Newswise — A new collaborative, multimedia storytelling project from USC Annenberg paints a unique picture of South Los Angeles by revealing 15 unique public spaces that embody the community’s push for social change.
Leaders of “Democratic Spaces” (http://metaconnects.org/project/south-la-democratic-spaces) aim to show South LA in a new light, through portrait photography and videos that reveal untold stories of community organizers and their favorite physical spaces for encouraging social change – places worthy of being featured in the public eye. Besides encouraging positive social change, the sites promote advocacy efforts and serve as building blocks for community-based social movements.
At the launch event Sept. 27, the public is invited to meet and talk with more than a dozen of the community advocates profiled in the exhibit. Organizers will distribute maps of the spaces, which also are available online.
A brief interactive panel discussion (7:30 pm) will highlight the significance of the spaces for South LA.
These spaces include the unexpected safety of a food truck, a vibrant community marketplace, historic public art, a small aquarium for children and much more. The goal of the exhibit is to draw a new portrait of democracy in South LA that powerfully counters mainstream narratives that long have stigmatized the area.
EVENT DETAILS:• WHATSouth LA Democratic Spaces Public Exhibit • WHENThursday, Sept. 27, 20126:30 p.m., with a brief panel at 7:30 p.m.• WHEREUniversity of Southern CaliforniaAnnenberg School for Communication and JournalismEast Lobby, 3502 Watt WayLos Angeles CA 90089
The exhibit will be housed at USC Annenberg through December 2012.
One of the spaces spotlighted in the exhibit is the Mercado La Paloma, selected by Esperanza Community Housing Corporation community organizer Monic Uriarte. “In South Central LA it was almost impossible to get investors to invest in local residents to create local businesses, so Esperanza created Mercado La Paloma to provoke this democratic space,” Uriarte said.
Another space, highlighted by Advancement Project community research lab manager Janice Burns, is the Mafundi mural in Watts. It honors the work of the Mafundi Institute, an institute that Janice explained was important to the history of Watts. “The collaboration of different community members and organizations brought arts and community voice to the rebuilding process after the 1965 Watts rebellion,” she said. The exhibit also features stories from the L.A. Black Worker Center, CD Tech, Children’s Nature Institute, Community Coalition, Community Financial Resource Center, Community Services Unlimited, LA CAN, Peace Over Violence, SAJE, SCOPE, Trust for Public Land, T.R.U.S.T. South LA, and 24th Street Theatre.
The project is funded by a Cal Humanities Community Stories Grant and is a collaboration between USC Annenberg’s Metamorphosis Project and Intersections South LA -- and their partner community organizations. It is a deliberate effort to promote public scholarship that reaches beyond the university, engages with important social issues in diverse urban communities, and produces creative ways to communicate community research to multiple publics.
South LA Democratic Spaces project director George Villanueva of the Metamorphosis Project said, “We believe the work can help members of the USC neighborhood be responsible community citizens – and be aware of and directly involved in some of the critical social issues that take place here every day.” About the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a national leader in education and scholarship in the fields of communication, journalism, public diplomacy and public relations. With an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, USC Annenberg offers doctoral, master's and bachelor's degree programs, as well as continuing development programs for working professionals across a broad scope of academic inquiry. The school's comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the core skills of leadership, innovation, service and entrepreneurship and draws upon the resources of a networked university located in the media capital of the world.
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