public art to promote public engagement
PLAY THE LA RIVER
A game of urban exploration & imagination…
A come one, come all movement…
An open invitation to play along the LA River…
[2013-2015]
Play the LA River was a come-one-come-all project by a group of artists called Project 51 that invited Angelenos to explore, enjoy, reclaim, and reimagine the mighty LA River as a grand civic space that can connect communities.
Project 51 created a Play the LA River card deck and a year-long series of events that activated the 51 mile LA River, which were developed in collaboration with community partners.
The Play the LA River card deck was designed to be a collectible, playable guide to the entire 51-mile LA River organized in 4 geographical suits—Valley, Glendale Narrows, Downtown & South. The cards offer 56 sites to discover—52 places on the river + 4 wild-card sites that are close by and river-related. Each card includes a map, some key information about the site, and a few starter ideas for how to play...
Project 51 also launched an online version of the deck, a community-sourced events calendar, a social media feed, and virtual exhibition space.
Project 51 members included (from left to right):
Barron Bixler, Kat Superfisky, Erika Barbosa, Nat Zappia, Allison Wyper, Catherine Gudis, Allison Carruth, Lila Higgins, Jenny Price, John Arroyo, and Amanda Evans
Play the LA River was supported by ArtPlace America’s Creative Placemaking Grants and a UC Humanities grant, and was fiscally sponsored by UCLA.
