Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living

Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living is the sixth iteration of the Hammer’s biennial exhibition highlighting the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area. These practices embrace the value of craft, materiality, performance, and collectivity. The biennial situates art as an expanded field of culture that is entangled with everyday life; community networks; queer affect; and indigenous and diasporic histories.

Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living takes its title from a quote by the renowned Los Angeles artist Noah Purifoy, which is inscribed on a plaque at the Watts Towers: “One does not have to be a visual artist to utilize creative potential. Creativity can be an act of living, a way of life, and a formula for doing the right thing.” The history of Watts Towers—built by Simon Rodia over the course of 33 years and then preserved by the local South L.A. community, including Purifoy, to become a hub for arts education—embodies this ethos and offers a salient metaphor for this biennial.

Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living is organized by Diana Nawi and Pablo José Ramírez, with Ashton Cooper, Luce Curatorial Fellow.

Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living is presented by Bank of America.

The exhibition is made possible by the Mohn Family Foundation and members of the Hammer Circle. Major support is provided by Mark Sandelson, The Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, and The Offield Family Foundation. Generous support is provided by Bill Hair, Dori Peterman Mostov and Charles Mostov, Orange Barrel Media, The Peyton Family Foundation, and The Rhonda S. Zinner Foundation and Jonathan Segal. Additional support is provided by Kristen Boggs Jaeger and Jeff Jaeger, Sherry and Joel McKuin, Ruth and Todd Black, Lee Ramer, Pasadena Art Alliance, and Shahin Tabassi. Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Media sponsorship is provided by KCRW 89.9.