Soup & Tart: Los Angeles

Presented by MOCA and Active Cultures
Produced by Active Cultures
Organized by Sarah Cooper

50 artists, 6 chefs
a marathon of 2 minute performances

With contributions from A History of Frogs, An Only Child, Ei Arakawa, Ben Babbitt, Julianna Barwick, Nora Berman, Jay Carlon, York Chang, Jeremiah Chiu, Sophia Cleary, Chris Cohen, Paige Emery, Chris Emile, Carmina Escobar, Corey Fogel, Sebastian Hernandez, Celia Hollander, David Horvitz, Nailah Hunter, Elaine Kahn, SK Kakraba, Olive Kimoto, Rachel Kushner, Molly Lambert, Mary Lattimore, Shana Lutker, Maral, Emily Mast, Olivia Mole, Charlie Morrow, Emile Mosseri, Jasmine Nyende, Alison O'Daniel, Tyler Matthew Oyer, Pau S. Pescador, Jeanetta Rich, Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs, Saturn Risin9, Adee Roberson, Amanda Ross-Ho, claire rousay, Ana Roxanne, Nina Sarnelle, Anna Sew Hoy, Patrick Shiroishi, Julius Smack, Alex Somers, Dean Spunt, Gabie Strong, Clarissa Tossin, Dorian Wood, ricky sallay zoker

SOUP: Mina Park and Kwang Uh, Baroo; Gerardo Gonzalez; Rashida Holmes, Bridgetown Roti

TART: Meadow Ramsey, Kismet; Hannah Ziskin, Quarter Sheets; Sera Pisani, Domenica Dinette

Taking inspiration from Soup & Tart, an event devised by Fluxus artist Jean Dupuy in 1974 and held at The Kitchen in downtown New York, Soup & Tart: Los Angeles brings together fifty artists, musicians, and dancers from across Los Angeles’ cultural landscape, inviting them to use two minutes in any way they like: an improvisation, song, action, movement, or text.

As the performances roll on, a lineup of LA chefs will serve up their take on delicious soup and tarts for all. During the 1974 happening, bowls of lentil soup and French apple tarts were served when artists such as Phillip Glass, Yvonne Rainer, Arthur Russell, Laurie Anderson, Gordon Matta-Clark, Hannah Wilke, Richard Serra, and Joan Jonas entertained the crowd.

Just as Dupuy's Soup & Tart took place in a pivotal moment for the artists of its generation, this experiment aims to ask what the models of earlier avant-gardes can reveal in the here and now. Poised to be a night of the unexpected, Soup & Tart: Los Angeles seeks to capture that magical sense of convening that is only possible when enjoyed with good food!

Organized by curator Sarah Cooper, the lineup will include a vast array of creative figures from across the city. The full list of participating artists and chefs will be announced this spring.

Active Cultures is a public arts organization in Los Angeles exploring the confluence of food and art through public projects, programs, and publishing.

Sarah Cooper is a curator, writer, and art historian based in Los Angeles. She is the Public Programs Specialist for performance at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she directs the experimental series Ever Present, among other programs. She is a 2022 recipient of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Her M.A. thesis, Expanding Experimentalism: Popular Music and Art at the Kitchen in New York City, 1971-1985, explores the creative output of artists' bands and the relationship between popular music and avant-garde art practices.

Soup & Tart: Los Angeles and Active Cultures’ programs are made possible in part by the Active Cultures Board of Directors; the Gatherers Annual Fund; California Arts Council; the Kohl Family Foundation; and the Los Angeles Visual Arts (LAVA) Coalition.

Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs is organized by Alex Sloane, Associate Curator, and is produced by Amelia Charter, Producer of Performance and Programs, with Brian Dang, former Programming Coordinator, and Michele Huizar, Programming Assistant, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Wonmi's WAREHOUSE Programs is founded by Wonmi & Kihong Kwon and Family.