On Monday May 13, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced that it will be sending a new mobile pavilion designed by artist Jorge Pardo to patrol the communities of Southern California. Its goal is to bring these communities art and film programming over the course of a 16-month excursion that begins with a one-month period that will expand from June 7 through July 7 of 2013 at the University of Redlands. LACMA9 Art + Film Lab, will visit places in nine communities: Redlands, San Bernardino, Altadena, Monterrey Park, Hacienda Heights, Montebello, Compton, Inglewood and Torrance.
The program of events—all of which will be free—of the mobile pavilion, will include opening night parties at each stop, outdoor screenings, art and filmmaking workshops, and much more. At the end of each neighborhood stay, residents of that area will be invited to visit LACMA free of charge. Artist Nicole Miller will interact with visitors in each area to create video and oral history projects.
LACMA joins a growing list of important museums that have implemented these mobile alternatives to reach culturally under-served communities. Some examples of these initiatives by major museums include: the Centre Pompidou's Musée Mobile and the Guggenheim's BMW Guggenheim Lab. But the Los Angeles institution's initiative is different due to its focus on communities in its immediate vicinity. Its Art + Film Lab is due to conclude its tour with a one-month stop in Torrance, beginning on August 8 and ending on September 7 of 2014.