Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though,  is the third iteration of the Hammer’s biennial exhibition highlighting the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Organized by Hammer curator Aram Moshayedi and Hamza Walker, Director of Education and Associate Curator at the Renaissance Society in Chicago, the exhibition includes twenty-six contributing artists and participants and features in-depth presentations of individual bodies of work—from condensed monographic surveys to comprehensive displays of multi-year projects, including newly commissioned works from emerging artists and extending into such disciplines as dance, fashion, literature, music, and film.

The exhibition disregards any pretense of a unifying regional aesthetic, sensibility, or identity that has tended to be historically associated with Los Angeles, and instead addresses how the city is a nexus of activity inseparable from the global network of art production, revealing how artists move fluidly between contexts and respond to their local conditions. Subtitled by the minimalist poet and writer Aram Saroyanas his contribution to the exhibition, Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only focuses on a selection of artists from different disciplinary backgrounds in order to allow the individual projects to guide the shape and parameters of the overall exhibition.

Participants
Kelly Akashi (b. 1983, Los Angeles) / Huguette Caland (b. 1931, Beirut) / Eckhaus Latta (est. 2011; Zoe Latta, b. 1987, Santa Cruz, California; Mike Eckhaus, b. 1987, New York) / Rafa Esparza (b. 1981, Los Angeles) / Lauren Davis Fisher (b. 1984, Cambridge, Massachusetts) / Todd Gray (b. 1954, Los Angeles) / Joel Holmberg (b. 1982, Bethesda, Maryland) / Margaret Honda (b. 1961, San Diego, California) / Arthur Jafa (b. 1960, Tupelo, Mississippi) / Labor Link TV (est. 1988; Fred Lonidier, b. 1942, Lakeview, Oregon) / Laida Lertxundi (b. 1981, Bilbao, Spain) / Adam Linder (b. 1983, Sydney) / Guthrie Lonergan (b. 1984, Los Angeles) / Rebecca Morris (b. 1969, Honolulu, Hawaii) / Shahryar Nashat (b. 1975, Geneva) / Silke Otto-Knapp (b. 1970, Osnabrück, Germany) / Gala Porras-Kim (b. 1984, Bogotá) / Sterling Ruby (b. 1972, Bitburg, Germany) / Aram Saroyan (b. 1943, New York) / Kenzi Shiokava (b. 1938, São Paulo) / Daniel R. Small (b. 1984, Centralia, Illinois) / Wadada Leo Smith (b. 1941, Leland, Mississippi) / Martine Syms (b. 1988, Los Angeles) / Kenneth Tam (b. 1982, New York) / Mark Verabioff (b. 1963, Kingston, Canada) / Dena Yago (b. 1988, New York)

Mohn Awards
Funded through the generosity of Los Angeles philanthropists and art collectors Jarl and Pamela Mohn, The Mohn Award (100,000 USD) and the Career Achievement Award (25,000 USD) will be selected by a professional jury, and the Public Recognition Award (25,000 USD) will be determined through a public vote. All the artists in the exhibition are eligible to receive the awards.

Catalogue
Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue that functions as an extension of the exhibition. Built around a broad range of material, developed in collaboration with each participating artist and contributor, the catalogue includes commissioned essays and texts by artists, curators, critics, and writers, including George Clark, María Palacios Cruz, Raquel Gutiérrez,Sandy Lajer, Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Sohrab Mohebbi, Ed Moses, Janet Sarbanes, Rachelle Sawatsky, Kitty Scott, Oscar Tuazon, and Robert Wilhite. The catalogue is designed by Joseph Logan Design, a New York-based design studio, and is co-published with DelMonico Books, an imprint of Prestel Publishing.

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