‘Projecting L.A.’ photography exhibit opens in Glendale

A photography exhibit that presents an intimate and kaleidoscopic view of Los Angeles, its diverse communities and unwieldy streets will be at the Glendale Central Library next month.

“Projecting L.A. 2024” combines the work of many photographers to tell the story of Los Angeles through photojournalism, documentary and street photography, exhibit organizers said. The exhibition is the brainchild of Julia Dean, a photographer, educator, writer and founder of the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Dean’s project “cuts across cultural, gender, socio-political, generational, community, and physical boundaries and offers an often chaotic but colorful panorama of our city — as seen through the lens of some of its best image makers.”

The project’s photographs are diverse as they are eye-catching, spanning a very wide variety of LA sites and stories that include the region’s fentanyl crisis, behind-the-scenes Hollywood, a doctor treating coronavirus patients, the legacy of Marilyn Monroe, wild Venice Beach, underground wrestling, Latino street gangs, a midwife-led delivery unit and the joys of childhood, according to event organizers.

“Projecting L.A. 2024” was screened April 27 for more than 2,000 spectators in Chinatown during an outdoor projection screening that used the side of a three-story building. Organizers said the Glendale Central Library’s ReflectSpace iteration of the exhibit will be a more intimate indoor experience.

“What better way is there to show off powerful street, documentary, and news stories about Los Angeles and its people than on the street and through projection?” exhibit director Dean said in a statement. “The work is outstanding. Prepare yourself to be inspired.”

Photographers in the exhibit include Pulitzer Prize winners and acclaimed camera-wielders from The Associated Press, LA Daily News, LA Times and Reuters, as well as war photographers, Emmy Award-winners and other accomplished documentary and street photographers.

Contemporary photographers with pictures in the exhibit include Karen Ballard, Jill Connelly, Laurie Freitag, Amy Gaskin, David Ingraham, Jamie Johnson, Sarah Reingewirtz, Richard Smith, David Swanson, Richard Vogel and Jason Williams. The exhibits also features five decades of documentary photos by Richard McCloskey, Don Weinstein, Cristina Salvador Klenz and Robert Yager.

Special guest photographers include actor Jeff Bridges, Susan Bridges, Ringo Chiu, Larry Hirshowitz, Christina House and Allen J. from the Times, Estevan Oriol and Francine Orr.

“Projecting L.A.” will be on display Oct. 5 to Dec. 8 at ReflectSpace inside the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St. An opening reception will be held Oct. 4 from 7 to 9 p.m.