We're excited to head downtown this Saturday for some standout easily navigated art openings! Not to mention, a new Ed Ruscha retrospective opening at LACMA – on for a few months so don't fret if you can't make it right away. Also not to be missed, a pair of exhibitions at Art+Practice (Leimert Park) and CAAM (on for a few months too). All that plus, classic and indie film fests, part 3 of our survey of restaurants helmed by female chefs, as well as some food for literary thought!

Gallery & Museum Exhibitions

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LACMA | Mid-Wilshire
Ed Ruscha: Now Then
April 7—October 6, 2024
The luminary American artist’s first comprehensive cross-media retrospective in more then 20 years will feature an extensive exploration of work reflecting Ruscha’s 60-year practice. A selection of painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and artist's books drawing inspiration from consumer culture, popular entertainment and the evolving urban landscape. Co-organized with the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

Art + Practice | Leimert Park
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Finding Soft Ground
April 6—August 10, 2024
Opening Reception | In Conversation: Tatyana Fazlalizadeh and Essence Harden, Visual Arts Curator, CAAM — Saturday, April 6 | 2–3pm
Three installations featuring wheat-pasted prints, oil paintings, drawings, a single-channel film and site-specific materials rooted in the Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist’s concern for the conditions, precarity and imaginative determination of safety for Black women. Presented in tandem with Speaking To Falling Seeds, the artist’s concurrent installation of monumental portraits of Black LA women wheat-pasted onto the atrium walls of the California African American Museum (CAAM).

Patricia Sweetow Gallery | DTLA
The Calligraphy of Absence
April 6—May 18, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 6th | 3:30–6:30pm
Metaphoric memoirs by four artists – Dina Abdulkarim (Los Angeles), Pilar Agüero-Esparza (San Jose), Amalia Galdona Broche (Rhode Island) and J. John Priola ( Bay Area) – focusing on recollections of home, heritage, loss and beauty.

Vielmetter Los Angeles | DTLA
April Bey: Know All About What You Want to Know About
April 6—May 18, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 6 | 4–6pm
Rooted in the Bahamian artist’s love of books and Sci-Fi, this exhibition centers on the library and librarians of “Atlantica,” Bey’s imagined alternate universe where glitter is the currency and visitors travel via portals of flora and fauna. 

Baert Gallery | DTLA
2 Solo Shows: Francesca Gabbiani & Paolo Colombo
April 6—May 11, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 6 | 6–8pm
Two solo exhibitions of paintings: Mixed media paintings by Gabbiani create depictions of overlooked landscapes, where nature and urbanization collide in their true anarchic state. Colombo illustrates lyrical moments with watercolors and pencil, composing with fundamental forms such as the dot, the line and the square. 

515 | DTLA
Special Collections
April 6—27, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 6 | 7–9pm
Group exhibition of original covers of favorite books in the Bendix Building, Suite 515. 

Film, Music, Theatre, Festivals & Dance

FILM: Festival of Preservation
Hammer Museum | Westwood
April 5—7, 2024
For its 21st edition, this biennial film festival showcases the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s latest preservation and big screen restoration projects including silent films, favorites from the Golden Age of Television and 1990s independent filmmaking. Free tickets issued at box office in advance of screenings on a first come–first served basis.

FILM: Los Angeles Festival of Movies
Various Locations
April 4—7, 2024
Presented by MUBI and Mezzanine, this is the inaugural year of the Los Angeles Festival of Movies, which seeks to redefine the city as a destination for independent film. Including film premieres, talks with local artists and parties. Tickets: $17–30

THEATRE: King Hedley II
A Noise Within | Pasadena
Through April 28, 2024
August Wilson’s play centers on King, who struggles to acclimate to Reagan-era Pittsburgh after seven years in prison. Directed by Gregg T. Daniel.

THEATRE: Aristotle / Alexander
Getty Villa | Pacific Palisades
April 5—7, 2024
This play, written and directed by Alex Lyras, imagines a meeting between the famed philosopher and the teenaged Alexander the Great. Free with RSVP.

Fine Foods, Quick Bites + Bars

Women's History Month may have come to a close, but that won't stop us from celebrating the exciting culinary visions of LA female chefs. Here's part 3 of our round-up! If you missed the first two weeks, check here: Part 1 & Part 2.

Osteria Mozza & Pizzeria Mozza | Hollywood
You can’t go wrong at either of Chef Nancy Silverton’s two-in-one spots. Exemplary pizza and pretty much anything on both menus.

Ladyhawk | West Hollywood
Chef Carol Braidi’s contemporary homage to Eastern Mediterranean cooking highlights tasty ingredients, bold flavors and unique tastes.

Olivetta | West Hollywood
Chef Laurie Hudson presents a menu inspired by the coastal classics of Italy, Greece, France and Spain to create contemporary dishes with a Californian sensibility.

Ronan | West Hollywood
A menu of seasonal plates designed to be shared, highlighting local produce, responsibly raised proteins, and Neapolitan pizza. Owned and operated by husband and wife team of Chef Daniel Cutler and Chef Caitlin Cutler.

Saltie Girl Los Angeles | West Hollywood
Seafood dishes channeling New England, from Chef Kathy Sidell who grew up on the east coast of the continent. (Boston location too).

Literary, Readings & Book Launches

LA Launch: Village Weavers
Beyond Baroque | Venice
Friday, April 5, 2024
Celebrate the recent publication of Village Weavers by Myriam J.A. Chancy. She will read excerpts from her novel and speak with author Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, followed by an audience Q&A.

Jason Magabo Perez and Renaissance HS Poets
KUBO LB | Long Beach
Saturday, April 6, 2024 | 4–6pm
Bel Canto Books hosts a poetry reading & book release party with San Diego Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez and Renaissance High School poets.

Things To Do & Workshops

Solar Eclipse Live Broadcast
Griffith Observatory | Los Feliz
Monday, April 8, 2024 | 10am–1pm
Can’t make it to Texas or one of the other locations on the planet that will experience totality during the Solar Eclipse on Monday? Tune in to a live online broadcast of the event hosted by the Griffith Observatory team onsite in Texas.

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