Celebrating 20 Years of the Artists Residence Villa Aurora

THE ARTIST IN TIMES OF CRISIS

Moderator: Peter Tokofsky
Senior Public Programs Specialist
J. Paul Getty Museum

Panelists:
Mary Beth Heffernan, Gerd Ludwig and John Malpede

Mary Beth Heffernan is a Los Angeles based artist whose work explores the intersection between representation and physicality. She is Associate Professor of Sculpture, Photography and Interdisciplinary Art at Occidental College.
Heffernan’s social practice PPE Portrait Project successfully intervened in the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, and garnered national and international recognition on NPR, PRI, the BBC the Los Angeles Review of Books, CSNBC and many other publications. Awarded the 2010 COLA Individual Artist Fellowship, Heffernan’s work is supported by grants from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the Durfee Foundation and Light Work. Heffernan’s art is included in numerous private and public collections, including the Hammer Museum/Grunwald Center Collection (The Book of Lies, Volume II), Light Work of Syracuse, NY, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York City Library (The Book of Lies, Volume II.) She is represented by Sloan Projects of Santa Monica, CA.

Gerd Ludwig was born in Alsfeld, Germany. Initially he studied German literature, political science, and physical education at the University of Marburg, but interrupted his studies to travel in Scandinavia and North America while supporting himself with jobs as a bricklayer, sailor, gardener, and dishwasher. After his return to Germany, he studied photography at the Folkwangschule. Ludwig photographed for publications such as Geo, Stern, Spiegel, Zeit-Magazin, Time, and Life, as well as for National Geographic Magazine, focusing on environmental issues, and the social changes in Germany and Eastern Europe.
Gerd Ludwig is perhaps most well known for his long-term coverage of the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

John Malpede directs, performs, and engineers multi-event projects that have theatrical, installation, public art, and education components. In 1985, he founded the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a performance group comprised primarily of homeless and formerly homeless people who make art, live, and work on Skid Row. Beyond L.A., he has produced projects working with communities throughout the U.S., as well as the UK, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Bolivia. His 2004 work RFK in EKY sought to recreate Robert Kennedy’s 1968 “war on poverty” tour in the course of a four-day, 200-mile series of events focused on historic and current issues and social policy. As a 2008 fellow at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Malpede developed Bright Futures in response to the financial crisis. He has received grants, with LAPD, from MAP Fund, NEFA National Theater Project (2013), and a Creative Capital Award (2009).

The panel discussion is followed by a reception featuring music by Dublab.

This event is generously supported by