EMSI LA2026 "Painting Los Angeles History"

Event details Date: Friday, September 25, 2026 Time: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Location: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Cost: Free Type: Lecture / Talk / Workshop Campus: Other Location Department: USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, Van Hunnick History Department Audience: Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff About this event A conversation and workshop with Gaila Sims (Assistant Curator of History, Natural History Museum) and Barbara Carrasco (artist/muralist) focused on her mural “LA History: A Mexican Perspective,” now on permanent display in NHM Commons, and the special exhibition, The Declaration in Progress. Attendees will create their own art and participate in discussions about the mural and its connections to themes of belonging in Los Angeles as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. LA2026 is presented by the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute. It brings together members of the public and humanities scholars for eighteen conversations about museum and cultural exhibitions at six partnering institutions in the Los Angeles region, including the Autry Museum of the American West, The Huntington, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes / El El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and USC Libraries. Each exhibition frames conversations about the anniversary of 1776 from the perspective of California and the West. Each discussion will focus on specific items from one of the partner exhibitions, encouraging public discussions about national identities, relationships between regional and national narratives, participating in democracy, and human relationships to the land. The EMSI LA2026 Project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Official event details: https://calendar.usc.edu/event/painting-los-angeles-history