The Other Places art fair happens March 16 – 17 in San Pedro | Image: OPaf
This weekend, the Battery Leary-Merriam historical site in San Pedro, Calif., will be taken over by the Other Places art fair (OPaf), a two-day outdoor showcase of experimental contemporary art venues and organizations from Los Angeles and beyond.
OPaf was organized last year in response to the growing movement of hard to define art project spaces and describes itself as “fluid in definition, bonded by an intention to operate in other places outside the traditional gallery art systems.”
OPaf provides a distinct art fair structure designed to showcase unconventional projects. The fair was founded by CalArts alum Keith Rocka Knittel (Art MFA 10) and features work and projects from many CalArts alums and current students, including:
Daniel Alcazar (Art MFA 19), Casey Baden (Art MFA 20), Diego Barrientos (Art MFA 19), Claire Chambless (Art MFA 20), Woohee Cho (Art MFA 20), Kira Doutt (Art MFA 19), Dana Carly Eitches (Art MFA 19), Philipp Farra (Art MFA 19), Nick Hanson (Art MFA 19), Luke Harnden (Art MFA 19), Holly Harrell (Art MFA 20), Serena Himmelfarb (Art MFA 19), Vanessa Holyoak (Art MFA 19), ZZ Krebs (Art MFA 19), Lydon MacGregor (Art MFA 19), Antoine Midant (Art MFA 19); Silvi Naci (Art MFA 19), Alicia Piller (Art MFA 19), Ieva Raudsepa (Art MFA 19), Alexeis Reeys (Art MFA 20), Hannah Rubin (Art MFA 20), Justin Serulneck (Art MFA 19), Molly Shea (Art MFA 19), Becky Stafford ( Art MFA 19), Bradley Thompson (Art MFA 19), Lucinda Trask (Art MFA 19) and Kelly Wall (Art MFA 19).
A full participant list can be viewed on the OPaf site.
“I’m very excited to be presenting this second iteration of OPaf, a showcase of all the unusual and unique projects that make being an artist in L.A. very exciting at the moment,” Knittel writes in an email. “OPaf is a rare opportunity for these spaces to gather together allowing visitors to experience a multitude of alternative ideas and practices in one location.”
San Pedro is a port city south of Downtown Los Angeles, and the Battery Leary-Merriam is a decommissioned U.S. Army battery overlooking the Pacific Ocean, now overseen by Angels Gate Cultural Center. The battery provides a dynamic space with which attendees can interact: Participants can utilize trees, tunnels, roof tops, small concrete nooks, grassy hillsides and the history of the site itself for their spaces.
The fair will be open from 12 – 5pm on March 16-17. General admission is $5 or free for students with ID.