For Immediate Release

“We are Talking Pyramids,” a Public Art Project of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), to Open on August 12 at the Levitt Pavilion, MacArthur Park

Support for the Project Provided by a Grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

LOS ANGELES (July, 2012) – On Sunday, August 12, from 1-5 pm, students and alumni of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) will participate in the opening of “We are Talking Pyramids,” the culmination of a five-month long public art project led by Los Angeles artists Pearl C. Hsiung and Anna Sew Hoy. The installation will include sculptural, video and musical performance artworks created by the HOLA students. During the event the public will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, including participatory art making, interacting with sound art and exploring performance videos and sculptural installations. The event is being held in conjunction with the LevittLA 2012 50 Free Summer Concerts and will take place on the Levitt Pavilion stage and various sites throughout MacArthur Park.

Inspiration for ”We are Talking Pyramids” has been drawn from the existing public sculptures and murals in MacArthur Park, including Judy Simonian’s “Talking Pyramids” and Dagoberto Reyes’ “Why We Immigrate.” The project has given the young artists the opportunity to explore the community and create conversations that involve, activate and inspire the local MacArthur Park community. Noted local artists have leant their support to the project, including OJO, Jade Gordon of My Barbarian, Eve Fowler and Mariah Garnett. To learn more about the project, please visit HOLA’s Public Art Project Blog at: http://holapublicartproject.tumblr.com/.

“We are Talking Pyramids” is the first in a series of three public art projects made possible through an Artistic Innovation and Collaboration Grant (AIC) from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. The AIC grant program supports fearless and innovative collaborations in the spirit of Robert Rauschenberg and is the first national competitive grant program for the Foundation. HOLA is one of only nine organizations nationwide to receive a grant in the inaugural grant cycle.

For more than two decades, HOLA has provided thousands of underserved and at-risk youth with exceptional free after-school programs in academics, arts and athletics, including a new world-class youth orchestra program, visual arts program, college preparation courses and athletic leagues. HOLA provides elementary, middle and high school programming for a growing population of children who are in urgent need of supplemental services. Every day, HOLA empowers inner city youth to advance their lives and revitalize their communities through enrichment, personal development and leadership programs.

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation was formed by Robert Rauschenberg in 1990 to promote awareness of the causes and groups close to his heart. Activities of the Foundation include managing the artwork, exhibition and scholarship of Robert Rauschenberg as well as the growth of the philanthropy programs which intersect art and issues central to Robert Rauschenberg’s concerns during his lifetime. The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s programs now include the new grant program for artistic innovation and collaboration and direct assistance for the advancement of art. The Foundation’s Vision, Mission and Strategy are coordinated to promote the founder’s values and ensure that all endeavors express the essence of Robert Rauschenberg’s philosophy, www.rauschenbergfoundation.org.

About the ArtistsPearl C. Hsiung received her BA at the University of California, Los Angeles and her MFA at Goldsmiths College, London. She has had solo exhibitions at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, Max Wigram Gallery, London and Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles, and featured in group exhibitions in the US, UK, France, Germany, Mexico and South Korea. Pearl is currently one of 60 artists being featured in the Hammer Museum’s first Los Angeles biennial Made in L.A. 2012.

Anna Sew Hoy earned her BFA at The School of Visual Arts and her MFA from BardCollege. Her work has been included in museum exhibitions such as the solo exhibition “Nothing All Day,” at the San Jose Museum of Art; the California Biennial 2008, at the Orange County Museum; "Now You See It," at the Aspen Art Museum; "Eden's Edge," at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and "One Way or Another," at the Asia Society in New York. She has had solo exhibitions at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co., NYC, Renwick Gallery, NYC, LA><Art, Los Angeles and an upcoming exhibition at Various Small Fires, Los Angeles. Her work is in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She was awarded a United States Artists Broad Fellowship in 2006.

Media contact: Lee Schube, HOLA’s Communications Director, at (818) 406-9127 or lschube@heartofla.org.

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presents

AUGUST 12, 2012

AN AFTERNOON OF ART,MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES

at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park2230 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057

SUNDAY 1 - 5 PMBY HOLA STUDENTS AND LOCAL ARTISTS

www.holapublicartproject.tumblr.com