Name: Mile 17: Sleepy Lagoon
Start: 2025-05-10T16:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-05-10T19:00:00-07:00
Location: Riverfront Park

Mile 17: Sleepy Lagoon

Transforming 51 miles of the LA River/ Paayme Paxaayt with ART, NATURE and COMMUNITY.Each month we visit new sites along the River with artists, Indigenous Culture Bearers and local experts: Look for surprises around the bend!In 2023, our first year of River Sessions, we visited sites along the River in the spirit of Hyonaayn’ar -- a Tongva word that means both teacher and student. We listened to and learned creative tactics from many artists and indigenous cultural practitioners who work regeneratively with their communities and the River. What emerged is that the River is trying to heal herself --and our communities need healing too.Understanding and expressing emotions is a pathway to healing. Art can help us deepen our understanding of the emotional impact that the channelized River has upon us. Towards the goal of healing ourselves and the River, we will discover this year how art can connect us to our feelings. We will take time on our River Sessions for creative field research guied by poets, artists, and indigenous cultural practioners.

LA River Arts

Guided creative field research -- Exploring art, culture, and place along the LA River/Paayme Paxaayt.

Riverfront Park

River Sessions

River Sessions are guided by Indigenous Culture Bearers, artists, creative ecologists, historians, and curators. Each session begins at a new  mile of Paayme Paxaayt (aka theLA River) offering a unique experience  following and learning from the River.

River Sessions 2025: Kiki'ing with the River

Events in LA River Arts' 2025 series of River Sessions, "Kiki'ing with the River," celebrating LGBTQIA2S+ communities and exploring queer histories along the LA River/Paayme Paxaayt.

Mile 17: Sleepy Lagoon $20 suggested donation - or pay what you wish!The Kiki’ing with the River series continues with visual artists and performers Page Person and Christopher A. Velasco!Join us for a riveting golden-hour afternoon of performances along Paayme Paxaayt (LA River) followed by a conversation moderated by co-curator Juan M. Silverio. Through their use of humorous storytelling and drag aesthetics, Person and Velasco confront head-on the historic and present-day challenges LGBTQIA2S+ communities face. Their offerings will be presented within the backdrop of the historical site of Sleepy Lagoon. <h4>River Sessions: Kiki’ing with the River</h4>Kiki’ing with the River is an outdoor, artist-guided series along the Paayme Paxaayt (aka the LA River) that celebrates queer resilience and community activism through social sculptures and creative engagement. Each session highlights regional LGBTQIA2S+ artists and Indigenous culture bearers, featuring performances, sound, and multimedia installations that explore the balance between nature, control, and liberation. Co-curated by Tiffany Naiman and Juan Silverio, the series amplifies the voices of diverse and resilient queer communities. About the artists

Page Person is a visual and performing artist based in Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited in galleries including Peres Projects, Noon Projects, Stuart Shave/Modern Art and Deitch Projects; and museums such as the Hammer Museum, The New Museum, DESTE Foundation, Kunsthalle Schirn, and Kunsthalle Vien. Person’s work has been reviewed in Artforum, Frieze, The New York Times, The Believer, Artillery, Flash Art, The Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice. She has taught at the University of California Los Angeles, Art by DTLA Proud and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Frank Cohen Collection, DESTE Foundation and the Luckman Gallery of Los Angeles City College. Person has performed at the Hammer Museum, the Broad Museum, LAXART, Highways Performance Space, Glasslands, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Human Resources, Los Angeles Nomadic Division, and in queer nightlife spaces throughout Los Angeles.

Christopher Anthony Velasco (b. 1983) is a photographer and performance artist based inLos Angeles, known for his exploration of the queer brown body and his innovative blend of horror and camp aesthetics. He earned his Master of Fine Arts from UC Santa Barbara in 2019 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts in 2011.Velasco has contributed to his field through various internships, including positions at the Santa Monica Museum of Art (Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) and UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center and Library as a Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern. He is an adjunct professor at Moorpark Community College and East Los Angeles College, and CSSSA (California State Summer School of the Arts)His work has been prominently featured in exhibitions at esteemed venues such as the Art Center College of Design, AD&amp;A Museum, Avenue 50 Studios, the California Institute of the Arts, the Hibbleton Gallery, the Getty Museum, and the Vincent Price Art Museum. Furthermore, Velasco has collaborated with Harry Gamboa, Jr., notably through Virtual Verite, and performed at Los Angeles Union Station, UC Santa Barbara, and LAST Projects.

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Mile 17: Sleepy Lagoon

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