Galaxy: Science. Art. Party.

Great idea, terrible execution.
So typical of installation art, that it was practically parody.
Did the organizers (sic.) really think that flying in a bunch of artists the night before an event would translate into anything of merit? What colossal naïveté and/​or arrogance.
You know you’re in for trouble when your headliner is Bill Nye via Skype. He yammered on for what seemed like an eternity. Perhaps he was trying to make some sort of point about the infinite nature of time? I kept hoping a wormhole would open up and whisk me into oblivion.
Thank God they served alcohol. That was a suitable substitute for a rend in the time/​space continuum.

I thought a lot of it was fun, some a little bit interesting. The whole event had a feel more akin to a school science fair (minus the booze, of course) than a truly great art show… which made the entry fee too high, in my humble opinion.
I am a huge, huge astronomy nerd, folks, so this thing should have been right up my alley. The best thing in the place was the darkroom with stars and planets hanging (picture uploaded). Husband and I stayed for only 30 minutes and felt like we got out of it all it had to offer.

GEEE WHIZZ!
This event was fascinating
Im not sure why people are complaining but the event was planned amazingly.
My boyfriend manages RANDOM CITIZENS and they got a gig to play.
So glad they did or else I would have never found out about this place.
So in a nutshell they had the coolest, most unique art.
You can see artists working on thier pieces or come across some already done mind blowing pieces.
Drinks were moderately priced and they had the most charming disposable wine containers.
I fell in love with everything this event had to offer.
I even got to snag my very own «SPACE NERD» pin!
Bill Nye the science guy would have been proud

fun exhibit where its all about science!
when you first come in youre greeted by a super cheery guy asking if you had any questions and a robot controlled by a person that i swear, tries to trip you over. they had a lot of interesting art. one guy had all of his paintings on the floor and they were all for sale. another had lights that looked like space jellyfish that could be controlled by an ipad. some blacklight art. mirros on the floor that relfected lamps of different colors strung up on the ceiling arranged in a wavy pattern. a table with sand, rocks, moss that you could teraform into whatever you wanted to. then a camera above it would project the image on the screen as a planet. there was a spokes person for the tv show, into the wormhole hosted by morgan freeman. the spokes person was a writer for the show and a little kooky. i asked him about how the center of the earth could keep generating enough energy to keep burning. i felt he gave a general answer in that its moving so quickly that the particles are colliding and smashing into eachother from earths rotation and gravity that thats why keeps generating heat and magma. then we got to listen to bill nye the science guy via skype. but the internet connection had some problems in the end… haha i donated some money to be in a raffle. they txted me later saying i won a airzooka! damn… but i was gone by then and told them to give it to the first kid they see.

This review is solely based on what I saw at the Unilocal Elite preview, which, quite frankly, wasn’t much. I almost wish I hadn’t gone because there’s something inky about writing mediocre reviews for something that you’re privileged to be a part of… but it is what it is so here goes.
Of the ginormous space that the event was held in (which, in itself, was awesome) and the 10+ exhibits being shown, about 2 were complete. The space was super raw and while it was great to be able to talk to the artists and hear about their visions and inspirations for their pieces, so much was left to the imagination. Yes, what I imagined in my head was great, but as to what it really ended up looking like, it was probably nowhere even close. As such, I honestly expected more. I know, «you can’t rush art,» but when you’re letting people in early to see something, it’s only natural that they expect to see something finished, if not extremely close.
Love the concept behind the event; what particularly struck me was when the director was asked about why all the exhibits were composed of installation pieces versus performing art and she responded that the goal was to have the audience be the performer. There were so many interactive elements that were discussed, which really seemed like could be very fun and entertaining. But again, none of them were set up so we couldn’t partake (unless you count walking on Frank’s Planet Art, which actually gave my inner conscientious neat freak a coronary). I would have really liked to see that ThinkGeek play area — since I’m a huge fan of their kitschy site. Also liked that they were sponsored by Angel City and Stacked, but we didn’t get to try any of that either.
Brimming with potential, it was just such a shame that I was unable to go to the actual event (maybe marketing needs to be beefed up — I had never even heard about it) to write a better review. Hopefully someone that actually went will be able to write something substantial, because all I’ve got are hopes and aspirations that will never have a chance of being fulfilled.

I agree with Jen K. that this was a mediocre event because most of the artwork was incomplete. You had to use a lot of your imagination. Almost not worth driving through LA traffic and walking around the ghetto part of DTLA.
So why the 4 stars?
1) I did enjoy being able to talk to the artists and find out more about what inspired their pieces. I may not have had this opportunity otherwise.
2) Science + Art = Food for the brain. The Thread Theory, Binary Space… don’t I sound smart already?
3) We had a great tour guide, the Art Director of Cartel. Cartel is an organization that helps artists who are starting out. All of their events are always affordable. One example is BrokeChella in LA. This is for people who can’t afford or take the time to go to Coachella. How awesome are they?!
4) Being in the LA Mart space is amazing. I’d love to go back for the actual event if I had the time. This is the whole purpose of it being a sneak peak, it makes you want to go back!

