Finishing School presents Finding Joy :: December 4, 2008 7:00 – 10:00 pm :: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Avenue, Sculpture Plaza, 250 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Intrigued by the military term “finding joy” (referring to the successful establishment of radio contact on the battlefield), Finishing School leads a workshop in which participants build small DIY radios that will be used to detect prerecorded transmissions located throughout the museum. To generate audio content prior to the event, Finishing School will interview members of the MOCA community about what brings them joy. The public is also welcome to share their thoughts by phone; to participate, please call the Finding Joy Hotline at 213/455-2926. Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be available. This event is FREE and open to the public. No reservations are required.

Finishing School: Formed in late 2001, Finishing School is a collective identity that explores art, design, and technology through interventions that combine praxis, play, and activism. Finishing School attempts to demystify the experience of cultural production and engage viewers through various participatory models. Past projects have included Public Interaction Objects (2006), a series of low-tech participatory objects including meet/greet, a semi-autonomous drone designed to move through public spaces and greet individuals with multilingual salutations; The Patriot Library (2003), a working library that provides access to books, periodicals, and other media considered “dangerous” by the United States government; and Saturday School (2001), a temporary, nomadic teaching institution offering multidisciplinary classes that dissect, question, and illuminate various aspects of everyday life.

Engagement Party: Launched in October 2008, MOCA’s Engagement Party offers emerging Los Angeles–based artist collectives three-month residencies during which they present public programs at MOCA Grand Avenue on the first Thursday of each month from 7 to 10pm. Collectives may employ any medium, discipline, or strategy during their residency, resulting in programs that may include performances, workshops, screenings, lectures, or any other activity emerging from the group’s particular focus. By providing a platform for artist collectives who operate through multi-disciplinary, non-object based practices, MOCA intends to address the significant role of these practices in the contemporary cultural landscape and challenge the conventions of a collecting institution.

Engagement Party is made possible by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.