NEIGHBORHOOD INTERPRETIVE CENTER
The Neighborhood Interpretive Center is a hyperlocal initiative of cultural programs that focus on and uplift the MacArthur Park/Westlake neighborhood and surrounding areas. Anopen call for cultural workers and creatives sought innovative and engaging projects, relevant to the MacArthur Park/Westlake community. Extra consideration was given to the following: cultural workers and creatives that live or work in the MacArthur Park/Westlake community or surrounding areas; proposals that demonstrate a greater understanding of the unique history, dynamics, heritage, and distinctiveness of the area; proposals that include work from artists that qualify as under-recognized and that contribute to the on-going commitment to diversity.

For 2024, the selection committee chose three projects from a large number of proposals. 

VOICES OF EXPERIENCE
Developed and curated by Los Angeles-based artist Anne Kim, "Voices of Experience" is an intergenerational and multilingual interdisciplinary project that aims to amplify the rich narratives of community elders residing near the Goethe-Institut in McArthur Park. Selected from this vibrant community, four elders will participate in a collaborative choreographic process. The culmination of this endeavor will be an immersive storytelling exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles Project space that includes special live performances and workshops. Voices of Experience will integrate projection, film, dance, audio, and visual arts, creating a compelling exploration of our elders’ diverse experiences and perspectives.

DOWN UNION
Melina Cruz Bautista is a photographer, independent curator, and community storyteller based in the Pico-Union area of downtown Los Angeles. Her practice is driven by a deep-instilled passion for preserving cultural history through storytelling. Her Project DOWN UNION transforms the Goethe-Institut Project Space into an interdisciplinary, multigenerational exhibition that highlights the work of artists from the Westlake/ MacArthur Park and Pico/Union neighborhoods. Through photographs, poems, music, and paintings, DOWN UNION strives to capture the essence of the community's rich cultural history through the lens of its youth. Accompanying programs, events and communal celebrations offer an opportunity to engage with the extended community through proposed financial literacy & mental health workshops providing crucial resources for Indigenous parents within the community, fostering a holistic approach to well-being. 

SONIC MEMOIRS
Güido Mendoza (he/him/they) is a Salvadoran-Mexican L.A. native queer writer, producer, composer, music supervisor, jewelry designer, and host. Across various media, Güido creatively explores his split roots, gender identity, biculturalism, curiosities, oddities, and hidden connections of the perplexing, yet fascinating human experience called life. For his project SONIC MEMOIRS, Güido will conduct a series of interviews with residents in the Westlake/MacArthur Park area that explore and document the unique connection to music and homeland. SONIC MEMOIRS focuses on the primarily undocumented community and poses culturally relevant questions to reflect on. The collection of interviews and testimonials will be presented as part of multimedia audio-visual installations at the Goethe-Institut Project space. Additionally, the interviews will be digitally archived on Sonic Memoirs’ website and social media platforms.

In the fall of 2021, the Goethe-Institut opened an interdisciplinary project space in the MacArthur Park/Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles has worked together with local partners and cultural workers to conduct focus groups to better understand what the community would like the new space to be. The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles was invited to join the community advisory council initiated by the Levitt Pavilion, where they could connect to and listen to the thoughts of various initiatives and organizations in and around the neighborhood. Through this process, the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles determined to use the project space as a host for people and cultures in the area and as a platform to present projects directly relevant to the MacArthur Park/Westlake community and surrounding neighborhoods. This focus on direct cooperation with local communities is also at the heart of the Goethe-Institut's work globally.