Five New Episodes Highlight West Coast Modernism Featuring Famous ‘Case Study Homes,’ Leimert Park’s Brockman Gallery’s Influence on Black Artists, Dancer/Musician/Activist Nobuko Miyamoto And the Fusion of Art and Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS station, announced today the return of the original Emmy® award-winning arts and culture series ARTBOUND. The fifteenth season of the one-hour documentary series kicks off with a look at the creation of a world-class art museum and education center dedicated to Mexican-American artists – The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum (aka “The Cheech”) featuring interviews with actor and art collector Cheech Marin. The additional four documentaries in the new season lineup include a look at the life of dancer, musician and activist Nobuko Miyamoto, the impact of Leimert Park’s Brockman Gallery on Black artists, the rise of West Coast Modernism by looking at popular “Case Study Homes” as well as the fusion of art and science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The new season of ARTBOUND will premiere with the documentary “The Cheech” on Fri., Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal and Wed., Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus. Following the broadcast, each of the new ARTBOUND films will stream on the free PBS app. Members of PBS SoCal will get early access to stream select documentaries with PBS Passport starting Oct. 4.

On Sun., Sept. 29, PBS SoCal, Riverside’s “The Cheech” and the City of Riverside will co-host a public ARTBOUND Season Premiere Screening Event at noon followed by a panel discussion that includes iconic actor and art collector Cheech Marin, the film’s writer and director Varda Bar-Kar of GroundStorm Media and Executive Director of Riverside Art Museum Drew Oberjuerge. The screening event will take place one block away from “The Cheech” at The Box Riverside theater with a general reception following. Guests are invited to enjoy entry to The Cheech for FREE between 2-5pm following the screening. The event will offer up a sneak peek of all five episodes coming up in Season 15 of ARTBOUND just prior to the premiere screening of “ARTBOUND: The Cheech.” For more information about the screening, email communications@pbssocal.org.

Additionally, On Tues., Oct. 22 from 6-8:30pm at Downtown LA’s Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium (630 W. 5th St.), the Los Angeles Public Library and LACMA will co-present a screening of “ARTBOUND: Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy” that will showcase the iconic Leimert Park venue that was at the center of a community of Black artists in LA from 1967-1990. Co-founder of the Brockman Gallery Dale Brockman Davis, artist Charles Dickson and LACMA’s Naima Keith will participate in this panel discussion and screening event moderated by PBS SoCal’s Bonnie Boswell with welcome remarks from City Librarian John Szabo. The screening and discussion panel will also be followed by a reception in the outdoor Thorton courtyard. For more information about the screening event, email communications@pbssocal.org.

This season will also feature a series of six digital short documentaries spotlighting iconic Case Study Houses that include the Stahl House, Eames House, Triad House C, Harrison House, West House and Case Study House 1953 (#16). These shorts will dive deeper with exclusive content not covered in “ARTBOUND: Arts & Architecture: The Case Study House Program” giving viewers an opportunity to hear directly from the current homeowners as they share personal insights on the significance of these architectural masterpieces.

New episodes from the 15th season of ARTBOUND will premiere as follows (subject to change*):

“The Cheech” – Fri., Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Cheech Marin is bringing Chicano art to the mainstream art world. After amassing over 700 pieces since the mid-1980s, his efforts have led to the creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, a regionally-based, nationally-focused art institution dedicated to Mexican-American artists. Told through perspectives of established artists and those who know him best, the film tells his journey from comedy icon to Chicano art advocate.

“Blended Worlds: The Fusion of Art & Science at JPL” – Fri., Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) transforms science into awe-inspiring creative projects showing how a passion to explore space informs art and vice versa. Scientific advancements happening at JPL are taking the form of large-scale installations and unforgettable immersive experiences that help imagine better futures. The film includes a look at “Blended Worlds,” a featured exhibition part of Getty’s Pacific Standard Time (PST ART) initiative for 2025.

“Arts & Architecture: The Case Study House Program” – Fri., Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus West Coast Modernism took hold in Southern California when Arts & Architecture Magazine sponsored the “Case Study House” program. As one of the most significant architectural studies supporting experiments in Post WWII American residential architecture, it involved the commission of major architects that included Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra and Charles Eames.

“Black Art: A Brockman Gallery Legacy” – Fri., Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
The Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park was the center of a community of Black artists from 1967-1990. Founded during the heyday of the Black Arts movement and two years after the Watts uprising, it would go on to feature artists that included Betye Saar, Noah Purifoy and John Outterbridge. The Brockman Gallery ushered in a new era of Black artists, helping them penetrate the mainstream art world.

“Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement” – Fri., Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
A new sweeping documentary follows the life of visionary musician, dancer and activist Nobuko Miyamoto. Featuring rare archival footage, the film tells the story of a changing community through one of its most beloved storytellers as she reflects on decades of groundbreaking cultural work and a life that has bridged coasts, industries, families and history.

PBS SoCal also hosts an Events Resource Library at http://www.pbssocal.org/events-resource-library that features a range of original locally produced content that includes several documentary films from past seasons of ARTBOUND. This free digital hub equips organizations to host community screenings. Offering customizable invites, downloadable episodes and engaging post-screening content, the Events Resource Library fosters local storytelling, dialogue and connections. Films from this season of ARTBOUND as well as other popular, locally-produced content from PBS SoCal will become available.

ARTBOUND will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

For more information, follow us on social at @pbssocal

ARTBOUND is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Frieda Berlinski Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and other generous institutional funders.

ABOUT ARTBOUND
ARTBOUND is the award-winning series that captures the spirit of the arts and culture community in Southern California and beyond. The Original series explores and illuminates the cultural issues of our times, providing critical in-depth analysis of how arts and culture affect society. ARTBOUND recognizes the need for access to the arts, arts education and connecting local artists with audiences, and in fact, acts as Southern California’s largest stage. Utilizing public media as a space to find quality arts and culture programming, ARTBOUND reveals cultural touchstones that have shaped the fabric of the region’s communities and a nation whose story is indelibly linked to the arts.

ABOUT PBS SOCAL
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal manages 7 channels — including 2 primary broadcast channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus as well as 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal is reaches nearly 19M viewers in the region with programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal programming is available to viewers over-the-air, on all key streaming platforms via the free PBS App and PBS KIDS App. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.

Media Contact

Allison Gray, PBS SoCal, 7472015298, agray@pbssocal.org, pbssocal.org/artbound

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SOURCE PBS SoCal