Join us for an in-conversation between collector Joy Simmons and Executive & Artistic Director of The Mistake Room, César García-Alvarez, followed by a special tour of the Simmons Collection.
V. Joy Simmons, MD is a collector and philanthropist who for more than three decades has collected the work of artists of African descent and more broadly, of artists whose work is informed and inspired by Black culture. Championing artists at critical moments in their careers, Dr. Simmons’s collection includes early works by David Hammons, John Outterbridge, Betye Saar, Mark Bradford, Kara Walker, Henry Taylor and Mickalene Thomas that are in conversation with works and site-specific commissions by a new generation of practitioners including Genevieve Gaignard, Lauren Halsey, Deborah Roberts, and Devan Shimoyama amongst others. In addition to supporting artists, Dr. Simmons has played a vital role in the establishment and growth of various small to mid-size institutions that now help define Los Angeles’s vibrant cultural landscape. She served as a founding Board Member of LAXART, The Watts House Project, and The Mistake Room where she currently serves as Board Chair. For this event guests will be able to tour Dr. Simmons’s home and listen to a conversation between her and Cesar Garcia-Alvarez, Director of The Mistake Room, about her collecting and patronage.
César García-Alvarez is the Founder and current Executive & Artistic Director of The Mistake Room (TMR)—LA’s international non-profit contemporary art space. At TMR García-Alvarez has organized projects and exhibitions with Oscar Murillo, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Ed Clark, Vivian Suter, Diana Thater, Thomas Hirschhorn, Eduardo Sarabia, and Henry Taylor amongst others. Most recently he organized Where The Sea Remembers, one of the first US exhibitions devoted solely to contemporary art from Vietnam. He is currently working on a group exhibition slated for Fall 2020 titled Wetlines that will survey the state of Latinx art in the US. Prior to founding TMR García-Alvarez was Associate Director and Senior Curator of LAXART (2007-2012). He was one of the curators of Made in L.A. 2012, the first iteration of the Hammer Museum’s LA Biennial, and from 2012-2013 served as the US Commissioner for the 13th International Cairo Biennial in Egypt. With Ute Meta Bauer, García-Alvarez was one of the curators of the first edition of The Current—Vienna-based foundation TBA21’s Triennium. García-Alvarez has organized a host of other exhibitions at institutions locally, nationally, and internationally. He has held various teaching appointments and publishes frequently. His next book, The Anthology of Errors, which documents the history and work of TMR’s first five years, is slated for release in late 2020. He lives and works between Los Angeles, CA, and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Limited street parking available.Taxi, Uber, Lyft, and ride-shares are encouraged.
As this event has limited capacity, RSVP's will be confirmed via email should they be successful and are not guaranteed.