It's playtime this weekend at LACMA! Join us on Saturday, May 18 for a weekend symposium discussing artist Issac Julien's oeuvre, in conjunction with the exhibition Isaac Julien: Playtime, on view through August 11. Over the last 30 years, Julien has gained acclaim for his cinematic interrogations on the politics of blackness, queerness, gender roles, and the remnants of how colonial pasts inform contemporary society. In collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz, the symposium will host screenings, talks, and panel discussions with historians, scholars, and artists exploring a variety of perspectives on these topics and others in Julien’s work, and ways to understand his practice in the contexts of contemporary art, cinema, and theory.

On Friday, May 17 at 6 pm, bring the family to Jazz at LACMA and enjoy an outstanding performance by the Cannonball/Coltrane Project. On Saturday, May 18 at 2 pm, visit our gallery at Charles White Elementary School for a free artist walkthrough of Life Model: Charles White and His Students with Judithe Hernández, a former student of acclaimed artist Charles White. Learn about White's influence on her work, their shared commitment to social-political commentary, and his legacy to American art. 

Sunday, May 19, drop by between 12:30 and 3:30 pm for free, family-friendly, artist-led workshops centered on the exhibition Charles White: A Retrospective, on view through June 9. Then at 1 pm, don't miss out on a special screening on a rare pristine print of the 1958 film, Anna Lucasta, one of the few films from its era to use an almost all-African American cast, starring such luminaries as Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. Lastly, at 6 pm, enjoy the wonderful melodies of this week's Sundays Live performers, Cellist Antonio Lysy and Pianist Daniel Gledhill.