Category Archives: Art & Culture

Abbot Kinney Blvd

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Elisa Leonelli

This weekend I took a walk along Abbot Kinney Blvd, named after the founder of Venice in America, which I do periodically because it’s the coolest street in LA. It is not the shops that attract me, but the murals. … Continue reading →

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Claudio Mazzoli, Renaissance Artist

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Elisa Leonelli

I met Claudio Mazzoli in 1978, when I included him in my photo-journalistic essay about Italians living in Los Angeles who had been successful in Hollywood movies. Click to read Italians in Hollywood and learn about the others. In 1976, … Continue reading →

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Venice Murals

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Elisa Leonelli

I have been photographing murals in Venice for decades, and I often used them as backdrops in the 1980s when I was shooting photo layouts of movie or TV stars, such as Lee Curreri from Fame or Scott Glenn from … Continue reading →

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Venice murals by Rip Cronk

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Elisa Leonelli

I was always interested in photographing street murals, because I love their bold colorful depiction of imaginary landscapes. I started with my Nikons and color slides, both Ektachrome and Kodachrome, when I worked as a professional photo-journalist from 1974 to … Continue reading →

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HAMMER MUSEUM

Posted on April 2, 2023 by Elisa Leonelli

The Hammer Museum unveiled its new entrance on Sunday March 26, at the corner of Wilshire and Westwood Blvd, with an electronic display featuring a rotation of current exhibits. Inside the spacious remodeled lobby an expansive art installation of intricately … Continue reading →

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Judy Baca at Geffen

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Elisa Leonelli

On Sunday we visited MOCA Geffen in Little Tokyo to experience the amazing exhibit World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear. Conceived by Judy Baca, this series of nine large murals created between 1987 and 2014 stems from … Continue reading →

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Judy Baca retrospective

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Elisa Leonelli

We visited the Judy Baca retrospective at MOLAA, the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, Memorias de Nuestra Tierra (Memories of Our Land). Against the colored walls, the painting Dance of the Land above literally seems to move … Continue reading →

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Wende Museum

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Elisa Leonelli

Yesterday I decided to visit the Wende Museum of the Cold War in Culver City, that I had heard about when it first opened in 2018, but had been closed for months due to the pandemic lockdown. The word Wende … Continue reading →

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Mural Mile

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Elisa Leonelli

Inspired by an article on LA Muralists on LAist, we spent Mother’s Day walking along Mural Mile on Van Nuys Blvd in Pacoima to photograph murals that we liked (when the light was right and we had access). They were … Continue reading →

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Coastal Elites

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Elisa Leonelli

Coastal Elites, written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach, was originally conceived as a play for New York’s Public Theater. These 5 monologues were recorded during the pandemic and will air on HBO September 12. Bette Midler is … Continue reading →

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Museum of Weed

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

The Museum of Weed, at 720 N. Cahuenga Blvd (north of Melrose), is a temporary installation that opened August 3 and will close on September 29. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday. You may check the hours and buy tickets on … Continue reading →

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Franco Columbu, addio

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

Only this morning I read in the Los Angeles Times of the sudden death of Italian champion bodybuilder Franco Columbu, on August 30. He was 78. While vacationing in his native Sardinia, he became ill swimming in the Mediterranean and … Continue reading →

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Robertson Open House

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

Today Sunday June 2, we strolled to Robertson from our house, visited the many establishments that were open for the Art Walk, we said hello to friends and neighbors. Michael, RVNA Co-President, Dan at the Relational Center, Avi at Fred’s Bakery. The … Continue reading →

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Graciela Iturbide, photographer

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

It was not until this morning, while reading a review in the LA Times, Her view of Mexican life, that I found out about an exhibit of photographs by Graciela Iturbide, at the Rose Gallery(D-4), Bergamot Station Arts Centerin Santa Monica, 2525 Michigan Ave. … Continue reading →

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Photoville LA

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

A free pop up photography festival featuring over 55 installation, Photoville LA, presented by Annenberg Space for Photography, is set up in the grass area behind 2020 Avenue of the Stars in Century City (from Saturday to Monday April 26 … Continue reading →

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Actors Gang performs Dario Fo

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

The 1970 play Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Italian playwright Dario Fo is being performed until March 9 by the Actors Gang, founded in 1981 by a group of actors, with Tim Robbins as artistic director. Since 2005 their … Continue reading →

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Wisdome LA

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Elisa Leonelli

After reading an article in the LA Times, we visited Wisdome in Downtown LA. 1147 Palmetto St.We walked inside 5 darkened domes, white on the outside, we sat back on couches to watch SAMSKARA, a psychedelic 22-minute 360 degree video … Continue reading →

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LA news and midterm elections

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Elisa Leonelli

As well as following the news in the New York Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, TIME magazine, etc, I subscribe to online newsletters to find out what is happening in Los Angeles every week. It’s great that LAist is … Continue reading →

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Getty Villa and Getty Museum

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Elisa Leonelli

There has been renewed interest recently in the life of John Paul Getty. It was explored in the movie All the Money in the World, where director Ridley Scott decided to remove the performance of Kevin Spacey to replace him … Continue reading →

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Neighborhood Bookstore

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Elisa Leonelli

We learnt from residents posting on Nextdoor that a bookstore opened in our neighborhood, which is exciting news, so we went to check it out. Sideshow Books, a store of used and rare books that for 11 years was located … Continue reading →

