events & groups
IRIS Nights Lecture Series (Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8pm)
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More lectures for the SPORT: Iooss & Leifer exhibition period will be posted as information comes in.
Please check back for details!
The Annenberg Space for Photography offers live programming through the lecture series entitled IRIS NIGHTS. IRIS NIGHTS is a public program offered free of charge, by online reservation on a first-come, first-served basis. IRIS NIGHTS brings to life the featured exhibit with hourlong lectures by the photographers featured in the Photography Space exhibits, as well as by other notable guest artists and experts. These programs give attendees unique access to the artists in the intimate setting of the Photography Space.
Lecture Series Schedule:
Neil Leifer:
Saturday, February 13, 6:30-8:00pm
Return Engagement: A New Lecture
This lecture is now fully booked.
If you'd like to still try to come to the lecture, please arrive early on Feb 13 to be put on our standby list.
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We are thrilled to have Neil Leifer return to offer a second all new IRIS Nights lecture at the Space.
Neil Leifer's photography career has spanned almost 50 years. Best known for his sports photography, Leifer's images have regularly appeared in every major national magazine, including the Saturday Evening Post , Look , LIFE , Newsweek , People and, most often, TIME and Sports Illustrated . Leifer's pictures have graced over 200 covers of Time Inc. publications -- 170 at Sports Illustrated , and 40 at TIME . Leifer has published 15 books. The most recent two, Ballet in the Dirt: The Golden Age of Baseball (2007) and Guts and Glory: The Golden Age of American Football 1958-1978 (2008), both published by Taschen, are already considered classics. Leifer photographed his favorite subject, Muhammad Ali, on at least 70 separate occasions, including 35 fights. Leifer is now a full-time filmmaker. He has produced and/or directed two features, five documentaries and eight short films.
Jimmy Chin:
Adventure Sport Photography
Thursday, February 18, 6:30-8:00pm
Registration for this event will go live noon, February 10.
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Jimmy Chin's passion for travel, climbing, skiing, exploration and photography has taken him on break-through expeditions around the globe. He is one of the most versatile and sought after expedition photographers working today as well as a sponsored climber and skier for the North Face Athlete Team. In the past decade, Jimmy has worked with some of the greatest adventures, climbers and skiers in the world, documenting everything from the first ascents of unclimbed towers in the Karakoram to ski descents of the high peaks in the Himalayas. Jimmy shoots for a wide range of commercial and editorial clients. He was recently awarded the Rowell Award for his excellence and breadth in adventure photography and recognized by National Geographic as one of their Emerging Explorers.
Mikki Willis and Laila Ali:
Thursday, February 25, 6:30-8:00pm
Registration for this event will go live noon, February 17.
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Art and entertainment have always been the heartbeat of Mikki Willis' life. At the age of 25, he founded his first business endeavor, The New York/Los Angeles Theater of the Arts. "NYLA" became home to many Southern California artists who were driven to push the envelope. As Theater Director, Mikki wrote, produced and directed countless experimental productions. This is where he learned the rules, and how to skillfully break them.
In 1996 Mikki made his directorial debut with the independent feature film Shoe Shine Boys . Academy Award-winning actor Martin Landau signed on as Executive Producer, traveling with the film as it toured the festival circuit, winning numerous awards and praise from top critics. The film's innovative visual style attracted the attention of major record labels and launched Mikki’s career as a music video director. His first video was nominated for a Premio lo Nuestro, the Latin equivalent of an MTV Music Award. From there, Mikki went on to direct more than 45 breakthrough Spanish-language music videos.
September 11th, 2001 marked the turning point in Mikki’s life and career. Having been inside the twin towers just hours before they fell, he helped to organize and lead a group of civilians who risked their lives to aid rescue workers. It was on the rubble of the World Trade Center that his life was forever changed. On his return to Los Angeles, he began laying the foundation for his life’s mission by founding Elevate Films, Elevate Foundation, and Elevate Film Festival, which challenge the international film community to create works of social and global importance. For this, Mikki Willis received the 2008 Conscious Life Humanitarian Award.
