Well we‘ve got lots more events for you this weekend….Arena 1 at the Santa Monica Studios has a biggie….”Decade of Dissent: Democracy in Action, 1965–1975″ opens this Saturday. It’s a group exhibition featuring original protest posters that reveal the persuasive power of art to inspire ideals of democracy.

Plus the Pick of the Week takes place in Santa Monica….18th Street Arts Center in partnership with Highways Performance Space presents Paris-based artists Iván Argote and Pauline Bastard in their first Los Angeles exhibition and performance.

Guest-curated by Isabelle Le Normand, Argote and Bastard have collaborated over the last seven years often staging “scenarios” as the premise for their art-making. Their work relies on public or community participation, favoring the unexpected outcomes that arise from collective action.

Argote and Bastard are current Visiting Artists in Residence and have mounted their exhibition as part of the Artist Labs process-based exhibition series at 18th Street Arts Center (It opened in January). Here they continue to tap into multiple platforms for public engagement through March 2013.

BORN TO CURATE, a live curatorial battle organized as part of the exhibition pits five teams of Los Angeles-based curators head to head in a fast-paced game of wit and knowledge. Structured like a game show, teams have two minutes to conceptualize a curatorial project or exhibition in response to a theme picked at random. Inverting the largely private curatorial process into a public event, ideas behind the construction of meaning are infused with open response and humor. Winners are determined by an applause meter and receive the coveted Born to Curate trophy.

See image: Ivan Argote, Pauline Bastard, Home Cinema, 2012, (Installation view at 30th São Paulo Biennial)

Iván Argote & Pauline Bastard and BORN TO CURATE are part of Ceci n’est pas…, a project initiated by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States in association with the Institute Français, with the support of the Alliance Française of Los Angeles, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the participation of many local institutions over the course of five months.

Mario Ybarra Jr. is Master of Ceremonies

Musical accompaniment by DJ WILDECRIST

Curators:  Miki Garcia (Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum), Shamim Momin (LAND) Vs. Mark Allen, (Machine Project)

Chris Kallmyer (Machine Project) Vs. Bill Kelley, Jr. (18th Street Arts Center & Otis)

Matthew Schum (LAX><art) Vs. Mat Gleason (Coagula Curatorial)

Alex Donis (Independent artist and curator) Vs. Charlotte Eyerman (French Regional and American Museum Exchange), Cecilia Fajardo-Hill (Independent curator)

Also on view is “The Oxnartians Have Landed,”  features recent students of Oxnard College.

As most of the artists in this exhibition have relocated to the greater Los Angeles area, it is clear that the Oxnartians have landed, and they are here to stay.

What: Opening reception/performance
Where: 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th St. Santa Monica, 90404
When: Performance 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm ; reception 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Phone: 310-828-1912
Website: http://18thstreet.org/   http://cnp-la.org/