New Art Book COLA 20 Celebrates Twenty Years of Artistic Achievement

The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs celebrates the release of its gorgeous new hardbound art book, COLA 20, this Saturday night (August 19) with the help of Daedelus and friends at LA's downtown Grand Performances. The one-night-only community event is part of Grand Performances' free outdoor summer concert series on the California Plaza and will feature music by Deejay Daedelus and guests Sara Gazarek, Baths, Natasha Agrama, Mousey McGlynn, MariGo and more, reinventing electronic music live. But the real star of the show is LA's flourishing art scene, captured in the pages of COLA 20.

For the past twenty years, COLA - short for City of Los Angeles - has awarded major grants to many of LA's visual, performing, and literary artists, not only as as a way to nurture their talent but to provide an avenue for the public to discover their work as well. Art, in all forms, has been an important part of the city's history and this rich artistic heritage is celebrated in the book, which highlights 271 artists, all of whom have benefitted from COLA's Individual Artist Fellowship Program.

You've probably seen their work as well. Past Performing Artist Fellows include Rachel Rosenthal, creator of the TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theatre Ensemble; innovative choreographer Heidi Duckler; performance artist and Kaufman professor Dan Froot; writer and actor Jude Narita, master of the one-woman-play art form; Santa Monica native and theatre artist Ken Roht, an actor, director, and choreographer whose latest project happens to be The Merry Wives of Windsor at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; shadow theater artist and general manager of Bali & Beyond, Maria Bodmann; experimental composer Arthur Jarvinen; and legendary jazz violinist and composer Michael White, who passed away just last December.

"Through its thought-provoking content," say DCA General Manager Danielle Brazell, "COLA 20 illustrates the continued vitality of DCA's COLA Individual Artist Fellowships to highlight master artistry and foster the bold creative spirit of Los Angeles, a city where complexity and diversity intertwine."

Two COLA grants are made available each year through the program to honor artists who live and/or work in Los Angeles. The exhibitions and performances that result present new and exciting perspectives and are highly anticipated by the public.

In addition to featuring examples of the artists' work, the special commemorative book includes critical essays about the initiative and other factors of historical relevance. It pays tribute to COLA fellows who have passed away with poetry written by COLA literary fellows, and it features excerpts from ten DCA-sponsored salon conversations between COLA Fellows and respected members of the literary, performing, and visual-design communities.

COLA 20 was conceived by DCA Grants Administration Division Director, Joe Smoke, and edited by Will Caperton y Montoya, DCA's Director of Marketing and Development. It was designed by Michael Worthington of Counterspace, Los Angeles, a previous COLA Design Fellow. Essay contributors included Joe Smoke, who outlined the history and significance of the COLA program; Will Caperton y Montoya, who described the marketing of the artists, exhibitions, and performances as DCA's creative director and publications producer over the last 15 years; additional members of DCA's senior team and staff; and past COLA exhibition curators who were also the directors of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.

To join the COLA 20 celebration:
Grand Performances: DJ Daedelus and Friends
Saturday, August 19, 2017 (8pm)
350 South Grand Avenue
Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90071
Free music performance with dancing, open to the public
Parking: $8 (cash only) entrance at 351 South Olive Street, LA, CA 90013
For more info, visit GrandPerformances.org/cola20.
For more about the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, visit www.culturela.org

COLA 20 will be available for perusal at libraries, colleges and universities, museums, cultural organizations and other nonprofit organizations throughout the world in the coming weeks.