This weekend, the historic Battery Leary-Merriam landmark in Los Angeles will be taken over by the CalArtian-founded Other Places art fair (OPaf) 2021, a two-day outdoor showcase of experimental contemporary art venues and organizations from Los Angeles and beyond.
OPaf was founded in 2018 by artist K Knittel (Art MFA 10), who intended to create an art fair that operated in a fluid fashion “outside the traditional gallery art systems.” The alternative art fair features participants who present site-specific booths that are unconventional and fluid in definition.
Among this year’s approximately 50 participants are students from the 2022 and 2021 MFA cohorts from the School of Art:
- Art MFA 22: Razan AlSarraf, Kristofor Giordano, Zoë Sturges, Casey Poehlein, Herry Kim, Matthew Destefano, Amber Denker, Rodrigo Arruda, Mahedi Anjuman, Jennie Park (Art, Creative Writing MFA 22)
- Art MFA 21: Ruoyi Shi and Fía Benitez
Several of the aforementioned artists participated in last year’s virtual edition of OPaf with a virtual reality gallery titled FOREVER 21. Watch last year’s FOREVER21 booth tour on Vimeo.
Returning to OPaf is the Operational Statements collective, comprised of CalArtians Luka Fisher (Art MFA 18), Sydney Mills (Art MFA 18), Don Tinling (Art MFA 18), and Elizabeth Preger (Art MFA 18). Also in attendance is MOTOR Los Angeles, with which CalArtians Steven Chen (Art BFA 20), Michelle Sauer (Art MFA 20), and Woohee Cho (Art MFA 20) will present their works.
Fair admission is a suggested donation of $5, and is free to students.
