The October Surprise took place over a couple of days in 2004. Its aim was to unveil a local neighborhood to itself during the time of the national spectacle of a presidential election. The series of multi-and-non sighted exhibitions, events, shows, interventions and happenings took place throughout the diverse areas surrounding the Highland Park area of LA. Its goal was to foster community discourse rather than sheepish electorate.
There was a hub space at Avenida 50 Gallery. There were also events at the late anarchist social space Flor Y Canto. Otherwise the October Surprise took place in the places that people frequent outside in North East LA. We got some funding from 2 neighborhood council districts but mostly the show was funded through sweat equity a rock show and a bbq.
The event was directly inspired by Chicago's Department of Space and Land Reclamation (DSLR). While DSLR aimed to use urban interventions to create a polsylabic discourse around the issue of gentrification in Chicago- the context of LA was our muse for the October Surprise. As such the goals for the October Surprise was as diverse as its participants. The organizers aim was to create a context for the multiple stakeholders (from undocumented workers through kids on up to the wealthy hill dwellers) to experience one another in a civic space.
There was a hub space at Avenida 50 Gallery. There were also events at the late anarchist social space Flor Y Canto. Otherwise the October Surprise took place in the places that people frequent outside in North East LA. We got some funding from 2 neighborhood council districts but mostly the show was funded through sweat equity a rock show and a bbq.
The event was directly inspired by Chicago's Department of Space and Land Reclamation (DSLR). While DSLR aimed to use urban interventions to create a polsylabic discourse around the issue of gentrification in Chicago- the context of LA was our muse for the October Surprise. As such the goals for the October Surprise was as diverse as its participants. The organizers aim was to create a context for the multiple stakeholders (from undocumented workers through kids on up to the wealthy hill dwellers) to experience one another in a civic space.
The map of North East LA showing transportation corridors, contested sites, places of local historic significance, libraries and schools, and planned sites where October Surprise activities were set to happen.
This is a drawing that organizer Marc Herbst did showing all of the organizations that the October Surprise linked up. It was super cool to be a part of a project that linked together elementary school teachers and shop owners, the neighborhood councils and an anarchist multi-use center.
One of my favorite elements of the October Surprise was 'the Electric Surprise" which was a day of activities that took place in Tierra De La Culebra Park. The Electric Surprise was a days worth of activities for kids, paper dress making workshops, skateboard ramp making workshops and kids punk rock bands. Organizer Sandra de la Loza really made this day come together so well.
This is a drawing that organizer Marc Herbst did showing all of the organizations that the October Surprise linked up. It was super cool to be a part of a project that linked together elementary school teachers and shop owners, the neighborhood councils and an anarchist multi-use center.One of my favorite elements of the October Surprise was 'the Electric Surprise" which was a day of activities that took place in Tierra De La Culebra Park. The Electric Surprise was a days worth of activities for kids, paper dress making workshops, skateboard ramp making workshops and kids punk rock bands. Organizer Sandra de la Loza really made this day come together so well.
The event took place over a large geographic region. To make sense of the 44 or so planned projects (talks, exhibits, interventions, walks, concerts, happenings, lectures etc...) we published a guidebook. The guidebook contained the shows map and a key. It also described every participants project. Also we published interviews with residents to try to get at some of the critical issues for the neighborhood that crossed racial and class boundaries.