This weekend is a great opportunity to take in our latest exhibition, Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Court, since all weekend long we will be holding a free symposium, “Unwrapping Gifts of the Sultan,” featuring scholars from around the world discussing themes related to the exhibition. Tonight, Robert Hillenbrand will give the keynote speech, “Medieval Islamic Gift-giving: From the Perfect Present to the White Elephant.” For Saturday and Sunday presentations, see the full schedule and drop into the Bing Theater to check it out.
"Timur Receiving Gifts from the Egyptian Ambassadors," left-hand folio (fol. 399b) of a double-page composition manuscript of the Zafarnama of Saraf al-Din 'Ali Yazdi, 1436, Worcester Art Museum (1935.26)
Teens—and teens ONLY—should make their way to the museum Saturday night when we open the doors to Tim Burton for our FREE After Dark event! Bring your school ID—if your age doesn’t end in “-teen,” you’re not getting in. Sorry mom and dad, you’ll have to wait in the car. Or, you can make a reservation to have dinner at Ray’s. Did you read the rave review in this week’s Los Angeles Times? Maybe you should consider seeing what all the excitement is about.
Entrance to Tim Burton
Alternatively, tonight would be a great night to hit up Ray’s or the Stark Bar if you like jazz—Charles Owens will be leading his quintet right in front of Urban Light as part of our free Jazz at LACMA concert series.
The free concerts keep coming all weekend long. Tomorrow in Hancock Park, Louis Cruz Beltran will make you dance during Latin Sounds. Don’t believe me? Here’s a clip of Beltran at the 2009 LA Vida Music Festival.
Contemporary art fans, take note: Larry Bell and Robert Irwin will be having a free conversation in the Art Catalogues bookstore, in honor of Bell’s latest monograph. We have no idea what they’ll talk about… does it matter? It’s Larry Bell and Robert Irwin!
Larry Bell, Cube, 1966, gift of the Frederick R. Weisman Company, © Larry Bell
Finally, the weekend will close out with a free performance in the Bing from the Capitol Ensemble, performing Schubert’s Trio in B-flat major, Opus 99, D. 898.
Of course, there’s always much more happening at LACMA than can be detailed in one easily digestible blog post. Check our exhibitions and installations on view (including, of course, Tim Burton), or visit the calendar for a list of free docent tours and more info on Andell Family Sundays.
Scott Tennent