{"id":2469616,"date":"2026-06-21T18:57:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2469616"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:57:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T18:57:41","slug":"puppets-performers-and-politics-filled-the-streets-at-lacmas-first-ever-art-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/puppets-performers-and-politics-filled-the-streets-at-lacmas-first-ever-art-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"Puppets, performers and politics filled the streets at LACMA\u2019s first-ever Art Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Instead of the usual phalanx of cars and buses, Saturday evening traffic on Wilshire Boulevard was replaced by massive balloons, mobile sculptures, gaggles of gallerists and an endless array of elaborate costumes.<\/p>\n

The first-ever Los Angeles Art Parade<\/u><\/a>, a collaboration between the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and famed gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, transformed the stretch of Wilshire known as \u201cMuseum Row\u201d into a human-powered exhibition of the city\u2019s dynamic art scene.<\/p>\n

About 146 groups, made up of more than 1,400 participants, marched in the parade, with projects ranging from larger-than-life marionette dolls to squads of children in do-it-yourself costumes to mobile recreations of LACMA\u2019s most iconic art pieces.<\/p>\n

The parade followed an all-day Block Party thrown by LACMA as part of its Grand Opening Weekend, celebrating the new David Geffen Galleries<\/u><\/a> and the completion of the 20-year-long, $724-million campus construction project<\/u><\/a>. Together, the Block Party and Art Parade attracted an estimated 60,000 attendees, who swarmed the galleries, danced to explosive DJ sets, and lined the streets to watch the eclectic procession of artists.<\/p>\n

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<\/picture>\n
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People dance during Flying Lotus\u2019 DJ set at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler\/For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

According to LACMA Director and Chief Executive Michael Govan, the event was a long time coming and \u201cjust the beginning\u201d of how his team plans to use the campus space, which he previously called the city\u2019s \u201cliving room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not gonna close Wilshire every weekend, but it\u2019s an example of what we can do,\u201d Govan said. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to see the building work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a crowd-drawing DJ set from electronic low-fi hip-hop artist Flying Lotus, Govan introduced L.A. County District 2 Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. She said the event made her \u201cproud to represent LACMA\u201d and to be a Metro board member, referencing the recently-opened Metro D-line extension<\/u><\/a>, which dropped attendees off a quick stroll from LACMA\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing you all at this amazing public facility does my heart good,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is your local government at work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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1 <\/p>\n\"Silhouettes <\/picture> <\/div>\n

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2 <\/p>\n\"A <\/picture> <\/div>\n

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3 <\/p>\n\"The <\/picture> <\/div>\n

1.<\/strong> Silhouettes of people watching the parade.<\/span> 2.<\/strong> A man and woman wearing tulle over them walk in the parade. <\/span> 3.<\/strong> The crowd at the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art (LACMA) Block Party.<\/span> (Ariana Drehsler\/For The Times)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

As the party raged on LACMA\u2019s campus, hundreds of parade participants hurriedly prepared for their debuts in the corners of nearby streets and parking lots. One group inflated a giant disco ball, while another smeared themselves with body paint next to a line of rehearsing dancers. Elsewhere, a megaphone-wielding leader herded dozens of black cats in the style of artist Gary Baseman<\/u><\/a> into some semblance of order.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Dietch originally staged the first Art Parades in New York City\u2019s SoHo neighborhood between 2005 and 2008. While those took a more art-world-exclusive approach, Dietch said the Los Angeles version was designed with inclusion in mind. The call for parade proposals was open to \u201cemerging and established artists and creatives of all ages and backgrounds,\u201d according to guidelines, as long as the work was appropriate for all ages and didn\u2019t require a motorized element.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe New York one was much more oriented toward people in the art community. We didn\u2019t put out this kind of open call,\u201d Dietch explained. \u201cThis is very different in its openness and its diversity. There are some famous artists and famous choreographers, L.A. legends. But there are also mothers from the San Fernando Valley with their children. I really love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Devil <\/picture>\n
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Artist Jordan Rountree\u2019s rolling woodcut-sculpture called the Devil Jack in a Box with Crocodile appeared in Saturday\u2019s Block Party and Art Parade hosted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art\u2019s (LACMA). <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler\/For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a very open platform, so you don\u2019t have to have an M.F.A. to express yourself as an artist,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The procession was dizzying in its variety and scale. While many projects leaned into beauty and whimsy, others took a more overtly political approach, displaying anti-ICE messages on T-shirts and signs, sporting trans pride flags, or, in the case of performance artist Amy Kaps, wearing an unraveling U.S. constitution.<\/p>\n

Some even referenced local causes, such as the \u201cBoo Boo Bandage Brigade for Safe Streets,\u201d which advocated for fixing sidewalks and increasing accessibility Downtown. One particularly moving display by the Pali-Altadena Collective featured participants carrying miniature models of buildings and landmarks lost in the 2025 fires.<\/p>\n

Chicana artist Nao Bustamante and Track 16 Gallery brought \u201cBrown Disco\u201d to the streets, which featured a giant gold disco ball and figures from decades of L.A. queer nightlife.<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/picture>\n
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The crowd at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Art Parade.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler\/For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cAs a brown, queer person, I think that this really brought a light into our community, and now its presence [creates] an intergenerational conversation,\u201d said Track 15 Assistant Director Steve Galindo. \u201cThe nightlife scene is how we come out as queer people, so it\u2019s really special to be in the parade.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Joie Mitchell, volunteer coordinator for the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, which recently purchased its permanent Highland Park home<\/u><\/a>, the parade was an opportunity to \u201cshow up for L.A. and be involved in the art history of this city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPuppetry has been part of the arts for so many years,\u201d added Daisy Hernandez, the theater\u2019s production manager. \u201cIt\u2019s a way that people express themselves, just like every other art form. So that\u2019s what we\u2019re here to do: express ourselves through puppetry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of the usual phalanx of cars and buses, Saturday evening traffic on Wilshire Boulevard was replaced by massive balloons, mobile sculptures, gaggles of gallerists and an endless array of elaborate costumes. The first-ever Los Angeles Art Parade, a collaboration between the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and famed gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, transformed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2469617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2469616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Puppets-performers-and-politics-filled-the-streets-at-LACMAs-first-ever.com2Fc72F752Fdb6b3c264f9fbbf4c11cf397.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469618,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469616\/revisions\/2469618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}