Laila Ali, an athlete and champion of health and fitness, is a role model for today’s healthy, on the-go woman. The youngest daughter of Veronica Porsche Anderson, and of the legendary Muhammad Ali, she is a strong, intelligent, woman, daughter, mom and wife. She has been the major draw in women’s boxing for years as an undefeated title holder.
Laila’s attention to an overall healthy lifestyle has rendered her an expert in this field. As a champion athlete, Laila believes that photography shows the real and beautiful side of sports. Throughout her career she has tried to show that you can be strong and beautiful as a female athlete. Photography has shaped the way people look at women in sports and the way people look at women in boxing. For Laila, it has been inspiring to see all the action shots of her father depict beautifully what he went through in the ring and showed the confidence and determination in his eyes.
Laila has appeared in numerous magazines, including Newsweek , Sports Illustrated , People , Ebony , Vogue , Cosmopolitan , Marie Claire , Essence , JET , ESPN the Magazine , TV Guide , and Time . She also authored a motivational book titled Reach! She wrote the book in an effort to help young women who may need to be inspired in life. Laila presently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, former NFL player, Curtis Conway, and their son, Curtis Muhammad Conway, Jr.
Marla Rutherford and Jessica Mendoza
Thursday, March 4, 6:30-8:00pm
Registration for this event will go live noon, February 24.
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Marla Rutherford graduated from Art Center College of Design in December 2004, and received her BA at Boston University for Psychology in 2000.
She has been able to work both in the fine art and commercial world. Her fine art prints have been displayed in galleries all around the world including Arles, Paris, Milan, Beijing, Lausanne, New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. Currently her work is in the traveling museum exhibition "Regeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow." The show launched in Lausanne and was followed by a exhibition at the Aperture Gallery in New York along with the published book by Aperture Press. The exhibit will travel the world for the next few years. Recent exhibitions include being one of twelve photographers in the Discovery Award exhibition hall of the Rencontres d’Arles photo festival in France curated by Christian LaCroix, a solo exhibition in Luxembourg at Galerie ClaireFontaine, and one of eleven photographers chosen to have work exhibited in the USA Network's "Characters Welcome" project which traveled to seven major cities with a published book by Chronicle in the summer of 2009.
She currently shoots for Entertainment Weekly, ESPN The Magazine, Los Angeles magazine, TIME, People, Fletcher Martin, and USA Network among others.
She lives and works in Los Angeles and Boulder.
Jessica Mendoza has been a member of the US Women’s National Softball Team since 2001 and was a key member of the silver medal-winning team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and the gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. She is one of the top hitters in the world. In 2002, Jessica graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. In 2003, she earned a Master of Arts degree in Social Sciences in Education from Stanford University as well.
In September 2007, Mendoza was officially named to the U.S. Olympic softball team, which captured silver at the 2008 Games. In July 2007, the U.S. team went undefeated, taking home its sixth consecutive Pan American gold medal. For the second consecutive year, the U.S. team captured the World Cup championship.
Jessica was recently elected President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization that inspires young girls to compete in sports and encourages fair play among both boys and girls. With many charitable interests, Jessica recognizes her role in the softball world and beyond. She enjoys conducting clinics for children and is paving the path for the future of the sport.
On August 13, 2009, Jessica gave birth to her first child with husband Adam Burks, Caleb Ashton Mendoza-Burks.
Steve Fine
Thursday, March 11, 6:30-8:00pm
Registration for this event will go live noon, March 3.
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Steve Fine has been Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated since 1996. Fine started working at SI in 1979 as an Assistant Photo Editor. In 1983, he was at the New York Times for 6 years as Sports Picture Editor at the Sunday magazine. He returned to Sports Illustrated in 1992.
