Visual artist Lauren Halsey (Art BFA 12) is in residence at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) this spring. Every other week, on alternating Fridays and Saturdays, Halsey will be publicly working in the gallery as part of her solo installation, Lauren Halsey: we still here, there (March 4-Sept.3). The site-specific work, designed as an architectural network of caves, invites viewers to immerse themselves in the hyperreal environment inspired by and filled with elements from the artist’s home/community in South L.A.
From the exhibition program:
Halsey’s installation will incorporate an abundance of found objects such as incense, oils, tchotchkes, figurines, mix CDs, local newspaper clippings, and vernacular portraits, creating a vibrant record of a community facing rapid gentrification and development. At the same time, the work will serve as a speculative space, evoking imaginary futures for South Central through landscapes and rock carvings made by hand, miniature shrines, fountains, and sound installations.
The environment will reflect Halsey’s deep investment in preserving and supporting her neighborhood as well as her exuberant engagement with diverse global references…At the heart of Halsey’s project is the idea that architecture can be a form of empowerment and social transformation for marginalized communities and a way to envision, in the artist’s words, ‘a freer, funkier, and more optimistic tomorrow.’
Last year, Halsey made headlines with her Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $18,000 for a public art installation, The Crenshaw District Hieroglyph Project. A collaboration between the artist and the community in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw District, the project involves the construction of multipurpose community meeting spaces decorated with hieroglyphic-style carvings and found materials. Visitors will be invited to carve their own “hieroglyphs” into blank panels on the walls, which aim to inspire conversation and liberate and promote healing within the community.
Halsey holds an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from CalArts. She recently completed a residency at The Studio Museum in Harlem (2014-2015) and is the 2014 recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Award. Halsey’s work will also be presented in UCLA’s Hammer Museum’s group exhibition Made in LA 2018.
Check out an interview with Halsey for her Kickstarter campaign below:
Related reading: CalArtians Among Artists Selected for Made in L.A. 2018.
Event Details
Lauren Halsey: we still here, there
March 4-Sept.3
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)
250 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Visitor information