Human Resources Los Angeles (HRLA) is a non-profit exhibition and performance space located in Los Angeles's Chinatown dedicated to supporting interdisciplinary, performative and experimental art practices.

History

Human Resources Los Angeles was founded by siblings Eric and Kathleen Kim in 2010. They were joined by three of their friends Giles Miller, Devin McNulty, and

Dawn Kasper Dawn Kasper (born 1977 in Fairfax, Virginia) is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist working across genres of performance, installation, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, and sound. Her often improvisational work derives from a "fascina ...

with the intent of featuring performance art over traditional static displays. Instead of being organized by a single curator HRLA utilizes a content programming committee, organizing displays through collaboration. The name "human resources" refers to the fact that the gallery is a resource for artists rather than an institutional setting. Doug Harvey, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' mentioned HRLA among the "D.I.Y. artist-run project spaces evolving into an art-world destination" in Chinatown, the "surprise flashpoint of Los Angeles's rise as an international art center." In 2011 HRLA moved from its original location, a small space at Bernard Street shared with other artists, to a much larger nearby renovated movie theater (previously occupied by "Cottage Home" gallery). At , the location has been described as "cavernous."

Events

Frieze described Human Resources Los Angeles as a "hot house for music and performance." It has hosted performances by a range of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

artists, including

Ron Athey Ron Athey (born December 16, 1961) is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally (especially in the UK and Europe). Athey's work explores challenging ...

Rafa Esparza rafael esparza (born in 1981) is an American performance artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. His work includes performances affecting his physical well-being and installations constructed from adobe bricks. Esparza often works with collab ...

and

My Barbarian My Barbarian is a Los Angeles based collaborative theatrical group consisting of Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon and Alexandro Segade. The trio makes site-responsive performances and video installations that use theatrical play to draw allegorical narra ...

. Artists from outside the region who have shared work through HRLA include

Rocio Boliver ''Rocio'' is a small genus of cichlid freshwater fishes from southern Mexico and northern Central America. Species There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * ''Rocio gemmata'' Contreras-Balderas & Schmitter-Soto, 2007 – ...

, Ligia Lewis, Narcissister, Keijaun Thomas and

Geo Wyeth Geo Wyex, fka Geo Wyeth (born 1984) is a transgender mixed-race, black American musician and performance artist known for songs, performances and soundscapes works that explore, augment, and reimagine the material articulations and embodiments of ...

. Notable group exhibitions include Katherine Garcia and Sarvia Jasso's "Queering Sex" (2011) and

Kelman Duran Kelman Duran is a Dominican songwriter, producer, composer, disc jockey and multi-disciplinary artist, best known for his production and songwriting contributions to opening track "I'm That Girl" and "Heated" from Beyoncé's 2022 album ''Renaiss ...

's "The Border, Again" (2014). Human Resources Los Angeles has also presented exhibitions of work by

Carmen Argote Carmen Argote (born 1981) is a Los Angeles-based artist. She hails from Guadalajara. She is known for performance art and sculpture. Her work has been included in exhibitions and museum collections, including the Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles Cou ...

, Fayçal Baghriche,

Math Bass Math Bass (b. 1981, New York, New York) is an artist known for fusing performance with paintings and sculptures using formal elements like solid colors, geometric imagery, raw materials, and visual symbols. Bass has exhibited at Overduin & Kite, H ...

Scott Benzel Scott Benzel (born 1968 in Scottsdale, Arizona, lives and works in Los Angeles), is an American visual artist, musician, performance artist, and composer. Benzel is a member of the faculty of the School of Art at California Institute of the Arts, ...

, Sabrina Chou,

Leidy Churchman Leidy Churchman (born 1979 in Villanova, PA) is an American painter who lives and works in New York. Early life and education Churchman received their M.F.A. from Columbia University in 2010 and B.A. from Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachus ...

, Helga Fassonaki, Fritz Haeg,

EJ Hill EJ Hill (born ''Ernest Joseph Hill''; in 1985) is a contemporary American artist from Los Angeles who works in durational performance, installation, painting, and collage. Early life and education EJ Hill was born in Los Angeles, California in ...

Candice Lin Candice Lin (born 1979) is an interdisciplinary artist who works in installation, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, and video. Her work is multi-sensorial and often includes living and organic materials and processes. Lin lives and works in Los Angel ...

Patrick Staff P. Staff (born 1987 in Bognor Regis, UK) is a contemporary visual and performance artist. Early life and education P. Staff was born in 1987 in Bognor Regis, UK. They studied art at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2009. They a ...

, Pearl C. Hsiung, Emily Joyce, Rasmus Rohling, Anna Sew Hoy, Sille Storihle, and

Martine Syms Martine Syms (born 1988) is an American artist based in Los Angeles who works in publishing, video, installation, and performance. Her work focuses on identity and the portrayal of the self in relation to themes such as feminism and Black cu ...

. HRLA's music and sound program has featured Southland Ensemble, LA Fog,

Dorian Wood Dorian Wood (born 1975) is an American singer, composer, performance artist, visual artist and writer. Early history Wood was born in Los Angeles, California to Costa Rican parents. They began their musical education at a very early age, under ...

, Jackie O'Motherfucker, Pedestrian Deposit, Pinkcourtesyphone, Postcommodity, Terre Thaemlitz, Lawrence English, and Touch artists. HRLA's programming extends to readings (e.g.

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

Eileen Myles Eileen Myles (born December 9, 1949) is a LAMBDA Literary Award-winning American poet and writer who has produced more than twenty volumes of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, libretti, plays, and performance pieces over the last three decades. No ...

, Luis J Rodriguez, and Raquel Gutierrez). and screenings. In 2013 the gallery hosted a viewing of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

's ''

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

''. In 2014 HRLA hosted

Abraham Cruzvillegas Abraham Cruzvillegas (born 1968, Mexico City) is a Mexican visual artist. He is best known for his work with found objects, and particularly his ongoing "autoconstrucción" project. Biography Cruzvillegas grew up in Ajusco, a district in the ...

's 2009 film ''Autoconstrucción'' and a

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

-themed exhibit called "Who is Ken Sugimori?" by Johnnie Jungleguts. HRLA also collaborates with Los Angeles organizations such a
VOLUME
and ONE Archives. In June 2012, HRLA hosted a fundraiser, headlined by indie bands No Age,

Tearist Tearist is an American electronic and industrial band formed in 2009 by Yasmine Kittles (vocals, percussion, synthesizer) and William Strangeland (synthesizer, programming) in Los Angeles, California. History The members of Tearist have stated ...

, and L.A. Fog, opposing the introduction of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

to the neighborhood. In a calendar year, HRLA may present as many as 90 events, installations and exhibitions. In 2012 ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' recognized Human Resources as one of the best arguments "that Chinatown is still a vital art neighborhood."

References

{{Reflist, 30em Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Performance art in Los Angeles Music venues in Los Angeles 2010 establishments in California Chinatown, Los Angeles Art in Greater Los Angeles Arts organizations based in California Contemporary art galleries in the United States