Arts

Expect to see some interesting cultural offerings surrounding the arrival of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in LA this summer, with LACMA leading the way. Fútbol Is Life: Animated Sportraits by Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. spotlights “sportraits” by the award‑winning animator and visual effects artist, many of which have never been shown publicly. Highlighting the global culture of soccer through the uniquely personal perspective of an artist who has been modeling figures since childhood, Barrois materializes unforgettable moments from soccer history using one-inch-high sculptures made primarily from chewing gum wrappers, strengthened with glue and meticulously painted in detail. The tiny figures, arranged in vignettes, are extraordinarily expressive, magnifying the game’s physical grace, emotional power, and cultural impact. In many cases, Barrois also brings the figures to life with stop-motion animation, to recreate their particular moments in time, which he shoots and edits on iPhones. Fútbol Is Life brings together 60 of Barrois’s works including his 2018 sculptural installation and accompanying short film, Fútballet, which unites 21 iconic scenes on a 50-inch soccer pitch. On view at LACMA for the first time since its recent acquisition, Fútballet is presented alongside photographs by Harold Edgerton and Eadweard Muybridge from the museum’s permanent collection that contextualize the history of motion studies and time-lapse photography. Fútbol Is Life also features life-size sculptures of Marta and Lionel Messi, behind-the-scenes footage from Barrois’s studio, and examples of the artist’s earlier projects exploring horse racing and American football. For fans of the “Beautiful Game,” this is a can’t miss exhibition. 

February 15–July 12 at LACMA, for more click here.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is welcoming the Los Angeles premiere of the Compagnie Hervé Koubi and their show Sol Invictus for an exclusive four show run this February.

Choreographer Hervé Koubi discovered his Algerian heritage at his father’s deathbed, sending him on a journey of self-discovery that allowed him to explore new pathways of his art, including the incorporation of street dance and cultural benchmarks of a home he’d never known. For 9 years, he worked with an all-male group of street dancers hailing from countries like Algeria, Morocco, France, Israel, and Burkina Faso.

In this project, Koubi brings together 15 dancers from throughout the Mediterranean basin, spanning Algeria, France, Morocco, and beyond, to tell the story of the “invincible sun”. Many of the dancers do not speak the same language, which Koubi feels emphasizes the importance of dance as communication. Koubi hypothesizes, “If we can learn to dance together, perhaps we can learn to live together,” and he may just be onto something.

The performance, which celebrates the resilience and victoriousness of light and the sun, set to a score by Maxime Bodson and Mikael Karlsson and designed by Steve Reich. Throughout the piece, dancers leap, flip, and spin on their heads, generally challenging the laws of physics for 75 minutes straight. The gravity-defying spectacle will take place from February 19-21 at the Wallis Annenberg.

For tickets, click here.

American photojournalist extraordinaire Steve Schapiro captured images of the nation’s political risings and culture over a career of more than six decades. A brilliant celebration of his work – Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere – is now on display at the Fahey / Klein Gallery through March 21. Beginning as a freelance photographer in the early 1960’s for the likes of Life, Time and Newsweek, Schapiro documented voter registration drives in the South, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery march, creating some of the most enduring photographs of the Civil Rights era. In the 1970s and 1980s, Schapiro extended his “fly-on-the-wall” approach to Hollywood, capturing behind-the-scenes photographs on the sets of iconic films including The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy, and Chinatown. The exhibition title, Being Everywhere takes its name from an acclaimed 2025 documentary directed by Maura Smith that chronicles Schapiro’s life and work, a phrase that perfectly encapsulates both the scope of his archive and the ethos that guided his practice. The photographs in the exhibition reveal an artist who was not merely present at history’s pivotal moments, but deeply engaged in them, seemingly understanding that bearing witness is both a responsibility and an act of love. Steve Schapiro’s (1934–2022), work is held in numerous private and public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

For details on the gallery and exhibition (open to the public Tuesday-Saturday and on view through March 21, 2026), click here.