06/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/17/2025 17:24
Presented by the City of West Hollywood and curated by Deborah Oliver, Art in Odd Places 2025: VOICE marks the Festival's West Hollywood debut and celebrates the 20th edition of this iconic public visual and performance art event, which has been presented in cities across the globe.
Art in Odd Places 2025: VOICE will take place daily from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for three days at three different City locations:
1) At Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, on Friday, July 25, 2025;
2) At West Hollywood Park, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard, on Saturday, July 26, 2025; and
3) On Sunset Boulevard, between N. Sherbourne Drive and N. Doheny Drive, on Sunday, July 27, 2025.
The project is presented in celebration of the City of West Hollywood's 40th year of cityhood.
Art in Odd Places honors the voices of creativity, resilience, and advocacy and reminds us that when people make their voices heard, extraordinary change is possible. The theme of this year's festival, VOICE, invites artists to consider and explore the many ways voices resonate in public spaces. Inspired by West Hollywood's legacy as a hub for activism and culture, the festival asks: "How can art express the complexity of our times?" and "Can art help us find resonance and connection amidst disconnection?"
For 20 years, Art in Odd Places (AiOP) has presented visual and performance art in unexpected public spaces in New York City (NYC), nationally, and internationally. AiOP reminds us that public spaces function as the epicenter for diverse social interactions and the unfettered exchange of ideas. Ed Woodham, founder of AiOP, is an independent elder Southern queer conceptual social absurdist artist, curator, producer, and educator entangled in a mélange of NYC, national, and international activities across media and culture for more than 45 years. Woodham employs humor, irony, subtle detournement, and a striking visual style to encourage greater consideration of - and provoke deeper critical engagement with - the urban environment. Woodham created the project Art in Odd Places as a response to vanishing public space and personal civil liberties.
Curator Deborah Oliver is an educator, independent curator, producer, and interdisciplinary artist. She received her BFA + MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Her practice is focused on performance art and its history, practice, curatorial applications, community exchange, and dialogue. She is the founder and curator of Irrational Exhibits, a durational performance, installation, and media exhibition established in 2001 at Track 16 Gallery. In 2024 the 13th edition of Irrational Exhibits: Juxtaposing Terrains took place at five galleries at the Bendix Building in Downtown LA. Oliver is a faculty member at the University of California Irvine Department of Art and co-founded with Ulysses Jenkins "The Art of Performance @ UCI" an annual performance event for the student community.
The Art in Odd Places 2025: VOICE Citywide Festival of Performance Art will feature a diverse group of local, national, and international artists presenting a curated selection of work encompassing the disciplines of dance choreography, sculptural installation, sound art, endurance performance, social practice, protest art, textile art, painting, and more. Some of the artworks will be stationary, while others will roam. Art in Odd Places is a non-traditional arts festival that aims to stretch the boundaries of how artworks of all disciplines are presented in public spaces. Participating artists include: Beck+Col with Tetiana Sklyarova and Kayla Aguila; Brian Black & Zane Alexander S.B.; Chelsea Boxwell; Oleksandr Brzhezytskyi; jinseok choi; Oscar Corona; Issaiha Cunningham; Andrea Derujinsky; Yadira Dockstader; Paul Donald; Scott Froschauer; Kiyo Gutiérrez; Terry S. Hardy; Asuka Hisa; Marcus Kuiland-Nazario; Ibuki Kuramochi; Mathilda LaZelle Moore; Olivia Leiter; Curt Lemieux & Marley Van Peebles; Simon Leung; Association of Hysteric Curators: Maya Mackrandilal, Mary Anna Pomonis, Monet Clark, Marjan Vayghan, Michiko Yao & Taryn Lee; Elana Mann & Sharon Chohi Kim; Kacie Lyn Martinez; Jeff McMahon & William Roper; Cade Moga; Monica Moreno; Dakota Noot; Mehregan Pezeshki & Cesar Osorio; Jynx Prado; Joseph Ravens; Renée Reizman; christy roberts berkowitz with Abbe Land; Saun Santipreecha & Luc Trahand; Constance Jaquay Strickland; Wes Weisbaum & Parker Wanamaker; and, David Yashin.
Select AiOP projects highlighting West Hollywood in celebration of the City's 40th Anniversary of Cityhood include:
christy roberts berkowitz - Public Service Announcement - Public Service Announcement explores local history through the perspective of Abbe Land, former West Hollywood City Council member and five-time mayor. Using QR codes placed on signs throughout Plummer Park, West Hollywood Park, and Sunset Plaza, the project offers an audio tour that shares stories of civic participation and community activism. With Land's insight from more than two decades in public service, the tour highlights West Hollywood's history of resilience and makes these narratives accessible to both residents and visitors.
Terry S. Hardy - A Long Way But Not Far - Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Paul Monette's passing, A Long Way But Not Far is an installation of 17 blue banners printed with excerpts from Monette's book, Love Alone, written for his lover, Roger Horwitz, who died from complications of AIDS.
Elana Mann & Sharon Chohi Kim - I wish we had the same brain - A live performance combining sculpture and voice to explore communication, censorship, and free expression, Sharon Chohi Kim performs operatic vocals while interacting with Elana Mann's Call to Arms sculpture. She will vocalize a list of words reportedly banned by the current presidential administration while wearing a sculptural robe adorned with nonsensical text. The piece addresses how language and speech can be controlled or distorted.
The Art in Odd Places 2025: VOICE Citywide Festival of Performance Art is dedicated to Jacki Apple (1941-2022), an artist, writer, composer, producer, and educator based in New York and Los Angeles. A champion of performance and conceptual art, Apple was dedicated to increasing the cultural power of fellow artists.
The Festival is presented as part of the City's Art on the Outside Program, a temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the City. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art, and other outdoor works. Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside Program Review and Approval Process. The program is funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund.
The City of West Hollywood's Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Drag Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Library Exhibits, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), WeHo Pride Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads.
For additional information about City of West Hollywood's arts programming or Art on the Outside program, please visit https://www.weho.org/arts.
For more information, please contact Marcus Mitchell, the City of West Hollywood's Public Art Administrator, at (323) 848-3122 or at mmitchell@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing dial 711 or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) for California Relay Service (CRS) assistance.
For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at https://www.weho.org/email, and visit the City's calendar of meetings and events at https://www.weho.org/calendar. Receive text updates by texting "WeHo" to (323) 848-5000.
For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood's Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.