Angelenos have three new opportunities to celebrate the Los Angeles River in the next month, thanks to an innovative collaboration between Pomona College, The Claremont Colleges Library and LA River X.
“Thanks to a generous grant from California Humanities, we’re elevating LA River X out of the digital space and into real life, with exhibitions and events,” said public historian Tilly Hinton, founder and curator of LA River X.
Three free events are scheduled for September and October, with more to come throughout 2023.
A photographic exhibit at the Central Library downtown, “It Really is a River”, pairs historic images of the river with contemporary photographs from the LA River X collection to explore some of the river’s many character traits. Tilly Hinton and esteemed environmental humanities scholar Char Miller from Pomona College co-curated the exhibition, with support from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection and Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library. The exhibition is on now through January 22, 2023, in the Central Library’s History and Genealogy Department located at 630 W. Fifth St.
LA River X is part of Frogtown Artwalk again in 2022. The Thirteenth Frogtown Artwalk is a free event, produced by the Elysian Valley Arts Collective to celebrate the neighborhood’s vibrant creativity. LA River X will be activating a space in the Happier Camper building next to Marsh Park. Come by from 3-10 pm on Saturday, September 24 to enjoy a selection of images, art, videos and fun activities from LA River X.
The online event and podcast series Storytime for the Apocalypse returns for a special water-themed episode on Tuesday, October 11 at 6:30 pm. This free event features readings and conversation with artist Aspen Leavitt, scholar Jennifer Bernstein, indigenous culture bearer Tina Orduno Calderon, and creative leader Michelle Matthews. Writer Henry Cherry and poet Mike Sonksen are featured authors at the event.
Questions? Contact Tilly Hinton from LA River X at tilly@goodisbetter.net.
About LA River X: LA River X (and its Spanish language mirror El Rio de Los Angeles X) is a community-based environmental storytelling project that collects people’s photographs, videos and stories of the Los Angeles River and amplifies them on social media. In a unique partnership with The Claremont Colleges Library, these community-generated digital materials are protected forever in the Western Water Archives.
About Pomona College and The Claremont Colleges Library: Both Pomona College and The Claremont Colleges Library partner with LA River X on the California Humanities-funded People’s Archive project, which includes preserving the LA River X collection in the Western Water Archives.
California Humanities: The People’s Archive Project is made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.