Building Bridges Art Exchange is hosting a compelling installation that acknowledges each life taken by COVID-19 on the Westside of Los Angeles. The Westside installation, in the main gallery of Building Bridges Art Exchange offers visitors an opportunity to grieve by contemplating a wall of roses while listening to music by celebrated Los Angeles based composer Yuval Ron and taking solace in a meditative induction created by Rose River Memorial co-founder Marcos Lutyens. The installation features felt roses made by volunteers across the country, remembering each westside death from Malibu south to El Segundo, and east to La Cienega Boulevard. This builds on an inaugural installation at Self Help Graphics that memorializes those lost to COVID-19 on the Eastside.

“For this Westside memorial, our goal is to include as many locally handmade roses as possible, to deeply engage the community with this act of collective grief,” said Rose River memorial co-founder Marcos Lutyens. “People who make roses tell us that it brings them great comfort and peace in these difficult days. Family members who are grieving are comforted by this idea of strangers recognizing and remembering the enormity of this pandemic in such a beautiful way.”

Visitors to the Rose River Memorial installation in the main gallery can also experience two other galleries showing #CONFINAMIENTO by PERFO-RED MX and COVID-19 ARTIST STORIES. Visits are by appointment until January 16 with COVID-safe protocols in place.

For more information click here.

A new photographic exhibition coming to the Skirball Cultural Center focuses on the difficult issues facing working class Americans and how they are struggling to survive day to day as they face homelessness, inequality, drug abuse, poverty, limited education, and other challenges.  The online exhibition was inspired by the New York Times bestselling book, Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and features images by acclaimed photojournalist Lynsey Addario. Tightrope tells a powerful story as it opens our eyes to the crises many Americans are facing whether they live in big cities or rural communities.   These are families caught in a cycle and often ignored by the world ‘outside.’  These are people who metaphorically walk on a ‘tightrope’ where one stumble can mean the end.   Many photos and stories focus on the small rural town of Yamhill, Oregon, a once prosperous town now facing devastation.  It is also a personal journey for author Kristof who grew up in Yamhill.

Tightrope also shines a light on the people and organizations that bring hope and new-found strength to those in need showing them the paths to climbing out of poverty, overcoming drug abuse, and regaining self-esteem.

On January 26 Kristof and WuDunn will lead an online discussion on the challenges facing the American public and how we might find a new path forward.

For more details, click here.

The Metropolitan Opera cordially invites you to a front row seat for IMAX presentations of its entire catalogue of performances, starting with Pavarotti’s La Bohème (1977) and all the way through its last production of The Flying Dutchman presented live earlier this year. On the bright side, this year has been an important exercise. Attending the opera in sweats and slippers is something I’ve added to my list! I recommend it for yours since it looks like we have another 12 months before we get back to gathering in large groups.

The Met offers a free app for your computer or OTT device (Apple TV, Roku, Firestick). Each night The Met offers a random selection of operas to enjoy. Or, for $15 a month, you can curate your own lineup and access them in any order you prefer. I’ve considered binge-watching all of them chronologically by composition date. But since that equates to a couple thousand hours of arias, I think I might just do the 15-hour Ring Cycle. Then Lord of the Rings. So far, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos has stood out among the classics. And has there ever been a better time for Philip Glass’s Satyagraha? That’s been slotted at my #1 for 20 operas running with only 200 to go.

If your response to the question, “What do you want to stream tonight?” is, “Something different!,” visit the Met. And I dare you to dress up!

For more details, click here.

Since international travel doesn’t look promising for quite awhile, why not visit the magnificent British Museum virtually? Brew yourself a “cuppa” (cup of tea) and take a fascinating tour from the comfort of your home. Founded in 1753 The British Museum opened its doors in 1759. It was the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge, open to visitors from across the world.  Over the next 260 years, the museum’s wide-ranging collections have grown to about eight million objects covering two million years of human history. The Museum is currently closed but there are several ways to explore and enjoy the museum online. Google Street View allows you to visit more than 60 galleries online. See highlights like the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery or discover gems like the beautiful textiles in the Sainsbury African Galleries. The Museum’s website also offers virtual galleries where you can explore Old Master such as Michelangelo or see new and exciting contemporary pieces. Dive into the incredible Oceania collection and uncover a vast array of objects from Australia, New Guinea and the many islands dotted across the South Pacific Ocean

Want some company on your tour?  You can download the British Museum Podcast and join presenters Sushma Jansari and Hugo Chapman as they take you on a journey behind the scenes, meeting scientists, curators and artists along the way.

To visit virtually, click here.