November 9, 2020

Los Angeles Poverty Department & the Festival for All Skid Row Artists

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Henriëtte Brouwers.

Making the Case for Skid Row Culture

In 2010, Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, released “Making a Case for Skid Row Culture: Findings from a Collaborative Inquiry by the Los Angeles Poverty Department and the Urban Institute”. This study by John Malpede (Los Angeles Poverty Department) and Mario Rosario Jackson (Urban Institute) documents the role of arts and culture in Skid Row. This study found that culture comes from the ground up in Skid Row and is often initiated by residents and resident-driven initiatives. This festival is undertaken to recognize these people and initiatives and to stimulate a new way of envisioning and talking about this neighborhood.

The Festival for All Skid Row Artists is a festival of music, theater, spoken word performances and visual art with plenty of music, showcasing the diverse range of talents among Skid Row residents. Usually taking place in Gladys Park (corner of 6th Street and Gladys Avenue), the festival has become one of the most anticipated grassroots cultural events in Skid Row where typically over 100 Skid Row Artists perform and display their artwork to enthusiastic audiences. In this extraordinary time, many artists have been preparing their acts and works of art and uploading them to get in the mix of the vibrant Skid Row artistic culture. LAPD’s Festival for All Skid Row Artists gives audiences a chance to hear what you usually don’t hear about Skid Row: that it is a community rich with talent!

The 11th annual Festival For All Skid Row Artists took place on Saturday, October 17, 2020 – 4:30 -7:00PM

Due to the pandemic, this year’s festival took a hybrid form: streaming live on Facebook and YouTube and in person (limited attendance – masks mandatory) with physically distancing in Gladys Park.

* MC Chella Coleman introduced the videos Skid Row artists had submitted and interviewed artists via live video.

* At STUDIO 526 several artists will paint a collaborative PAINTING and asked for your input during the live stream.

* The entire live-stream will be projected on a big screen in Gladys Park (corner of 6th Street and Gladys Avenue) MC Charles Porter gave updates from the park with some live performances –> into the live-stream

The Department of Rec and Parks has limited access to Gladys Park, the usual site of the Festival, to 50 people.

Festival for All Skid Row Artists is produced by Los Angeles Poverty Department with partners United Coalition East Prevention Project (UCEPP), Studio 526 (of The People Concern) and Urban Voices Project. The festival is made possible with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, The Kindle Project, and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Los Angeles Poverty Department celebrates and preserves the rich artistic heritage of Skid Row and beginning with the first Festival in 2009 has generated a registry of Skid Row artists, which now numbers more than 900.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Founded in 1985 by director-performer-activist John Malpede, Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) is a non-profit arts organization, the first performance group in the nation made up principally of homeless people, and the first arts program of any kind for homeless people in Los Angeles. LAPD creates performances and multidisciplinary artworks that connect the experience of people living in poverty to the social forces that shape their lives and communities. LAPD’s works express the realities, hopes, dreams and rights of people who live and work in L.A.’s Skid Row.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Well, Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the US! If you’re into solving problems pertaining to homelessness, it’s the place to be. Not really though, that’s why it’s the homeless capital…

Pricing:

The festival is free for everyone

Contact Info:

Website: https://www.lapovertydept.org/
Phone: 213-413.1077
Email: info@lapovertydept.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lapovertydepartment/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapovertydepartment/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lapovertydept
Other: https://www.facebook.com/skidrowhistorymuseum https://app.reduct.video/lapd/walk-the-talk/

Image Credit:
Pictures are courtesy of Los Angeles Poverty Department

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