220 Glimpses of Utopia

November 16, 2007, 4 – 4:20 PM
from Skid Row to City Hall

In a series of workshops LAPD asked 220+ people from in- and outside Skid Row what Utopia looks like to them. Each group translated these visions into slow motion movement and together they created a line of movement on the sidewalks that extended the 10 blocks from the heart of Skid Row to City Hall. Every person in the chain contributed something of their own vision and movement; and because the chain of caring, profound, loving movement extended throughout the community, it made clear that any true Utopian vision is one that includes and cares for everyone.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
1

The Route

“220 Glimpses” is a means of articulating the humanity of several hundred people, and injecting it abruptly into the city through the medium of movement.  At 4 pm, 15 minutes of beautiful movement quite surprisingly filled the air, expanding everyone’s reality, taking the edge off the city at rush hour.

Starting at the James Wood Community Center, on the corner of 5th and San Julian Street, the chain went along 5th Street to Main Street – to 4th Street – to Spring Street – to City Hall.

Participants

LA Community Action Network, Transition House, LAMP The Village, LAMP The Safe Haven, Drama Stage Qumran, ‘Skid Row 3 on 3′ Basketball team, Buddhist Center Cloverdale, Brent Blair and his Boal class at USC, Arianne MacBean and the Oakwood High School dance class, Tanya Ann Kane-Parry and students at Cal State LA, Para los Ninos, Midnight Mission, Gillian McGinty and her Intergenerational Dance Group, the Los Angeles Poverty Department, UCLA students from John Malpede, Peter Sellars and Janna Shadduck-Hernandez’s class, the Youth Justice Coalition Free L.A. High School, the Downtown Women’s Center, Saint Vincent DePaul Cardinal Manning Center, Cynthia Lee, Weba Garretson, Jerry Allyn, Laura Fuller, Jan Kain, Kirsten Smiarowski, Douglas C. Wadl, VOA 9th floor, Sukha and others.

Workshop Locations

Buddhist Center, VOA (9th floor of the Weingart Center), Para los Ninos (downtown), Downtown Women’s Center, Labor Center in MacArthur Park, LA Community Action Network, Transition House, Drama Stage Qumran, LAMP The Village on 527 Crocker Street, LAMP The Safe Haven on 626 San Julian Street, The Youth Justice Coalition Free L.A. Charter High School, Saint Vincent de Paul’s Cardinal Manning Center.

And by OG Man with the ‘Skid Row 3 on 3’ Basketball team, Brent Blair with his Boal class at USC, Arianna MacBean at Oakwood HighSchool, Tanya Ann Kane-Parry at Cal State LA, Gillian McGinty with her intergenerational dance group, John Malpede’s & Janna Shadduck-Hernandez & Peter Sellars class at UCLA.