TARFEST 2019

LAUNCH LA

presents

TARFEST 2019

17th ANNUAL TARFEST MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL CELEBRATES LA CULTURE
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE AT LA BREA TAR PITS
 

Thousands of Angelenos Gather For KCRW DJs, Art Installations, Live Painting

& Family Fun In FREE One-Day-Only Music Festival

TARFEST 2019

September 14, 2019 | 12pm - 7pm

La Brea Tar Pits
5801 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036

LAUNCH LA, with tremendous support from its sponsors and the local arts and business community, is proud to present the 17th annual TARFEST music and art festival, returning to the La Brea Tar Pits, a member of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC), on Saturday, September 14th, 2019, from 12pm to 7pm. The free, one-day-only festival is open to all ages. TARFEST celebrates local artists, musicians and culture with DJ performances throughout the day, live painting by local legends, art installations curated from the world-class LA art community, a Lagunitas Biergarten & Cocktail Lounge, as well as the best food trucks in Los Angeles. TARFEST is produced by the non-profit arts organization LAUNCH LA. 

“TARFEST has been part of the LA community for over seventeen years, remaining as an annual event through massive changes that have transformed the city,” says LAUNCH LA founder James Panozzo. “This festival is about giving back to our community, by preserving what’s best about the art and music of LA, while providing fuel for the amazing new cultural developments happening here.” 

Live music will be provided by KCRW’s own Raul Campos, Jeremy Sole and Valida opening the festivities at noon.

Throughout the day, attendees can immerse themselves in large-scale live painting sessions by Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez (curated by KP Projects Gallery), and Mr. B Baby (curated by Branded Arts), who was recently part of the Maya Angelou Mural Festival. All live art will be sponsored by Blick Art Materials. 

TARFEST 2019’s expanded Installation Art program features:

Second Home Serpentine Pavilion by SelgasCano at La Brea Tar Pits

Curated by Second Home and the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC)

SelgasCano’s now-iconic architectural creation can be experienced for free by all attending TARFEST 2019. Each of the rainbow tunnels takes you on different journey. There are multiple ways to wander, and many entrances and exits, but they all emanate from a center area where you'll be immersed in stained glass light. The pavilion experience shifts from day to night—natural light seeps through translucent walls by day, and glowing lights illuminate its colors and surfaces once the sun goes down. 

“What Wood You Build” by Susan Feldman

Curated by Hijinx Arts

In this larger-than-life installation, Feldman brings together her found wood sculptures to form an immersive structural landscape, creating a community of architectural fantasy buildings.

“Ox” by Cynthia Minet

Curated by Holly Jerger of Craft Contemporary

In her cutting-edge, wildly popular Ox sculpture series, Minet creates life-size sculptures of oxen from recycled materials, light emitting from their partially translucent bodies. 

Site-Specific Works by Ramiro Gomez

Curated by Jennifer Cernada of LACMA

Gomez’s work highlights the “invisible” labor forces that typically maintain public and private spaces of leisure. Subverting the societal tendency to become oblivious to the presence of custodial, construction, and domestic workers, Gomez’s work elevates and centralizes those individuals. Using cardboard as his primary support, he often paints life-size cut-outs of landscapers or nannies and installs them “guerilla-style” in parks, the lawns of luxurious homes, or at the entrance to the Beverly Hills Hotel. For his submission to TARFEST, the artist is commenting on the immigration crisis and the countless instances of family separation that are presently taking place at our national border. 

Catering to all ages, TARFEST offers free kids art-making and cultural activities with Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, Fusion Academy, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Museum, The Petersen Automotive Museum and METRO.  Intergenerational hip-hop and breakdancing collective Justice by Uniting in Creative Energy (JUiCE), based out of the MacArthur Park Recreation Center in the Rampart District of Los Angeles will conduct art and dance workshops as well.  Face painters, balloon artists and other surprises complete the celebration.

The 21+ crowd can enjoy the Lagunitas Biergarten & Cocktail Lounge featuring selections from Lagunitas Brewing Company and 6th & La Brea Brewery , a specialty cocktail from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Ryder Estate Wines. A selection of Los Angeles’ hottest gourmet food trucks will also be on-site, including Baby’s Badass Burgers, Rice Balls of Fire, The Deli Doctor,  White Rabbit Truck and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

TARFEST 2019 is made possible in part by support from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts/Art Works and The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles.  Some of this year’s sponsors include Olympia Medical Center, Lagunitas Brewery, The Original Farmer’s Market, The Grove, The Beverly Connection, Los Angeles City Councilmembers David Ryu and Paul Koretz, METRO, Builders of the Purple Line Subway, Arclight Cinemas, the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, and many other businesses and individuals who believe in advancing creativity and free, innovative arts programming in Los Angeles. A special thanks for the support and participation of cultural partners LACMA and the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC). Please visit www.launchla.org and www.tarfest.com for more information.