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If, like @lauramfried, you’re someone who engages with food as a medium for education just as much as convening, chances are your camera roll is also filled with wholesome adventures and community outreach.

Catch Laura live with @activeculturesla - alongside other brilliant minds at their first ever FOOD: A Convening, a new pillar of their artistic program. A multi-day gathering, celebration and platform for art and food.

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Active Cultures is a public arts nonprofit in Los Angeles that explores the intersection of art, food, and ecologies through artist-led projects and programs. Food is the essential lens through which we examine fundamental questions of power, cultural expression, history, equity, and climate futures, connecting us in ways both intimate and collective.

This September, for the first time, we bring together artists, cooks, farmers, writers, and organizers to engage with the politics of food.

The Convening gathers practitioners who work with food as both material and subject, asking how social practice can make these politics visible, and how cultural and ecological networks can become systems of support when infrastructures fail.

Across two days of performance, presentations, discussion, and shared meals in LA, we examine food as medium, system, archive, and territory.

FOOD: A Convening is open to all. September 25 & 26, 2026. Save the date!

To be the first to receive full program details, sign up for our newsletter at the link in bio.

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FOOD: A Convening is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, with the generous support of Sarah and Joel McHale, Kim and Keith Allen-Niesen, Betsy Greenberg and Steve NyBlom, and Joaquín Vargas M. In-kind support is provided by the Kimpton Everly Hotel, RG|MX, and William Grant & Sons.

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good times at the studio with @activeculturesla and @triple_canopy celebrating triple canopy’s holes performance marathon and publication. ❤️🔥🥂

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Thank you to everyone who showed up for Sunday’s Community Produce Drive at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market 💛

With the recent SNAP benefit cuts continuing to affect families across LA County, your purchases and donations went directly toward getting fresh produce into the hands of neighbors who need it most.

Together with Food Forward, Food Access LA, and artist Minh Phan, we collected and redistributed roughly ✨ 150 lbs ✨ of fresh fruits and vegetables to households experiencing food insecurity this holiday season.

Every bag of produce, every dollar donated, and every conversation at the booth made a difference. Thank you for helping to nourish our community.

If you missed us at the market but would like to contribute, see our link in bio to make a donation — your contribution will go directly to purchases of produce from local farmers to be distributed.

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"Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images" is now on view at Marciano Art Foundation! The exhibition brings together over 1100 photographs from the artist's 35mm slide archive, taken between 1955 and 1968 while she was an art teacher at Immaculate Heart College. Presented at MAF as a three-screen projection that pays homage to Corita's multi-screen slide show lectures, "Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images" is open now through January 24, 2026.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the exhibition's opening reception.

#CoritaKent #TheSorceryOfImages

📸: Installation images courtesy of Marciano Art Foundation. Photographer: Michael Anthony Hernandez. Image selects by Stefanie Keenan, Getty Images. 35mm slide images from Corita Slide Collection, Corita Art Center, corita.org.

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We’re still glowing from our Summer Solstice event held at the Audubon Center at Debs Park! As ever, we’re so thankful for all the artists and friends who made this program possible, and to our community for showing up.

The program featured a collaborative meal by chef Jihee Kim of Perilla LA and artist Eva Aguila; a new performance by Olive Kimoto, a self-guided plant walk design by Andrea Jimenez of Herb Club LA, and a compost offering by Cassandra Marketos, which transformed the organic remnants from our communal meal into a space for personal reflection and release.

A special thank you to our friends at Living Earth for providing an ambient backdrop of solar soundscapes throughout the evening.

@evaguila @cjihee_kim @_perilla.la @olivekimoto @herbclub_la @oof_dre @cassmarketos @livingearth.la @audubon_debspark

Support for Summer Solstice was provided by William Grant & Sons. Special thanks to The Audubon Center for their enduring partnership.

Summer Solstice, 2025, featuring Eva Aguila, Herb Club LA, Living Earth, Jihee Kim, Olive Kimoto, and Cassandra Marketos at the Audubon Center at Debs Park. Photos by John Jay (@johnjay.img ). Courtesy of the artists and Active Cultures.

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a whirlwind week in LA alongside the @activeculturesla team for our spring programs (and my very first round of AC programs!) 🌱
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colectivo amasijo: a circular offering — @colectivo_amasijo guided us through a circular performance which connected to the cycles of the milpa, a 5000-year old agricultural system where the three sisters of maize, beans, and squash, are often planted together in a way that benefits each plant. the circular process ended with an offering of foods foraged by the artists and tamales made by chef fátima júarez who sources heirloom maize for her restaurant komal in los angeles. this performance was the final project of ECOTONES, a collaboration between AC and @thebrick_la presented in conjunction with the LIVE ON EARTH ecofeminism + art symposium at @artcenteredu
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fungal teachings w yasmine ostendorf-rodríguez — @myceliumasmethodology led us through a series of interactive activities prompted by her ‘Let’s Become Fungal! Oracle Cards’ to delve into the world of fungi and examine mycelium as a model for collaboration. each card offered insights, questions, meditations and exercises that offered a playful approach to exploring profound questions and lessons for social and environmental justice. AC will be continue to collaborate on a long-term residency with yasmine through a series of workshops, gatherings, and resources!
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supper club: fátima júarez x colectivo amasijo — the week ended with a very special collaborative dinner at @komal.molino which focused on milpa ingredients prepared in a variety of ways! komal at mercado la paloma represents a shift in taco cultures by highlighting the value of traditional methods and ethically sourced heirloom corn from oaxaca for their menu offering. the team at komal are dedicated to reinvesting in mexico’s indigenous farming communities and preserving the art of nixtamalization.
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it was lovely to be able to work IRL with such wonderful and thoughtful artists + chefs after months of working online! TY so much to the entire @activeculturesla team and community for all your hospitality, car rides, shared meals and for making me feel so very welcome and at home❣️