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Alien Zoo in Century City

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Elisa Leonelli

I was invited to experience Alien Zoo, a Virtual Reality pop up in the Century City Mall. It opens to the public Wednesday February 7 and runs until Friday March 2, from 12 noon until 8.40pm, every 40 minutes. You … Continue reading →

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Unplug in West Hollywood

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Elisa Leonelli

Last night I was invited to the opening reception for the new West Hollywood location of Unplug Meditation, at 8500 Melrose Ave, in the newly renovated building at the corner with La Cienega. Beautiful and trendy people were in attendance; … Continue reading →

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Enjoy South Robertson

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Elisa Leonelli

Sunday June 4, I walked 3 blocks from my home to South Robertson to experience the SORO Fest, a joyous community event in its 20th year, when this usually busy street between Cadillac and Cattaraugus is closed to traffic and … Continue reading →

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Romantic Bookstore

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Elisa Leonelli

It was only a few days ago, while reading an article in Los Angeles Magazine about the 14 Best Mom and Pop bookstores in L.A., that I discovered The Ripped Bodice, A Romantic Bookstore, in downtown Culver City.  It opened … Continue reading →

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Culver City summer

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Elisa Leonelli

Yesterday I checked out the Summertini event in Culver City. I discovered that the name means small tastings of martinis, vodka mixed with different fruit juices.  They were served in tiny (tini) plastic cups, not only at restaurants, but also … Continue reading →

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Platform on Washington

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Elisa Leonelli

Last week, after picking up the delicious Gazpacho soup from Smart Simple Gourmet at 3731 Robertson, I took a walk on Washington Blvd going East. This used to be a long stretch of road with no shops, mostly occupied by … Continue reading →

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Arcana-Helms Bakery

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Elisa Leonelli

Last Saturday afternoon I attended an event at the Arcana bookstore in the Helms Bakery District. I was intrigued by the photographer, Aline Smithson, who was signing her new book, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. My curiosity was rewarded, … Continue reading →

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Wilde Thistle

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Elisa Leonelli

                This Sunday afternoon we visited a lovely Irish-Scottish Cafe and Pub (for Artists, Writers, Thinkers & Lovers), at the corner of Motor and Palms, named after Oscar Wilde, the national poet of … Continue reading →

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Robertson Map

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Elisa Leonelli

We just received this lovely map of the businesses on South Robertson Blvd, designed by our local artist, Barbara Mendes. Check out the alphabetical listing in the Robertson page of our Reynier Village Neighborhood Association website. Patronize these shops, galleries, … Continue reading →

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Movies in the park

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Elisa Leonelli

Last night we went to check out this new event in our neighborhood. Street Food Cinema presents summer movie nights in nearby Syd Kronenthal Park in Culver City, at the end of McManus Ave, South of Washington Blvd, walking distance … Continue reading →

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Robertson mural

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Elisa Leonelli

On one on my walks around the neighborhood, I discovered this bright new mural, on the side wall of the liquor store on Robertson, corner Gibson St.  The signature reads Beautify Robertson/septerhed1@gmail.  We located the website and contacted Sept. He … Continue reading →

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Art Space on Robertson

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Elisa Leonelli

    A new community art space and print studio opened in our neighborhood PHLAT PHILE at 2805 Robertson: 323-744 7222 On June 2, at the SORO Festival, they launched a group exhibition called “1 Degree of Separation” featuring various … Continue reading →

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Jacaranda

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Elisa Leonelli

Dozens of jacaranda trees have been blossoming in Reynier Village for the past few weeks, their violet purple flowers brightening the neighborhood and blanketing our streets; but they will soon be gone, so you may wish to walk around and … Continue reading →

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Art classes

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Elisa Leonelli

We were glad to see that the remodeled space at 2803 S Robertson Blvd has been rented to Art Works Studio (310-202 1894). Starting September 10, they offer art classes and workshops for all ages on drawing, painting and mixed … Continue reading →

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SORO FEST

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Elisa Leonelli

The Annual SORO Community festival celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, on Sunday June 3, 2012.  A new coordinator, Mark Fielder, and many volunteers worked really hard to organize this exciting event, that attracts throngs of neighbors to a Robertson … Continue reading →

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Schools on Robertson

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Elisa Leonelli

Did you know that you could find so many learning opportunities for yourself and your family on our very own South Robertson Blvd? If you have teenage children, they may attend Alexander Hamilton High School, and qualify for their excellent … Continue reading →

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Art on Robertson

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Elisa Leonelli

                  A few weeks ago I walked to Robertson Blvd to review some of the new places that have opened recently, in order to update the RVNA website.  I stopped inside the … Continue reading →

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Culver City Art Walk

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Elisa Leonelli

Each month we discover more art galleries, places to eat and shops popping up on the stretch of Washington Blvd, between La Cienega and National, that used to be quite deserted. The best time to visit was yesterday, during the … Continue reading →

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SORO Festival

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Elisa Leonelli

For the thirteenth year the SORO festival took place on South Robertson on Sunday June 6. It was a great way to discover local businesses and get reacquainted with old friends. I spoke with our Reynier Village neighbor Huli, who … Continue reading →

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ART WALK Culver City

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Elisa Leonelli

This annual event gets better and better. This year we decided to explore the area of Washington Blvd between National and La Cienega, East of the more popular downtown Culver City, and found a flourishing neighborhood, full of art galleries, … Continue reading →

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