Bob Baker’s childhood drawing of Bob’s Petite Theatre (courtesy Bob Baker Marionette Theater)
Since shuttering its longtime Echo Park location last fall, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been nomadic, staging performances at venues around Los Angeles until it found a new home. Earlier this year, the theater announced that it would be settling into a new spot in Highland Park this summer, and on Tuesday, it will begin its last off-site project before the official grand opening.
Bob Baker’s workshop in his backyard (courtesy Bob Baker Marionette Theater)
From May 28 to August 3, Bob Baker will be in residence at Oxy Arts on York, a brand-new community-based arts space established by Occidental College. Titled Bob’s Petite Theatre, the residency will look at the puppet theater’s origins, going back over five decades to Baker’s first theater, which he set up in his backyard workshop on New Hampshire Avenue. In the wide-eyed spirit of Baker’s experiments with performance and fabrication, there will be free puppet shows and workshops every Tuesday during the residency, as well as special events focusing on 2D shadow puppets (on June 20), foley sound effects (on July 18), lullabies (on July 25), a collaboration with dublab, and more. The fun begins on Tuesday, May 28 with a free show at 10am, workshop for five- to 10-year-old kids at 11am (registration required), and an opening reception from 5 to 7pm.
When: Opens Tuesday, May 28
Where: Oxy Arts on York (4757 York Blvd., Highland Park, Los Angeles)
More info at Bob Baker Marionette Theater.
The Latest
Three Looted Antiquities at the Met Repatriated to Turkey
Nine other repatriated works were seized from Met Trustee Shelby White, whose collection was subject to a criminal investigation.
Required Reading
This week, the world’s lightest paint, Pakistan’s feminist movement, World Puppy Day, and were some of Vermeer’s paintings created by his daughter?
The Wider World and Scrimshaw
On March 28, join the New Bedford Whaling Museum online and in-person for a symposium on global carving traditions from across the Pacific Rim.
Who Will Decide on the Future of a Miami Native Burial Ground?
Native activists say sacred remains and objects dug up from a Brickell construction site should remain there, but mega-developer Jorge Pérez is pushing back.
How Can a Curator Approach South Asian Futurisms?
How do I acknowledge my shortcomings while reckoning with obscured histories and the exclusion of subaltern narratives in the fine art landscape? A working checklist for curators.
MCA Chicago Presents On Stage: Frictions
Will Rawls, Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, and Barak adé Soleil explore Blackness, queerness, movement, and dance in performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
The Complicated Legacy of Camilo Egas
The Ecuadorian painter, a leading figure of Latin America’s Indigenismo art movement, has been both praised and scorned for his representation of Indigenous peoples.
Tom Jones Zeroes in on Ho-Chunk Visibility
“I think about the young kids, the teenagers, and I think being able to see yourself represented in art is so powerful,” says the artist.
Haggerty Museum of Art Presents Tomás Saraceno in Dialogue With Dr. Somesh Roy
The artist and researcher will explore soot’s effects on climate change and public health in this online conversation.
Hundreds of Artworks by NYC Teenagers Go on View at the Met
The talented seventh through twelfth-grade students are recipients of the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
NYC’s Flatiron Building Sells for a Whopping $190M
The sale to outsider bidder Jacob Garlick puts an end to the protracted legal battle between the iconic skyscraper’s five former owners.
McKnight Visual Artist Fellows Discussion Series at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
The series features 2021 Fellows David Bowen, Mara Duvra, Rotem Tamir, Ben Moren, and Dyani White Hawk in conversation with renowned curators and critics.
The Best Memes Roasting the “We ❤️ NYC” Campaign
A graphic designer on Twitter created a hilarious send-up of the universally reviled logo, and the rest is history.
Did You Know These Museums Were Free for New Yorkers?
The “Free Admission” campaign is advocating to make ticket pricing information more transparent to visitors, who may be confused or misled by institutions’ language.