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Crear relaciones horizontales con el vecino incómodo. Gracias a tantos hermosos proyectos que nos regalaron enseñanzas y mucha inspiración para seguir imaginando nuevos mundos @activeculturesla @lauramfried @thebrick_la @metabolicstudio @arlingtonpasadena @komal.molino

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At LagoAlgo during Mexico City Art Week, we gathered with chefs and organizers Saqib Keval and Norma Listman of @masalaymaiz, in conversation with curator Paola Santos Coy, to explore the deep intersections of migration, colonization, and culinary traditions—and how their work actively challenges white supremacy, extractive food systems, and labor inequities.

Their approach to food is deeply political, shaped by Norma’s early practice as an artist and cook in the Bay Area’s art community—a history in which her role is often overlooked—and Saqib’s work with People’s Kitchen Collective, which drew from the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program. Across their organizing, research, and restaurant practice, they insist on fair labor, collective care, and the necessity of rethinking dominant food narratives.

The room was filled with our friends, partners, and artists, so many of whom are deeply committed to the impactful work at the confluence of art, food, and ecological practice. Deep thanks to our wonderful partners at @lago_algo for making this program possible, and to all who joined us in considering these urgent questions.

Images:
3. The MSG Club with Masala y Maiz and featuring Tommie Smith, a project by Glenn Kaino and Niki Nakayama, produced by Active Cultures, Mexico City, 2018. Photo by Ana Lorenzana.

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Join us on the rooftop of ArtCenter’s South Campus for a gathering with colectivo amasijo, to connect with the cycles of the Milpa, the three sisters, and the equinox. Through this action, the Mexico City-based collective seeks to recreate moments when land was common, and paths to biodiversity were cultivated for the milpa to flourish.

colectivo amasijo guides us through an intimate performance, where we will touch, gather, and bind ingredients foraged from the Milpa and the hills of Pasadena. The performance will culminate in an offering of endemic foods harvested by the artists during their agricultural journey in the Yucatán and La Milpa, La Escuela (the site of their field work), as well as a meal by Fatima Juarez of Komal here in Los Angeles.

AC is pleased to present this keynote performance in conjunction with the The Brick’s Live on Earth! a Planetary Symposium.

Link in bio to RSVP!

Images:
Corn tamales workshop by Doña Mercedes, Felipe Luna, rainy season 2024, Milpa Alta, Mexico.
The work cycle of the milpa, la milpa, la escuela.
Separation of corn husks for tamales, Felipe Luna, end of the rainy season 2024, Milpa Alta, Mexico.
All courtesy of colectivo amasijo.

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Ami Lien and Enzo Camacho are in Los Angeles! Join us when their residency concludes for a weekend of free public programs at 2220 Arts + Archives on Nov 9 + 10. Come for film, talks, and a community celebration headlined by The Bootleg Orchestra, with treats from a community of friends in the LA Philippine food world.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, we are thrilled to present the LA premiere of Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien's newest film, Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) (2023).

The film will be followed by a conversation between Enzo, Ami and Xenia Tupas, a movement elder who grew up on Negros Island, and whose personal history is intimately woven with the story in the film.

Stay through the evening for Dapat Bawiin (We Shall Reclaim), a community celebration featuring a performance by Bootleg Orchestra, cash bar, more music and incredible food from a cohort of chefs.

Events are free and all are welcome!

🌱 5 PM: Screening of Ami Lien & Enzo Camacho: Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) (2023)
🌱 6 PM: Talk with the artists and Xenia Tupas
🌱 7–10 PM: Dapat Bawiin, a Community Celebration featuring Bootleg Orchestra

Link in bio to RSVP!

@2220arts @t_j_shin @gabrielalosangeles @carolannemcchrystal @bootlegorchestra @riadollybarbosa #enzocamachoamilien

Images: Enzo Camacho & Ami Lien, Langit Lupa (2023), film still, courtesy of the artists. Portrait of Ami Lien and Enzo Camacho, photo by Diana Pfammatter. The Bootleg Orchestra, courtesy of the artists. Enzo Camacho & Ami Lien, Langit Lupa (2023).

Enzo Camacho & Ami Lien: Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov. Langit Lupa’s public programming is also made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

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Have you been to @activeculturesla secret supper yet? This one was very special and meaningful because I got to host it in my home with one of the most creative people in food @angela.dimayuga ! As an AC board member I got to speak on why this community of artists and supporters of art and culinary innovation means so much to have in LA. @lauramfried thank you for the vision that is AC 💜 If you want to come to a secret supper DM @activeculturesla

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