Category: Arts & Events

Mar Vista librarians join forces to publish book By Kamala Kirk For the past five years, Mar Vista librarian Oleg Kagan had been compiling a collection of stories gathered from library workers, volunteers and patrons that focused on the positive impact of libraries. Together with fellow librarian and HINCHAS Press owner Yago Cura and illustrator Autumn Anglin, Kagan published “Inspiring Library Stories: Tales of Kindness, Connection, and Community Impact” in September 2020. “Library people do amazing work, but are often too shy or just too busy to share it,” Kagan said. “Essentially, I asked, encouraged, nagged, cajoled and pulled...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Courtney Henggeler was like many teenage girls, covering her walls with posters of heartthrobs like Ralph Macchio and, later, New Kids on the Block. Now she finds it surreal to play Amanda LaRusso, the wife of Macchio’s character, on the hit Netflix show “Cobra Kai.” “‘The Karate Kid’ was very big in my neighborhood,” she recalled. “There were a lot of little boys in the neighborhood who were into karate. I said, ‘I’m into karate, too.’ I didn’t know anything about it, actually. But I had ‘Karate Kid’ memorabilia.” “Cobra Kai” takes place more than 30...

Michael Grecco has done it all as a photographer By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Michael Grecco walked into his first Boston punk club when he was 18. Immediately, he felt like he was home. “I found I suddenly joined a club where everybody belonged,” he shared. “I could finally be myself, or at least find out who I really was.” Grecco writes this in his new book, “Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978-1991” (Abrams Books). The coffee-table book features 162 black-and-white and color photographs of punk and post-punk artists, with an introduction by veteran music journalist...

The program funds artistic works and creative projects in Santa Monica By Bridgette M. Redman Sometimes to go forward it can be inspirational to look back. It’s what the City of Santa Monica is doing to provide work for artists hard hit by the pandemic. The Cultural Affairs section of the Economic Recovery Task Force is modeling a new program, the Art of Recovery, on the Federal Art Project—a part of the Works Progress Administration, a program that gave work to artists from 1935 to 1943. This New Deal-like program will fund artistic works and creative projects all around...

Ring in the new year with fun and festive virtual celebrations By Holly Jenvey New Year’s celebrations may look different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun and enjoy various festivities. Check out these virtual events that offer a safer way to ring in the new year! Santa Monica Ferris Wheel Live, 11:30 p.m. to midnight Instead of coming down to the Santa Monica Pier to participate in its special countdown programming, you can stream it online starting at 11:30 p.m. on December 31. The Ferris wheel will welcome 2021 with 174,000 LED lights and...