What can listening do (part 2)?

January 16-25, 2024, Sam Francis Gallery, Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences, Santa Monica, CA

Residency: Jan. 16-25

Closing Reception: Wednesday, Jan. 24 // 3:30-5 p.m. (Open to the public)

Exhibition On View: Thursday, Jan. 25 // 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (RSVP required)

What Can Listening Do? (Part 2) is a socially engaged project by artist Elana Mann, involving the creation of original sonic instruments for protest and ritual.

This is the conclusion of a two-part project on the theme of echoes by Mann, who is the artist-in-residence at Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences for the 2023-2024 academic year. In the fall, she curated a group show that presented a growing movement of Los Angeles based artists who use aurality (and its limits) to alter consciousness and spur action. While the first part of the project focused on the echoes of radical sound artworks, this second part highlights how the ideas of young people resound within their communities and beyond.

She will work with Crossroads students to produce wooden egg shakers with slogans/symbols that the students will birth and echo. These student works will be displayed alongside a new set of Mann’s signature hand-made porcelain rattles. What Can Listening Do? (Part 2) is part of an ongoing series by Mann who, since 2019, has created ceramic rattles that she uses in group demonstrations on the street and in smaller ceremonies within domestic settings. The project will culminate in a large-scale performance during the exhibition’s closing reception on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

Please note, this show will be exhibited on Jan. 25 only. (Crossroads community members are also invited to attend the closing reception on Jan. 24.) Please make a reservation by clicking here. Upon arrival, visitors must check in with security.