Ok….Mama has had a slow morning getting back…..Just flew in from NYC last night and boy my arms are tired…..Way tooo much partying…We will have tons more events for the Weekend Update….we’ve go lots of choices for you.

Our Pick of the Week is none other than “Glow,” celebrating its third artistic cultural happening this Saturday, September 28th. I can tell you from personal experience, you won’t want to miss this. I’ve been to both of the previous events in 2008 and in 2010. It’s simply fantastic. Hosted by the City of Santa Monica, this spectacular FREE event takes place on and around the Santa Monica pier and runs well into the evening…I’m talking 3 am.

“Glow” is a project of the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Foundation. The event will include large art installations, pop-up exhibits and site specific interactive art projects. Yes, it’s the perfect taste of burning man for those of us who are not big fans of camping, sand storms, not showering or running around naked (whew… That’s a dangerous combination). You can enjoy the art and then have a good night sleep in a warm bed. (What can I say?…I’m a city broad). Be sure to get there early, as in previous years, security has prevented cars and people from coming onto the pier later in the evening. Ride a bike, or walk with friends….sleep over at a friends place who lives on the Westside, Santa Monica or Venice …(sorry my pad’s full).

Inspired originally by Paris’ Nuit Blanche, “Glow” has commissioned 15 site-specific, interactive art projects to celebrate Santa Monica’s beloved pier and beachfront. Organizers expect approximately 150,000 people to attend…be sure to wear comfortable shoes that slip on and off easily as you will find yourself traipsing through the sand and then over an uneven boardwalk and your feet will thank you.  Leave the heels at home, ladies.

The list of keynote artists include: Mathieu Briand, Janet Echelman, Glenn Kaino, Rebeca Mendéz, and Victoria Vesna, “Glow” is a veritable survey of contemporary art practices, ranging from large-scale earthworks to customized, participatory apps for mobile devices. You can be sure that artists, galleries and pop-up venues will be unofficially getting into the act. We will put some info up on those for the weekend update.

Plan ahead and check the website (see below) for a map of the installations. KCRW has even created an audio guide featuring each artist talking about their work, and music for the journey (see below).

Performance Schedule
7:00 p.m. Opening Ceremony, intersection of Ocean and Colorado, Downtown Santa Monica
7:30 p.m. CAP Summer Arts Program in Dance at GLOWbal, by Karen Atkinson
8:00 p.m. A Puppet Show, Crescent Bay Park
8:30 p.m. Java: Land of Dreams concert and dance performance, north of the Pier on beach
9:00 p.m. A Puppet Show, Crescent Bay Park
10:00 p.m. Colorfields experience in front of Sea Castle Apartments
10:00 p.m. A Puppet Show, Crescent Bay Park
Midnight Java: Land of Dreams concert and dance performance north of the Pier on beachHere are a few highlights…

• Mathieu Briand, 6:43 – Briand will preempt the event’s official 7 p.m. launch with 6:43, the exact time at which the sun will descend below the horizon that evening. This large-scale installation features shipping containers arranged on the beach so as to evoke a temple, surmounted by a ring of fire.

See image: right, Janet Echelman, “The Space  Between Us,” 2013, digital rendering

• Janet Echelman, The Space Between Us, – A moving, breathing environment on the beach that encompasses both the sky above and sand below. The work features an aerial sculpture of Echelman’s signature, custom-made nets, as well as a corresponding negative form carved out of the sand below, which serves inverted viewing platform.

• Glenn Kaino, Well – Referencing the perceived magic of a wishing well, Kaino has created a different kind of well, one whose magic is rooted in biology. Well features a rare bioluminescent liquid, harvested especially for Glow by a marine biologist at the Scripps Institute of Technology at UCSD. As people approach the well, whether to make a wish or to simply observe, tossed coins will create a glow.

• Steve Boyer, Colorfields – A live, interactive video creation that converts the behavior and movement of Glow participants into fields of color and light. It is a crowd-sourced work allowing participants to use an app with video-processing technology that can synchronize locational information and translate it into to specific colors displayed on hand-held devices and a website, which will change as they move. A large-scale video projection will display the fully activated field of users and associated colors. Download the free custom app via a link at www.colorfields.org.

This is a free event. Check the Glow website http://glowsantamonica.org/ for a map of the installations to the KCRW Glow soundscape, or the free ParkMe app.

KCRW has created an audio guide hosted by KCRW DJ’s which features each artist talking about their work, and music for the journey.

What: Festival
Where: All over Santa Monica
When: 7:00 pm – 3:00 am
Website: http://glowsantamonica.org/