I have returned from the land of the academics. It was wonderful to be part of Imagining America, the first conference under the leadership of Jan Cohen-Cruz (with tons of help from Juliet Feibel, Jamie Haft and crew and USC). Top highlight: a keynote by the great Judy Baca, who talked about how the land holds memories and how she and her team excavate them for the hundreds of murals and monuments they have created. The land of L.A. certainly holds memories for me: I was among the first wave of artists who moved to downtown L.A. in the 1970s, when you could get an 8,000-sq.-ft. loft for $500 a month. Now the place is awash in gated "luxury apartments" with names like "Artisan on Second," plus several Starbucks and an Office Depot. So it goes.

More on the conference -- and the traditional arts organizing meetup in Chicago -- later, after I read my 1500 e-mails.

   

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