Earth Day at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

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¡Gracias a Nuestros Voluntarios!

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Tacos, LA's Beautiful Little Heaven

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LA Plaza celebrates César Chávez Day

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Transforming Public Art: Chicanos in the ‘80s

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SCVTV with LA Art Zone at LA Plaza

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KCET Departures Partners With LA Plaza

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Transforming Public Art: Chicanos in the ‘80s

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Hitting the Wall: Women in the Marathon, detail, 1984, Judith F. Baca

Celebrate LA Arts at LA Plaza!

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Continue enjoying LA Plaza for free!

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Local Students Document LA Today

Date: 
Tue, 2011-02-22
Blog Images: 
Image to be used in box view: 

As LA Plaza gears up for opening, we’ve invited local LAUSD middle schools to contribute to our LA Starts Here! exhibition through a photography project entitled “LA Today.

The concluding portion of LA Starts Here! will reveal the emergence of the Latina/o identity in modern Los Angeles. Differing from the others sections of the exhibition, in which adults share their perspectives on the past and the present, here children from around LA share their perspectives on the present and the future.

Do they consider themselves Latino/a? What does Latina/o mean to them? Where is Latino/a Los Angeles now… and where will it be in the future? What will we call ourselves then? Does it matter?

To answer these questions, we’ve partnered with several local schools (including Hollenbeck Middle School and Southeast Middle School). Together, we send students out with cameras to document “LA Today,” with the simple prompt of “What is Latino Los Angeles?” Over the past few weeks, school groups have explored different city neighborhoods – including their own – with their cameras. We’ve just started to receive the photos, and they’re looking great!

LA Plaza’s film crew tagged along to document the project and capture the students’ creative process. The resulting photos and video will be exhibited at the conclusion of LA Starts Here! when LA Plaza opens in April.

By showing us their city, and sharing their vision for the future, these children will conclude LA Starts Here! on an inspiring note, providing visitors of all backgrounds with an enriched perspective on history’s impact… and how we ourselves are creating a new history today.