By The Arts Council for Long Beach has collaborated with partners throughout the City of Long Beach to bring “A LOT,” a citywide initiative aimed at expanding art appreciation and collaboration, to downtown Long Beach.
The National Endowment for the Arts kick-started the event with funding from a grant, according to the Arts Council website.
The event, which takes place in vacant lots throughout Downtown Long Beach, runs from the beginning of September through the end of October. Free art experiences will be offered, including crafts, dancing, collaborative projects and special guest appearances.
Local volunteer Vera Makianich said she wants to see the community come together rather than remain divided.
“The goal of the initiative is to provide events in areas previously underserving and bring the whole community together,” Vera said. “We offer different films, music by multiple artists, and workshops for those interested.”
The featured event last Friday was Guts and Bolts. The previously empty downtown lot, on the corner of Eighth Street and Long Beach Boulevard, had live music, art and a short film festival.
Toaster Music, an electronica duo which uses video projections and costumes while playing their music, set a good tone to begin the Friday night festivities. The musicians dressed in white HAZMAT suits with glowing gas masks while mixing music with projections of zombies and robots.
Visitors enjoyed an art show that took place down the street early in the evening before a zombie and robot short film festival began. Paintings, sculptures and poetry were displayed.
The paintings and sculptures kept with the theme of zombies and robots and anyone could sign up to recite poetry. All participants were talented in their own unique way.
As night fell, the film festival began. Of the short films, some were notable while some were not so extraordinary.
One, in particular, featured the trials, tribulations and a happy ending for a zombie bride and her groom. The film ended with the deadly couple walking into the distance. The video didn’t have dialogue but the music that accompanied the plot distinguished it from the rest. This was accompanied by poorly done films about zombie ducks, but all held their own creative merit.
“The films were zombilicious, but could’ve used more robots,” Georgia Dawson, a Cal State Long Beach student said. “I would go to more of these events and bring more people.”
