Experience Art that’s Alive, Touches Raw Nerves and is Fun
Janel Leonard’s vision for bringing a Southern California community together is a hands-on event, This or That Space, that weaves music and experiential art with spirituality and learning sessions.
Fragmented is how I see the cities of Pasadena, Arcadia and much of Southern California. My granddaughter was playing soccer during her elementary school years and no one on her team attended her school. No one from her school classes attended our church. And no one she knew from church lived within a mile of our neighborhood.
Social fissures are like fault lines running through the earth, creating instability and making friendships tough to grasp and develop.
Add the dividing lines of deeply held political and spiritual beliefs, mixed with personal struggles like depression within a fast-paced society and the result is isolation. It’s like mortar in a wall that keeps bricks from touching. We exist but we don’t blend and interact.
Janel sees these weaknesses in our societal fabric and is bringing a diverse community together in a month-long exhibition of art, music, magic and informal learning sessions.
This or That Space is a safe space for “people to get lost and be themselves.” She has transformed a unique office space along Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia into themed rooms that celebrate artists who put themselves into their creations and invite others to become immersed in the experience.
This photo shows part of an art exhibit that a botanist put together with actual mice in a cage with a waterfall of stuffed animals near by and a bed to set on.
Janel doesn’t shy away from finding what others might find as unique and odd to package them in an experiential setting.
Rooms with plastered walls and industrial grade carpeting are transformed into mini-discovery centers with a lounge area featuring a live band …
a magic show with Adi Ventures and …
… on Sundays, learning sessions that include pickling veggies, candling and making soap.
Janel grew up in Arcadia, one of several children, where she had to learn the art and value of getting along, sharing, and solving conflicts. She also developed a deeply held biblical belief that she continues to nurture while understanding that others around her harbor their own perspectives.
Rather than live in a fragmented society, she wants people to come together for a time of personal and community discovery.
This or That Space is a unique event, a pop-up time opening on Saturday night July 6 with tickets available through evensi.
Sunday afternoon, July 7 is a time to pickle veggies.
Friday, July 12 is Illuminadi, a Magic Castle magician
Saturday, July 13 is Women’s Poetry Night
Sunday, July 14 candle making
Friday, July 19, Spirituality Discussion in 2019
Sunday, July 21 DIY Soap making
Friday July 26 Mental Health Discussion
Saturday, July 27, New Year’s Eve Party in July!
A description of all events are included on the website Thisorthatspace.com.
Don Simkovich, MA, features community in the Detective Tom Stone crime and adventure stories available through his Amazon page and on his website donsimkovich.com.
