of activism and community-based public art. She recently founded the group, Artists Helping Artisans, through which she helps spread knowledge of craft by collaborating with traditional artisans. Her work has been exhibited from Mexico City to Milan and she was named a United States Artists Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts.

Zoë Melo is a co-founder of TOUCH, a brand that develops, markets and promotes social and sustainable design projects. She also consults designers and brands on a variety of projects worldwide. Over her career, Zoë has collaborated with some of the most talented and renowned designers, photographers and art directors in fashion, art and product design. Her work has received worldwide attention and media coverage. In 2008 Dwell recognized Zoë as a Nice Modernist for her work in social and sustainable design. She has organized and curated important design events and exhibits, such as Inter-Connected, a showcase of Portuguese and Brazilian design during New York Design Week in 2010. She also co-curated "Uniendo Puntos" during Valencia Design Week, showcasing designers and products from Latin America held in the fall of 2010. She was a featured speaker at TEDx Amazonia in November of 2010. Recently she has been implementing the operations of TOUCH in Brazil.