PST ART Open House: A day-to-night exploration of art and science presented by Getty

March 1, 2025
The Ebell of Los Angeles
Programs include a taping of the Radiolab gameshow pilot The Weirdest Thing, PST ART artists in conversation, Berggruen Institute’s guided tour of an alien solar system, music and performances from AfroRithm Futures Group, Massima Bell and Julianna Barwick
A pop-up Art Book Fair from Printed Matter will feature art-meets-science publications and PST ART titles
Pop-Up Art Book Fair from Printed Matter
1–8 PM
Organized by Printed Matter, this pop-up fair will offer artists’ books, editions, and ephemera from vendors including: Apogee Graphics, Artbook @ PST ART, Berggruen Institute, David Kordansky Gallery, David Zwirner Books, DelMonico Books, East of Borneo, Getty Publications, Hauser & Wirth Publishers, Inventory Press, LA Ayuda, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA), ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Pioneer Works Press, Printed Matter, Inc., tiny tech zines, X Artists’ Books.
The pop-up will also feature Poster, Performed, an interactive printmaking installation by Tricia Treacy + Arzu Ozkal and Wylie Kasai (submit to their photo database here); an experimental community compost project by writer Cassandra Marketos and artist David Horvitz; and a workshop that explores the techniques underpinning creative AI co-writing with engineer, writer, artist and musician K Allado-McDowell. (Limited Capacity; RSVP here.)
What Happens When Art & Science Collide?
1–5PM
Open House begins with an idea-driven look back on what happened during PST ART:
- 1:30PM: Can the studio be a laboratory? A panel discussion on art and science led by artist Lia Halloran, and featuring artists Nancy Baker Cahill and Maru Garcia, and technologist and NASA JPL alum Sasha Samochina.
- 2:30PM: What will be left of art after AI? A conversation on photoshop and AI led by LACMA curator Britt Salveson and featuring writer, artist, and researcher Mashinka Firunts Hakopian and artist Brandon Lattu.
- 3PM: Is the future a game? A panel discussion on speculative worldbuilding in art, moderated by Ryan Linkof, curator at the Lucas Museum, and featuring artist Lauren Lee McCarthy, artist and filmmaker Alex Rivera, and artist, architect, and filmmaker Liam Young.
- 4PM: Artists & Scientists Respond to PST ART, a series of microtalks celebrating highlights from Art & Science Collide, featuring: Nao Bustamante, Hillary Mushkin, Emma Robbins, Clarissa Tossin, Josh Willis, Rosten Woo, and others.
Lightscape at the Marciano Art Foundation
2PM
Just across the street from the Ebell on Lucerne Blvd, Lightscape will be on view at the Marciano Art Foundation, a large-scale, multi-screen installation by Doug Aitken. At 2 PM, the experience will come to life with a live musical performance by Icelandic music maker Bjarki that will further immerse visitors within the work. (Limited Capacity; RSVP Here)
The Beginning and the End of our Universe, with Janna Levin
and a Special Performance by Massima Bell
5:30–7PM
Janna Levin, the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College and Director of Science for Pioneer Works, will discuss the beginning and the end of the universe with two celebrated astrophysics: particle physicist Maria Spiropulu, Shang-Yi Ch'en Professor of Physics at Caltech, and Clifford V. Johnson, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Between these two conversations, Massima Bell—a musician, producer, model, and activist—will bring the conversation back to earth with To kiss the sun pouring from her lips, a new site-specific performance for the garden courtyard of the Ebell, soundtracked by Nina Keith and Massima Bell, performed collaboratively with Kei Austin, Palma Estela, and Gabriel Gamboa, with support from artisan natural builder Autumn Flower Creek, of MudWorks.
Visions of Distant Life
6:45–8PM
Opening the session, Ahmed Best, Jesse Gilbert and Oguri Lightning Shadow will perform an excerpt from the Multiplanetary Garden, a choreographed ritual dance that imagines how Black and Indigenous agricultural practices might shape an egalitarian, multiplanetary society. The piece was created by the AfroRithm Futures Group for the PST ART exhibition EMERGENCE.
Then, the Berggruen Institute will ask: what if life on other planets isn’t as strange as we imagine? Dr. Claire Isabel Webb, Dr. Iaroslav Iakubivskyi, and Estelle Janin will give an immersive lecture guiding the audience through Proxima Kósmos, a speculative solar system where life could thrive under radically different conditions. Drawing on both rigorous scientific modeling and creative storytelling, this lecture explores how our understanding of biology, chemistry, and geology can open the door to imagining new forms of life—both alien and familiar.
Radiolab’s The Weirdest Thing
and a Special Performance by Julianna Barwick
8:15–10PM
Join WNYC's Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser and a trio of brilliant improvisational storytellers for a game that reveals the extraordinary true stories behind mysterious objects and recordings borrowed from museum collections across Los Angeles. Natural or manmade, ancient or brand new, they’ll be chosen for maximum perplexity and amazement. Come curious, have a laugh, leave with wonder - and maybe even a prize.
Following this event, Julianna Barwick—the celebrated electronic musician, composer, and producer—will close out the stage program with a special site-specific sound and light performance.
Becoming a Body of Water: A Hydrofeminism Lounge
10PM
A special late-night activation organized by Salome Asega, Director of the art, technology, and science incubator NEW INC, will close out the evening. Becoming a Body of Water: A Hydrofeminism Lounge will be hosted by artist and designer Mindy Seu and chef and culinary alchemist Angel Dimayuga, and will feature a curated selection of bites and beverages that complement music and conversation at the intersection of ecofeminism, marine biology, and mermaid lore. Special guests include pro surfer Sharon Schaffer; musician Arima Ederra; environmental activist Leah Thomas; and artist and filmmaker Alima Lee. (21+; Limited Capacity; RSVP here.)
Pop-Up Art Book Fair from Printed Matter The pop-up will also feature Poster, Performed, an interactive printmaking installation by Tricia Treacy + Arzu Ozkal and Wylie Kasai (submit to their photo database here); an experimental community compost project by writer Cassandra Marketos and artist David Horvitz; and a workshop that explores the techniques underpinning creative AI co-writing with engineer, writer, artist and musician K Allado-McDowell. (Limited Capacity; RSVP here.) What Happens When Art & Science Collide?
Lightscape at the Marciano Art Foundation The Beginning and the End of our Universe, with Janna Levin Between these two conversations, Massima Bell—a musician, producer, model, and activist—will bring the conversation back to earth with To kiss the sun pouring from her lips, a new site-specific performance for the garden courtyard of the Ebell, soundtracked by Nina Keith and Massima Bell, performed collaboratively with Kei Austin, Palma Estela, and Gabriel Gamboa, with support from artisan natural builder Autumn Flower Creek, of MudWorks. Visions of Distant Life Then, the Berggruen Institute will ask: what if life on other planets isn’t as strange as we imagine? Dr. Claire Isabel Webb, Dr. Iaroslav Iakubivskyi, and Estelle Janin will give an immersive lecture guiding the audience through Proxima Kósmos, a speculative solar system where life could thrive under radically different conditions. Drawing on both rigorous scientific modeling and creative storytelling, this lecture explores how our understanding of biology, chemistry, and geology can open the door to imagining new forms of life—both alien and familiar. Radiolab’s The Weirdest Thing Following this event, Julianna Barwick—the celebrated electronic musician, composer, and producer—will close out the stage program with a special site-specific sound and light performance. Becoming a Body of Water: A Hydrofeminism Lounge |