Angel City Culture Quest

In this episode, Steven noted what Pathos Press can offer LA authors who might think to query them, along with some (not all) indie publishers:

"Small publishing houses tend to be much more willing to consider challenging or experimental works, especially by new authors without an established reputation. Some indie publishers assign editors to their authors in order to ensure the quality of the final text of the book. With larger publishing houses, it is sometimes the case that editors serve to recalibrate aspects of the book's plot or characters they consider as being possibly detrimental to future sales. Often, indie publishing editors are concerned only with the ultimate integrity of the manuscript and guaranteeing the legibility and artistic vision of the author."

Novels:

"Disposable Thought"

"Grid City Overload"

"Affliction Included"

"3rd & Orange"

"The Year I Went Away" ("El Año Que Me Fui")

In May, 2022, when the SCOTUS leak threatened to overturn Roe v Wade and strip half the country of their reproductive right protections, Pamela quit her corporate sales job and embarked from her California bubble to Red states to capture the harrowing and mundane stories of American women. The resulting documentary, WE’RE NOT GOING BACK! won the Grand Jury award for Emerging Filmmaker when it premiered at The Awareness Film Festival in 2022. Since then, Pamela continues her pro-choice activism with her feminist blog and podcast, The HisTerical Society.

About WE’RE NOT GOING BACK!

The film is a Pro-choice documentary film from 2022 before and after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v Wade with its Dobbs decision, taking away the constitutional right to abortion, abandoning almost 50 years of precedent, and paving the way for states to ban abortion. Capturing stories from Red states to educate and promote awareness of what’s at stake now that Roe has fallen and to encourage everyone to vote, in what Pamela dubbed, Roe-vember

You can find Pamela at; https://torranceproductions.com

Link to WE’RE NOT GOING BACK! Pro-choice documentary

on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/FF9f4aNgnVU?si=oD1gfhV8MfK9iTwj

In this episode, hear about why COLLAGE became a nonprofit as opposed to simply a venue and the good work its doing to help students in the Los Angeles region.

"I have a sense that music can give people a reason to live, a reason to stay alive. So, rather than just run shows, I want to do something more than that," — Richard Foss.

COLLAGEis a beautiful venue, built in the 1930's, featuring art deco styling both original and recreated by George Wytovich. It’s intimate and relaxed, seating 49 and the inside is more modern and visually interesting thanks to aged brick walls, a curved wooden ceiling with open beams.

COLLAGE is best known for concerts, but also offers art classes, poetry events, storytelling, culinary events and much more. The venue presents both live shows and live streams for many of its events.

https://www.collageartculture.org

~ COLLAGE is located at 731 South Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Jorge posits that publishing houses used to be vanguards. But now, they instead follow the trends that the social landscape we live in wants them to.

Listen in as we discuss this, Jorges new book and his creative process, advice for young writers and the beauty of the small press.

Jorge is also co-owner. along with his wife Alejandra Menduina, of Menduina Schneider Gallery in San Pedro, California.

Look for Jorge's book "El año que me fui," wherever your favorite place is to buy books. The English version will be published later this year.

Mario Ybarra Jr. is a Mexican-American, a conceptual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. His artwork operates as examinations of excluded social norms, often examining complete environments, histories, and narratives. He received an MFA from the University of California Irvine and a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design. He has been featured in many local, national, and international exhibitions/fairs

Karla Diaz is a writer, teacher, and multidisciplinary artist who engages in painting, installation, video, and performance. Using narrative to question identity, institutional power, and explore memory, her socially engaged practice generates exciting collaborations and provokes important dialogue among diverse communities. Critical discourse is central to her practice as she explores social, subcultural, and marginalized stories. In her introspection, splashes of color became figures and objects that transformed into scenes of domesticity and city life drawn from her upbringing in Mexico and Los Angeles.

Karla & Mario have been in the forefront of many pilot events, exhibitions and programs in diverse cities, museums, and art galleries all over the world. Diaz's background in youth education, performance, art and writing, influence a multidisciplinary, pedagogical approach to her work, creating dialogue among diverse communities. Mario’s conceptual work and interest in alternative histories and narratives interface with art and cultural contemporary practices.

Karla Diaz

https://www.karladiazart.com

https://www.luisdejesus.com/artists/karla-diaz

https://www.instagram.com/karladiaz76/

Mario Ybarrra Jr.

www.marioybarrajrartist.com

https://www.instagram.com/mario_ybarra_jr/

Slanguage Studio

https://www.instagram.com/slanguagestudio/

Matthew was born and raised in Los Angeles and has been in the entertainment business for most of his adult life — first in music and then as an award-winning writer/director. During the pandemic, he returned to school to obtain a Master's degree in Public Administration so that he could have more of an impact in helping to create communities that work for everyone. His course of study involved a deep dive into understanding policing, the carceral system, and public safety. Now, his work involves utilizing art to influence positive change.

