Bring LA’s Cultural Events Into Your Life in 2023

Usually, we run a year-in-review in the first edition of the year. But this time around we thought of running a list of what to look forward to in the new year. As a result, the top of our list includes audiovisual, immersive experiences of art, culture and history that are carving a niche into our encounters with cultural-entertainment as technology begins to erase the distance between consumers and the experience. The Beyond King Tut Immersive Experience which began in October 2022 and was supposed to continue to Thanksgiving weekend, instead extended its dates through the end of February. 

Without displaying any physical artifacts, Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience exhibition uses modern technology to tell an ancient story and takes guests on a trip into the Egyptian afterlife.

The creative producer of the exhibition, Mark Lach, called the immersive experience “a celebration and a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.” The projection-driven project is on display now through Feb. 26, at the Magic Box in Los Angeles.

“The artifacts have traveled the world, but the actual artifacts have gone back to Egypt,”  Lach explained while sitting outside the exhibition space last week. “So without the artifacts, how do we bring it to life? Well, through the archives of National Geographic, their photos, their film library, their research, we put together something spectacular in a projection form.”

The actual relics of the boy-Pharaoh, Tutankamun were last exhibited in Los Angeles in 1962, 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2018 — five times in the 100 years since the relics were discovered. 

Immersive experiences highlight an all encompassing stimuli of color washed images and inspiring soundtracks, sometimes from local musicians, that while modern, provide a way to connect with the subject you are seeing. Envision history as it moves before you, while grasping places, times and events of each subject.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (last entry 3 p.m.) Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday 

10 a.m. to 8 p.m., (last entry 7 p.m.) Friday and Saturday, Now Until Feb. 26

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Immersive-King-Tut  

 Immersive experiences aren’t the only cultural events to look forward to in 2023. Check out the following:

WINTER

Speculative Poetry Reading and Discussion with Poets of the SFPA, Collage

Science fiction is part of our world now, in literature, media, games and every form of narrative. It has a long history in poetry too, and some accomplished practitioners of the form will read and discuss their work at Collage. All are members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, an international organization that celebrates the form.

Time: 2 p.m., Jan. 15

Details: https://tinyurl.com/speculative-poetry 

 

Códice Maya de México, The Getty Center

Around 900 years ago, a Maya scribe made the Códice Maya de México, a sacred book that tracked and predicted movements of the planet Venus. Today it is the oldest book of the Americas, one of only four surviving Maya manuscripts that predate the arrival of Europeans. A remarkable testament to the complexity of Indigenous astronomy, the Codice is on display in the U.S. for the first time in 50 years.

Time: Now to Jan.15 

Details: https://culturela.org/event/codice-maya-de-mexico/2022-12-30/ 

Beastie Boys Exhibit at Beyond the Streets

Hey ladies! This new Beastie Boys exhibit is callin’ out to ya — and all Angelenos who love the iconic New York trio. Beyond the Streets’ flagship gallery on La Brea will host this exhibition with personal items, artifacts and ephemera (most of which has previously never been on public view) from Mike D, Ad-Rock and the late MCA. Admission is free, but you’ll need a timed ticket to visit — so don’t sabotage your chance to see it.

Time: Now to Jan. 23 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/beastie-boys-streets 

Judith F. Baca: The World Wall, The Museum of Contemporary Art

The Chicana muralist and Great Wall of Los Angeles artist brings her collaborative mural to the Geffen. A two-and-a-half-decade-long project, The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear features nine 10-by-30-foot panels that Baca worked on with collaborators as they toured the globe, displayed here in a cathedral-like installation.

Time: Now to Feb. 19 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/judith-baca-world-wall 

Frieze Los Angeles

Taking place for the first time at Santa Monica Airport, the fair expands to feature more than 120 galleries, including new specialists in 20th-century art, alongside restaurants and Frieze projects spread across the multiple sites.

Time: Feb. 16 to Feb. 19 

Details: https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-los-angeles 

SPRING

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

This lively Cirque production loosely follows life after the death of a clown. After a brief run at the Forum during a 2019 tour, the spectacle returns to LA for a significantly longer stint at the Microsoft Theater. Despite the name, expect Corteo — Italian for procession — to be anything but funerary, with swinging chandeliers and bouncing beds among its acts.

Time: March 23 to April 30

Details: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo 

Depeche Mode at Kia Forum, Inglewood

The synth-pop pioneers return to LA for one of its first live shows in five years — and its first tour following the death of founding keyboard player Andy Fletcher. Expect darkly melodramatic and sleazy, stadium-scaled electro rock from Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, offset by the odd tender pop ballad, as only DM can pull off.

Time: 7:30 p.m., March 28

Details: https://www.depechemode.com 

William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows At The Broad

See charcoal drawings, animated films, sculptures and theater models from the South African artist during this exhibition about the Broad, which focuses on Kentridge’s paradoxes of light and shadow.

Time: Now to April 9 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/kentridge-praise-of-shadows 

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971

This essential and energetic display at the Academy Museum spotlights an entire century of often-overlooked filmmaking and shows how Black artists have been a vital part of cinema since its inception.

Time: Now to April 9 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/mwfrp23n 

John Waters Returns to The Luckman

A celebrated filmmaker, director, and writer, John Waters has built a reputation for shocking his audiences. Many of the cult legend’s films satirize suburban America as well as many social conventions and attitudes. He started out making short experimental films in the 1960s, often using friends as actors and holding renegade, underground showings in offbeat locales.

Time: 6 p.m., April 23

Details: https://tinyurl.com/john-waters

Patrick Landeza & Sons at The Grand Annex

Enjoy two-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano winner (Hawaiian Grammy) and slack key guitarist featuring slide guitar phenom, Justin Firmeza. Plus take part in a “Slide Guitar: Myths & Truths in Music” workshop at 7 p.m.

Time: 8:30 p.m., May 20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/patrick-landeza

Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody

The specially ticketed Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody will explore the late New York artist’s artistic practices as well as his activism, including his work centered on nuclear disarmament, anti-Apartheid movements and the HIV/AIDS crisis. The Broad will examine this body of work in a museum setting with this display of more than 120 artworks and archival materials. 

Time: May 27 to Oct. 8 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/art-for-everybody

SUMMER

Janet Jackson: Together Again

Janet Jackson is back. The celebrated music icon behind All for You, Rhythm Nation, Nasty, That’s the Way Love Goes, and so many more headlines opening night at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, the Grammy Award®-winning rapper Ludacris kicks off a night not to be missed.

Time: 8 p.m., June 10 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Janet-Jackson-together 

AUTUMN

Survey DTLA Architecture

Take a fuel-efficient walking tour and cherish Los Angeles’ urban architectural heritage. On Saturdays, the Los Angeles Conservancy walking tours take in the city’s top sights and most beautiful buildings, including downtown’s historic theaters and art deco buildings as well as the modern skyline. Be sure to reserve a place well ahead of time.

Time: Various, from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m., Saturdays

Details: www.laconservancy.org/tours