Intergalactic planetary. Planetary, intergalactic.
Galaxy. It’s science. It’s art. It’s a party. It is all of these things, and more. It’s «Art conversing with people. People conversing with art.»
This is going to be incredible. Without knowing what to expect, I walked through for a sneak peek of the event space, which was full of artists busily creating and volunteers piecing together what is shaping up to be a multi-​sensory experience that is not to be missed.
The entrance houses a «fueling station,» complete with a little box to the left with rubber flaps that, if you stick your leg in it, it’ll get treated to a nice rub down. There will be art installations everywhere, all centered around the theme of science and what that means to each individual artist.
There are going to be rad participation opps, such as the «aura» reader, which will emit and display what your aura looks like (and that changes in relation to your mood, or your state of inebriation, does).
There will be a contraption in another installation that you place on your head and is said to read and interpret how you meditate, projecting these readings on the wall surrounding you.
Then there’s this whimsical art mural that will produce an «augmented reality» thanks to «daqri» and their 4D technology. Using their app on your iPhone or iPad, the mural painted on the wall will go into 4D animation, showing things that aren’t seen when looking at it with the naked eye. Too cool for school!
Of course, there are bars that will be stocked with libation sponsors Angel Brewery, Stacked Wine and VeeV cocktails to name a few, as well as a huge area with plenty of elbow room for you to rock out to with the sick DJ lineup (
) they have in store for your listening pleasure.
There’s something about Bill Nye the science guy and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.
It’s inspiring how collaboration is inspired by virtue of what Cartel seeks out to create. staging thoughtful, engaging events that are a feast for the senses. So great to see people come together to help bring shared passions to life in order to share it with others.
Lights. Projections. Laser beams. Wind chimes. Giant piñata’s oozing from the walls. Art you can step on. Music. Booze. Creativity galore.
M I N D ** B L O W.
Don’t miss this.
They’ve even got a great system of selling tickets on their website in waves of allowed entry times, to ensure no more than about 300 people at a time come into the space. They don’t want to jam pack the place full of all anticipated 1,000 guests. It defeats the purpose of interacting, appreciating, participating, engaging. Traffic control is your friend, people. Or, opt for VIP tickets, enter any time, no line in (including bar lines) and a swag bag.
TIP: Public transportation is also your friend. Say buh-​bye to traffic and parking drama! Take the Metro Red to 7^th & Metro. Transfer to the Metro Blue Line headed to Long Beach. Exit Grand Station. Cross the street, walk about 2 blocks or so up to the L.A. Mart, take the elevator up to the 11^th floor.
Go, go, go! And be sure to follow these guys on twitter (
) and facebook (
) for future rad events.
I’m like a kid waiting to get up to go to Disneyland, except this time, I’m going
G A L A C T I C.

Unilocal Event Sneak Preview:
The theme at this year’s cARTeL art installation party was for artists to create their own planet… encouraging you to ponder the moving forward in science and knowledge while contemplating your infinite vision in life. What I like about cARTel is that they look for a variety of different artists every year. They don’t just have a group of friends promoting each other. They accept applications, interview candidates and showcase people’s talents who are passionate about their art.
This preview allowed us to hear the artists’ perspective as they were still putting their installations together. From what we saw they have a lot of work to do tonight, but it got me excited about how it’ll look upon completion tomorrow night. I wished I had known about this sooner. There are tickets still available. $ 11 general admission where you’re given an entry time block (you can stay as long as you like once in) and $ 20 VIP which gets you in at any time and front of the line pass to the bar. The bar will be stocked by Stacked wine.
The space is large! Featured on the 11^th floor. Many segregated areas. There will be a photo diorama type area that reminded me of a Jurassic Park vehicle surrounded by avatar. Cool hanging light installations. You’ll walk on Frank’s paintings, but don’t worry he wants you to. They are all for sale $ 5 – 100. Listen and you’ll hear moon chimes.
There is a space reserved in the back where Dj’s will be spinning all night long: Robin People, GOJIRA, FunkTheFresh, Korova, Neo Fresco with Marvel the Gr8, Lo Fi Sugar, Professor Possessor.
If you don’t have anything to do why not have a good time supporting the arts! Might be better in concept than execution, but so curious to see how it turned out. Most of the installations were nowhere near to completed the night before! Not tempted enough to return for the actual party.
Parking: Private lot attached $ 5 after 4pm. Pay at the machine before you get in your car to leave.

Gaaaah, why did I not hear about this sooner? I would have bought tickets to see the entire thing when it was completed. There are still tickets left. So trust me and do yourselves a favor and come to this. From what we are able to see, its already shaping out to be amazing.
This event is done by the same people that do ‘brokechella’. They make these events awesome and minimal amount of funds.
As a Unilocal elite member, we got to tour of the place plus seeing the artists set up and walk through. A sneak peek, if you call it. Too bad I have existing plans. :(sadness. I can’t imagine 1000 ppl being in this space tho.