Reimagining Safety

Synopsis:

Worldwide protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd included calls to defund or abolish the police until a sharp rise in crime gave politicians and police supporters the fuel they needed to suppress the movement. Unfortunately, a detailed conversation about transforming public safety was never had. In Reimagining Safety (shot on iPhone), 10 experts (including LA County District Attorney George Gascón, USC Law professor Dr. Jody Armour and law enforcement expert Alex S Vitale) discuss the false premise that more police and more prisons make us safer. It does this while providing practical and actionable solutions toward achieving systems of safety that work for everyone.

The film is already receiving very positive feedback and support from social justice organizations and newly elected progressive leaders.

The next screening is at The People's Film Festival June 4, in Harlem, New York

Trailer:https://vimeo.com/matthewsolomonfilms/rstrailer

Website: https://www.reimaginingsafetymovie.com

https://www.matthewsolomonconsulting.com

Between 1964 and 1966, Stearns served in Vietnam and Japan as a photographer while on active duty in the U.S. Navy. Following his time in the service, he was a partner in a ceramics studio, Opus ll, where he taught ceramics as well as drawing and painting.

Stearns was a fire captain and paramedic with the Los Angeles County Fire Department from 1967 to 1988 and was a consultant on the television show Emergency!

Michael studied at California State University at Los Angeles

In 2002 he opened Gallery 33 in Long Beach, California. It exhibited artists such as Lori LaMont, Todd Brainard, Richard Lopez, Elizabeth Washburn, Adam Normandin and Roderick Briggs. The gallery closed in 2008.

In 2012 he moved his studio and gallery to San Pedro, under the name Michael Stearns Studio 347 and later to Michael Stearns Studio at the LOFT.

As a sculptor Michael works with cardboard and newspaper as a way to bring nature and urban society together.

In Michael’s artist statement, he explains how his work exemplifies his spirit. It reads in part:

"In my work I dig deep into the origin of life and explore the universal questions; how did we arrive and what is the force driving this existence?

I strive also to invite the observer into this place of examination.

As a painter, I work with organic shapes and mostly bold colors to intensify the imagery. In my sculptures I incorporate natural materials along with urban components, creating communication out of discord."

https://www.michaelstearnsstudio.com/

Lia also known as "Doña Junta" is a former graffiti artist turned street archivist. Doña Junta runs the social media page swapmeet_chronicles which started off as an idea to highlight every day cultural happenings growing up in a Mexican household. The concept developed into a blog in 2007 in which Doña Junta documented the streets of Los Angeles from graffiti, personal stories, events, abandoned places AND MORE. Today, swapmeet_chronicles (with nearly 4,000 followers) evolved into research on the history of our streets, architecture of buildings, and social issues such as mass incarceration and prison advocacy through photos and research driven feature stories. In 2020, Doña Junta with co-host Sabrina Calderon created a podcast called Beyond the Façade to further discuss these places in detail and interview people who also create content in similar realms.

Doña Junta has combined her interest in architecture with some of her podcast episodes where she and her co-host discuss the historical issues surrounding these buildings. And this includes state carceral institutions - juvenile and adult - and the issues that have taken place there.

Her interest in these institutional buildings was also represented at the Slanguage exhibition: Ghosts of Our Youth: Abandoned Institutions and the Impact on Los Angeles Youth at Angels Gate Cultural Center in 2022. It included images of Juvenile Hall, alongside the video of her podcast discussion on how these institutions affected the youth that were there through the decades but particularly in the 80s and 90s.

Daughters Of Smoke And Fire gives voice to human struggles and issues of justice and inequity that we’re seeing with increased frequency across the globe.

Ava's message is, "a victory for women in Iran is really a victory for women everywhere.'"

This message is expressed in an essay Ava wrote in December 2022 for, “Journal of Critical Race Inquiry” an open-access electronic journal that advances scholarship on race and racialization in Canadian and international contexts. Her piece is titled: The Path to Freedom in Iran is through Women and Minorities.

It introduces readers to the history of Kurdish resistance to oppression by the Iranian regime as well as the history of the refrain “Woman, Life, Freedom,” chanted now by protesters and adopted by activists and others around the world.

Find the article link here:
Article The-Path-to-Freedom-in-Iran-is-through-Women-and-Minorities

https://www.avahoma.com/

Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ava.homa/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/AvaHoma

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ava.homa/

What is remarkable about Karina is her independent spirit, which has served as her guide both in her career decisions and in how she relates to and emboldens those around her.

Soulspired, released in September, is inspired by COVID times, grief, love and new beginnings. Karina has said her aim is to share a message of renewal and hope — and to remind her listeners how important our lives are, how much our time matters. and how much we can make a difference when we are inspired by our soul.

Watch Karina's video American Dream from Soulspired here:

https://youtu.be/Pv0d7hk0FO8

• Website: www.Karinanistal.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/karinanistal
• Facebook.com/karinanistalmusic