NOTE: The Annenberg Space for Photography closed in March 2020 and announced recently that it will not re-open. The post below was written in 2016.
Tucked away in the forest of Modernest buildings in Century City is the Annenberg Space for Photography where an exhibit of images of refugees is currently on view. But there is much more going on at the Annenberg Space.
First, about the refugee photos. Overall they are quite beautiful photographs, especially those of Lindsey Addario. Yes, beautiful although tragic.
That horrible and famous photo of the little boy whose body washed ashore after he drowned in the Mediterranean is included and a few images from refugee transit camps in Europe are grim, but overall this exhibit is not heart-wrenching. At moments I felt the exhibit was more about the photographers and their abilities to take photographs than the plight of refugees around the world. No photographs of the show are allowed so I am using photos of the posters outside the Annenberg.
Now on to the headline for this post and this is where the Annenberg really shines. The Refugee Exhibit included traditional still photographs, of course. In a darkened room there was also video of the same locations and the same refugees with the photographer explaining their circumstances. Some were fleeing a country like Syria; others were internally displaced refugees, for example in Myanmar. Other videos played on smaller TV-like screens in front of seating along the entrance hall.
And, in a nearby room, there is a virtual reality experience of a Latin American refugee settlement.
I had not used any virtual reality devices and eagerly donned the headset. At first it was magical, like being inside the movie. Then I turned my head quickly to glance at something else and for a moment thought I was falling down the steep hill in “front” of me. A moment of panic. I reached out to grab something to balance myself and found nothing but air. It was vertigo which I instantly recognized and reminded myself that I was sitting in a chair in Century City, not standing on a steep hill in South America. I also did not move my head quickly after that.
The young woman who helped us in the Virtual Reality room said that one of her fellow workers cannot even put on a virtual reality headset because she is immediately affected by vertigo.
In the L.A. Times this morning was a news article about a new Virtual Reality store opening in Los Angeles. Before spending money on a VR headset check out how you might react by visiting the Annenberg Space for Photography. Entrance to the Annenberg is free.
Oh, one last item. We had breakfast at The Park in Echo Park. Delicious but too much! And a stark contrast to the refugee experience.
