Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale
In celebration of the Persian New Year and the first day of spring, JOAN presents Los Angeles Against the Mountains on Saturday, March 21 at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area, as part of the public programs organized in conjunction with Roksana Pirouzmand’s multi-venue exhibition, everything was once something else (the land was the sea, the sea was the land), on view at JOAN and OXY ARTS. Los Angeles Against the Mountains is a three-mile walking tour of the Santa Fe Dam led by Hunter Baoengstrum, founder and general manager of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Infrastructure Inspections. Along the trail, Baoengstrum will discuss how the forces of erosion bend space across Southern California through the violent beauty of the San Gabriel Mountains. The walk will include three different stops, where writers Jamil G Baldwin, Michael Ned Holte, Theo Meranze, and Yasaman Sheri will read from their own work as well as from texts related to the exhibition’s themes, including the Iranian diaspora, the erosion of landscape, and the connection between distant places through technology. We will meet at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area (34.113278, -117.955820) at 9:30am and begin walking at 10:00am. Please bring comfortable walking shoes and sun protection. Light snacks and hydration will be provided at the beginning of the inspection, as per Cal/OSHA T8CCR 3395. Public bathrooms are available (open from 6:30am-7pm) near the main beach area, trailhead, picnic areas, and the nature center.