by Isabel Klein | Jul 26, 2021 | Feature, General, News
Brentwood, CA. The
Getty Center in Brentwood reopened to the public in May after a 14-month closure due to COVID-19. “We are delighted to welcome visitors back to the iconic Getty Center, one of Los Angeles’ most visited cultural destinations,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Admission is free, but visitors need to register for a date and time.
Visitors and staff will be required to wear face coverings and maintain social distance, and all visitors will have their temperatures checked upon arrival. Anyone displaying symptoms such as coughing, sneezing or fever will be denied admittance.
According to Getty officials, in addition to “Lucretia,” other new exhibitions on display include “Photo Flux: Unshuttering LA”; “Power, Justice and Tyranny in the Middle Ages”; “Artist as Collectors”; and “Silk & Swan Feathers: A Luxurious 18th-Century Armchair.”
The museum, perched high above the 405 Freeway in West Los Angeles, has been closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Admission to the Getty Center is free, but a limited number of reservations will be available for each day and must be made in advance. Much of the museum, grounds, store and some food service options will be open, but the Getty Library will remain closed, along with the Family Room and galleries that are too small to accommodate social distancing.
From Getty Center:
There are some new rules for visitors:
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Face Masks Required Indoors
All visitors over the age of two must wear a face mask over nose and mouth when inside buildings, including parking structures, and when boarding and riding the Getty Center tram.
Visitors may remove their masks when outdoors.
Please note that the following are not permitted to be worn instead of a face mask: gaiters, bandanas, scarves, ski masks, balaclavas, or masks with an exhalation valve. Face shields are also not allowed instead of a mask, but may be worn over one.
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Cleaning
High-touch surfaces such as door handles and handrails are being cleaned regularly. So are tables, counters, and chairs in the cafes. Restrooms are being cleaned four times a day. The Center Tram is being cleaned before opening, hourly during operating hours, and after closing.
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Hand Sanitizer
Find hand sanitizer near doors and other high-touch areas.
Admission and Reservations
Admission is free, and requires a timed-entry reservation. Each person in your party over the age of 2 needs a reservation.
New entry times are released daily.
If you can’t visit at the time you reserved, please cancel your reservation so we can release the time for others. To cancel, email [email protected] or call (310) 440-7300.
Parking
Parking is $20 per car or motorcycle.
If possible, please pay for parking when you reserve a time to visit. See Villa Museum parking information and Center parking information for payment options. (Prepaid parking is not refundable.)
by Cameron Jackson | Jul 13, 2021 | General, News
Los Angeles, CA. Project Ropa continues to address the growing number of homeless people. Its mission is to restore dignity to those experiencing homelessness and empower them through providing clean clothes, hygiene kits, and employment opportunities. The non-profit offers a mobile hygiene service, a closet on wheels, clean clothes to avoid the spread of disease, and help people get jobs. Project Ropa hires individuals transitioning out of homelessness to help break the cycle of homelessness. The organization also helps reduce textile waste through its clothing recycling program and environmentally conscious management.
People line up for Project Ropa’s mobile hygiene service at St. Francis Center.
A report by the Economic Roundtable estimates that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles will increase by 86% over the next two years.To combat this, Project Ropa hopes to create new site locations in low-income areas where most people are in danger of becoming homeless. However, as places reopen and more people return to work, Project Ropa has experienced a decline in volunteers and donations.
When COVID-19 first hit, Project Ropa was forced to shut down for six weeks. During this time administrators reassessed how to do business and best serve people with the new safety restrictions put in place. As public facilities shut down, many homeless individuals lost access to showers, meal stations, and clean drinking water. Hygiene, especially given the pandemic, is very important to avoid the spread of disease. To address these health issues, Project Ropa upgraded its hygiene kits to include sanitizer and masks, and they partnered with other nonprofits to offer showers and meal services.
Project Ropa continues its services under COVID restrictions, making sure everyone stays 6 feet apart.
As safety restrictions limit the amount of people Project Ropa can service at once, it has allowed them to offer an even more personalized experience to people. Before the pandemic, Project Ropa emphasized spending time with each person and getting to know them, but the restrictions have allowed staff and volunteers to really interact and bond with those they are helping.
Volunteers distribute clothes and shoes on Veterans Row.
Project Ropa was founded in 2016 to address the challenges that homeless people face in obtaining and keeping clean clothes.
Project Ropa is made possible through volunteers and generous donations. Visit their website to find out how to help Project Ropa in their mission to help the homeless get back on their feet!
From Project Ropa:
Project Ropa is the only nonprofit organization of its kind in Los Angeles: our mission is to restore dignity and empower the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles by providing clean clothes, hygiene essentials, and employment opportunities while reducing textile waste and minimizing our carbon footprint. Our retrofitted van, functioning as a mobile walk-in closet, carries hope as well as a full selection of clothes, shoes, accessories and hygiene products. To further our mission and help break the cycle of homelessness, we provide transitional job opportunities to people with barriers to employment, including homeless and previously incarcerated individuals.
by Annie Melnick | Jun 18, 2021 | Feature, General, Lifestyle, News, The Arts
Los Angeles, CA. The LA Opera announced its pandemic-related changes in the fall of 2020; this included postponing and canceling productions taking place during the 2020/21 season. But starting this month, the company hosted an audience for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. Oedipus Rex, based on the ancient Greek tragedy with the same name, premiered on June 6th at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Audience members had to prove they were vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19 to attend in person. And for those who could not make it, the LA Opera released an online version on June 17th. The show has a running time of 50 minutes, with no intermission.
The LA Opera took safety precautions by strictly following the LA County Department of Public Health’s guidelines. In March 2021, the Music Center (where the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located) was the first performing arts center to receive a UL “healthy building” verification for its venues’ air quality.
June 6th performance of “Oedipus Rex.” Photo by Lawrence K. Ho.
Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges performs the role of Jocasta.
From the LA Opera:
Stravinsky based Oedipus Rex on the ancient Greek tragedy of the same name by Sophocles—yes, the one where Oedipus unknowingly kills his own father and marries his mother. The 1927 opera is a highly stylized, ritualistic work; in fact, the composer specifically requested that it be staged with minimal movement (which works well with COVID restrictions). A narrator describes the action throughout the course of the opera. Stravinsky set his work in Latin but specified that the narration is to be spoken in the language of the audience. The performance will feature incredibly imaginative projected animations created by Manual Cinema, an Emmy Award-winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company.
Music Director James Conlon conducts a stellar cast led by tenor Russell Thomas, LA Opera’s Artist in Residence, as Oedipus, the doomed king. Just announced: Legendary actor Stephen Fry will make his LA Opera debut (via audio recording) as the Narrator in this equally legendary tale.
The recording and filming process for the “Oedipus Rex” online stream. Photo by Lawrence K. Ho.
To learn more about the LA Opera, visit laopera.org/about-us. And for those interested in supporting this organization, visit laopera.org/support-us.
