Words and Ideas

Ananya Dance Theatre

Dastak: I Wish You Me | Screening and Virtual Talk

View on demand
Talk: Wednesday, May 26, 6:00 pm (PT)

FREE

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the social uprising that followed, Minneapolis-based Ananya Dance Theatre set out to make Dastak: I Wish You Me. Named for the Farsi word dastak, meaning “knockings,” this performance-based film traces the knockings of global injustices on our hearts.

Learn more...

Jake Cohen in Conversation with Michael Twitty

Jew-ish: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch | Virtual Talk

Thursday, June 3, 6:00 pm (PT)

FREE online program

Described as the “creative, youthful future of Jewish food,” Jake Cohen introduces us to his hot new cookbook, Jew-ish, reinventing the food of his Ashkenazi heritage and drawing inspiration from his husband’s Persian-Iraqi traditions. In conversation with food writer and historian Michael Twitty (The Cooking Gene), Cohen reveals the stories behind his mouthwatering original recipes.

Learn more...

George J. Sánchez in Conversation with David Kipen

Boyle Heights: How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy | Virtual Talk

Tuesday, June 8, 7:00 pm (PT)

FREE online program

Dive into the radical history of a dynamic, multiracial American neighborhood—Boyle Heights! In this illuminating conversation and Q&A, hear from USC professor George J. Sánchez and Libros Schmibros founder David Kipen about Sánchez’s new book, Boyle Heights: How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy.

Learn more...

Out Loud

Screening and Virtual Talk

Viewing period: Friday, June 11–Monday, June 14
Talk: Tuesday, June 15, 7:00 pm (PT)

FREE

A feel-good film, Out Loud chronicles the triumphant first season of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles—the largest group of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals anywhere who sing together. These extraordinary singers don’t just make music, they’re also making history and sharing what it means to be trans in America.

Learn more...

A Conversation with Ai Weiwei

Virtual Talk

Now streaming on YouTube

In this rare speaking engagement, hear from celebrated visual artist, filmmaker, and political activist Ai Weiwei as he explores his vast body of work in the context of social justice. Imprisoned by Chinese authorities in 2011 without cause, Ai has dedicated his life and career to speaking out against human-rights violations around the globe. In this virtual conversation with Skirball curator Yael Lipschutz, Ai discusses how he views the interconnectivity of human suffering as stemming from cultural and economic systems that value profit rather than human life. Yet Ai Weiwei, in his own words, reminds us that although the world's problems are deep and complex, “we hope for the better.”

Learn more...

Ai Weiwei: Trace—Skirball Curator Talk

Virtual Talk

Now streaming on YouTube

FREE

Tune in to this virtual talk with Skirball curator Yael Lipschutz and learn about the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Trace, which features more than eighty portraits by the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. Made from thousands of plastic LEGO® bricks and originally hand-assembled by hundreds of volunteers, the portraits in Trace depict individuals who—like the artist himself—have been detained, exiled, or have sought political asylum because of their actions, beliefs, or affiliations. Lipschutz shares insights about the installation of the exhibition at the Skirball and discusses the creation and history of the project. Stream the presentation below. 

Learn more...