We're proud to announce that we will be a part of the third part of Think Tank Gallery's YOU ARE HERE. series. "Legal Goods" combines international artist Phil America's ongoing series of community engagement with LA's most notorious neighborhood for multi-generational crime. While the project does not ignore the shadier aspects of the swap meet that houses it, every aspect of the show flips MacArthur Park/convict stereotypes on their heads, humanizing the artists that take part. Simply put, it is three things:
a monthlong pop-up in the most popular swap meet hood in SoCal (we've commissioned the work of convicts who learned artisanship with the limited means provided to them in prison, and will show other artists with a record),
the restoration of a neighborhood mural that was vandalized, and
a photo essay and Instagram project documenting an at-times neglected neighborhood from a humanist perspective.
Produced and featuring convicts, exclusively, in a neighborhood known for illegal activity and immigrants, this is Think Tank Gallery's first production after getting essentially kicked out of their space for their creative expression of the laws of space use in Los Angeles. The idea of what is "legal" and what is "good" is a continually more confusing one, and this project looks to explore that. In a society that will only become more obsessed with what is "legal" over the next four years, it may very well require breaking laws in order to lead a good life. All of the artists' involved with Legal Goods have extensive experience with the legal system, and a coherent awareness of what day-to-day items were created from the sweat of inmates and illegal peoples. This is an opportunity for these groups to share their creativity, by way of a now-transient gallery rooted in the illegal Street Art and Graffiti scenes that could no longer legally maintain their storied venue.
It's also Think Tank Gallery's second exhibit outside of that venue after co-directing the massive Night on Broadway festival for three years, and we expect thousands of guests. While there is no price of admission, we do ask each guest to bring at least a few dollars to purchase an item from one of the local vendors, our neighbors for the month.
APRIL 1 - APRIL 30, 2017
THURS - SUN
11AM - 7PM
