The 2018 Art @ Tongva season kicks off with the fifth annual Wonder Room on Wednesday, March 28. The Wonder Room is an evening of performances and visual art by an interdisciplinary group of artists who synchronously activate the intimate “rooms” of Tongva Park.
This year’s Wonder Room features a theatrical performance by visual and performance artistEmily Mast in collaboration with the award-winning composer and arranger Alan Chan, and live music by Cesar Castro, LA’s own master of son jarocho music. Alongside new and exploratory visual artworks and intimate dance pieces, the evening will be rounded out by special guest, Kate Johnson, a video installation artist and resident of Santa Monica. Johnson’s work will bring the park’s century-old Moreton Bay Fig tree, Morty, to life in new and surprising ways.
Audiences are invited to stroll and choose their own artistic adventure, discovering each work or performance at their own pace. The program highlights Tongva Park’s unusual geography of gardens, winding paths, and urban vistas, reimagining the small, exquisite spaces of the park designed by James Corner Field Operations, the creative geniuses behind the High Line in New York.
Art @ Tongva is a series of intimate and informal events in Tongva Park running since 2014. In addition to The Wonder Room, this year’s season includes performance theater by the company The Wildnerness in April, an interactive audio-theater experience Among Us in April and May, and performance and art by contemporary indigenous artists in May. Art @ Tongva is co-produced by Santa Monica Cultural Affairs and Dyson & Womack.
The event is free and open to the public. Visit bigbluebus.com for bus routes to Tongva Park. As well, ample bike parking is located near each park entrance (Ocean Ave., Main St., and Olympic Blvd,) and parking is available at the Civic Center Parking Structure at 333 Civic Center Dr. The first 30 minutes are free, with $1 per each additional hour. $5 maximum per day. For more information, visit smgov.net/tongvapark/events.
