Devin Reynolds, who made the piece “Happy Days,” is one of the artists chosen for “Made in L.A.” (photo courtesy of the Hammer Museum)

The Hammer Museum has selected the 39 artists, collectives and organizations participating in the upcoming “Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living.” This is the sixth iteration of the Hammer’s biennial exhibition highlighting the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Organized by curators Diana Nawi and Pablo José Ramírez with Luce Curatorial Fellow Ashton Cooper, the exhibition is on view Oct. 1-Dec. 31. The presenting sponsor for the exhibition is Bank of America.

“Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living emphasizes that art is inseparable from everyday life and community, informed by a wide range of cultural histories,” Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin said. “Diana and Pablo have selected 39 artists and collectives whose inspiring work we are thrilled to present in nearly every gallery and space in our newly renovated museum.”

“Made in L.A. 2023 takes its cues from the ethos of Los Angeles, a place where a multiplicity of cultures coexist and where, as an artist said to us, ‘one is always a visitor.’ The artists and collectives we included in this biennial represent a wide range of art being made in the city but also a diversity of stakes of making art,” Ramírez said.

Struck not only by the range of media and ideas they encountered, Nawi and Ramírez noted the way in which the conversations they had revealed the breadth of reasons people cited for creating work, who they create work for, and what the impact of that work might be within their larger communities. These practices embrace the value of craft, materiality, performance and collectivity. The biennial situates art as an expanded field of culture that is entangled with everyday life; community networks; queer affect; and indigenous and diasporic histories.

“Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living” takes its title from a quote by the renowned Los Angeles artist Noah Purifoy which is inscribed on a plaque at the Watts Towers: “One does not have to be a visual artist to utilize creative potential. Creativity can be an act of living, a way of life, and a formula for doing the right thing.”

The history of Watts Towers – built by Simon Rodia over the course of 33 years and then preserved by the local South L.A. community, including Purifoy, to become a hub for arts education – embodies this ethos and offers a salient metaphor for this biennial.

“The Watts Towers are an example for the way in which creative work can be intimately tied to one’s everyday life and to individual practice, hold space for community, and ultimately resonate far beyond itself,” Nawi said.

For information, visit hammer.ucla.edu. The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd.