HABEAS LOUNGE embarks on A Pluralistic DTLA Investigation

You are cordially invited to join us for the first in a series of HABEAS ENCOUNTER GROUPS. Week one will feature downtown writers/bloggers/tweeters, on Wednesday evening, September 23rd, 6 - 8 PM.

Come out and meet people who want to hear about your downtown LA. What makes you inspired...or repulsed by downtown? Is downtown your muse? How do LA and its representations negotiate the spaces of the virtual and the real? We invite you to share your visions and versions of downtown in a candid informal discussion at the HABEAS LOUNGE. The event is the first of "A Pluralistic Downtown Los Angeles Investigation", a series of explorations through maps and encounters, which will build a framework for the ideas and exchanges about our shared city.

The HABEAS LOUNGE is a built environment created by LA artist Linda Pollack, specifically constructed to foster and animate civic dialogue. At its core, the LOUNGE is a communal seating arrangement, designed by architect Mark Gee. The original LOUNGE, built from steel, wood and upholstery, was created at the 18th Street Art Center of Santa Monica where it hosted an array of discussions and events addressing constitutional issues in anticipation of the 2008 presidential election. It has since traveled from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles, to mid town Manhattan, to the financial district of Manhattan, and most recently to Newark New Jersey. In each edition, Linda creates a site specific program addressing timely civic issues. Topics of past LOUNGE series include urban planning, constitutional issues, the economy, and city history. This summer an edition of the LOUNGE was commissioned by the city of Wroclaw Poland to host a program of constitutional discussions on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Eastern Europe's political changes of 1989.

For A Pluralistic Downtown Los Angeles Investigation, the HABEAS LOUNGE is literally constructed from the city of Los Angeles, creating a new level of site specificity. LA local businesses donated their cardboard to sustainable architect Nina Marie Barbuto, who built this version of the LOUNGE. The mapping investigation features a broad spectrum of geographical materials ranging from traditional and historic maps, to those inspired by the senses of smell, touch and emotion. The collection and workshops are orchestrated by map wrangler Katie Bachler. HABEAS LOUNGE headquarters has been specially designed LA architect Ilaria Mazzoleni.

HABEAS LOUNGE is open weekdays 12 - 4, when the public is invited to examine the evolving depository of maps, and to create and contribute their own as part of the growing collection.
HABEAS ENCOUNTER GROUPS - invites unique downtown perspective groups to instigate a discussion based on their visions of the city; Wednesdays 6 - 8 PM.
HABEAS MAPPING WORKSHOPS - Join us each Saturday for participatory mapping adventures and learn about wide ranging ways of mapping of your own downtown experience; Saturdays 2 - 4 PM.
HABEAS LOUNGE participates in the Downtown LA Artwalk; October 8 + November 12, 5 - 9 PM.

Feel free to pass this invitation on to friends and colleagues. For more info: Linda Pollack, HabeasIndex@gmail.com.

HABEAS LOUNGE A Pluralistic Downtown Los Angeles Investigation
September 21 thru November 13 2009
7+ FIG Art Space
7&FIG at Ernst & Young Plaza 735 S. Figueroa Street Middle level Los Angeles, CA 90017Validated parking in 7+ FIG parking structure, entrance on 7th and 8th Streets, west of Figueroa.