VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 3: February 10, 2025

AuthorAuthor

mikala & Zuzanna Ciolek
February 10, 2025

👋🏽 Hello There

It’s finally February. Can you believe it?

Happy Black History Month!! Last year I did a guide to Black owned businesses in all the categories I write about. If you weren’t a subscriber then you can click here and here to view those issues.

The last two weeks of January felt like three months to me but thankful it’s February now and a new month means new accomplishments and goals being set. For me, the new year doesn’t begin until the first day of Spring (which is also my birthday 🙂 except during a leap year) so I consider the first two months of the year to be the opportunity to set myself up for success on the things I want to accomplish for the rest of the year.

Last week, I was able to attend the FireAid concert at Intuit Dome. It was a really great time although it was so so long. Whoever produced the show, I’d like 30 minutes to talk with them and discuss this in more detail. It was amazing to see artists like Sting, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder. I grew up on their songs so it was a wonderful full circle moment for me.

@mewdbymikala

@FireAidLA - a night of music benefiting those affected by the devestating wildfires in Los Angeles County — visit https://fireaidla.org f... See more

Speaking of music, I called it with Doechii in the last issue by saying this would be her year. She has started the year off right by winning the Grammy award for Best Rap Album. Also, a lot of great music has come out recently and I’ll speak more about that in the next issue.

With it being February, that also means Valentine’s Day is around the corner and if you’re reading this issue on time, it’s on Friday. So as someone who loves love and all things romance, this issue I’m sharing gift ideas based on the length time/type of relationship. In case you are cutting it down to the wire these are suggestions/inspiraton on things that you could do for Valentine’s Day. Also, take a peak at last year’s guide for more ideas as well!

First guest column of this year comes from Zuzanna who will be speaking about LA Art Week that starts next week! Which is a great time to explore and see what art is being created; especially for those that want to build upon their current collection or finally start collecting art.

See ya later alligator!

P.S. I saw this clip last year on TikTok about what Penn Badgley thinks is the most toxic ‘love trope’. If you’re not into everyone’s favorite soon to be potentially banned again app (in the US) then check out the Podcrushed Elizabeth Lail podcast episode with him.

LA Art Week by Zuzanna Ciolek

Each year, February marks one of the most exciting times on the art world calendar, with galleries from across the globe coming to Los Angeles, and local institutions presenting their most exciting exhibitions. Los Angeles Art Week and the Frieze Art Fair will undoubtedly look different this year, with so many in the community losing their homes and studios in the devastating fires. While it will take time to fully recover, I am happy the events are moving forward so we can support the local artists and businesses that make our city such a unique and incredible cultural center. This year feels stronger than ever, and here are some of the events and exhibitions that I am particularly excited about.

ART FAIRS: Frieze Art Fair returns for the sixth year, running from February 20-23 at the Santa Monica Airport, featuring more than 100 galleries from over 20 countries. Frieze Projects, curated by Art Production Fund, will feature site-specific works by eight artists, including Lita Albuquerque and Jackie Amézquita. Pop-up eateries at this year's fair include Kismet Rotisserie, The Butcher’s Daughter, and Roberta’s Pizza.

Felix LA, the smaller art fair that takes over the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel each week during Frieze LA, will run from February 19–23. Galleries will take over hotel rooms and cabanas at the legendary hotel, creating intimate exhibitions surrounding the famed David Hockney- designed pool.

Post-Fair is the newest addition to the LA Art Fair lineup, running from February 20-22. This new, low-cost fair model focuses on solo presentations in an iconic venue—the Historic 1937 Art Deco Santa Monica Post Office. With presentations from both established and younger galleries, this is one of the fairs I am most excited to see.

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS: This year’s gallery lineup feels particularly strong, with galleries across town presenting some of their most exciting artists. Some of the exhibitions I am most excited to see include Lisa Yuskavage at David Zwirner—her first show of paintings in Los Angeles in 30 years. They will also be presenting Tau Lewis: Spirit Level, which is traveling from the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Vielmetter Los Angeles is presenting Nate Lewis and Kyle Dunn, two New York artists whose work I have followed for years and included in past exhibitions. Lisson Gallery is presenting sculptures by local artist Kelly Akashi, who devastatingly lost her studio and many works in the Eaton fire. Gagosian is showing Alex Israel—his first show in his hometown of Los Angeles in 10 years, which just opened with a star-studded reception in Beverly Hills. Jeffrey Deitch will be opening exhibitions by Nina Chanel Abney and Tschabalala Self, and Regen Projects has Los Angeles multimedia artist Doug Aitken on view.

Other must see shows include:

Yoshimoto Nara “My Imperfect Self” at Blum

Heather Day “Sinuous Bodies” at The Pit

Lindsay Adams “Keep Your Wonder Moving” at Sean Kelly

Jessica Taylor Bellamy “Temperature Check” at Anat Ebgi.

Zuzanna Ciolek is an independent curator and advisor based in Los Angeles, CA. She was the Director of UTA Artist Space in Beverly Hills for 8 years, producing shows by world-renowned artists, and curating exhibitions including “Beyond the Looking Glass”, “Elsewheres”, and “Ernie Barnes: Where Music and Soul Live”. Prior to UTA Artist Space, she worked at various art galleries and advisories in New York, Los Angeles, and London, including Lehmann Maupin, The Heller Group, and Lisson Gallery. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Zuzanna holds a BA in the History of Art and Architecture from Brown University and an MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art.

IN THE ‘MEWD’ FOR..

CELEBRATING LOVE

Every relationship is different so you could interchange these with one another depending on how your relationship is with your significant other, friend, coworker or family member

0 - 6 MONTHS

  • Handwritten Note - Something short but sweet and thoughtful

  • Cologne/Perfume - A scent that reminds you of them

  • Tickets to Concert - Not like Beyonce level tickets (or you could!) but smaller venue that’s more intimate ie if you’re in LA think a concert at Wiltern for a group or artist they are into

6 MONTHS - 1 YEAR

  • Couples Massages - Self explanatory for the couple that loves a spa day

  • Scavenger Hunt - Inspired by Love Island UK. This could also be a great way to make it ‘official’ with someone if you haven’t already by now (but more romantic lol)

  • Minifigures Keychain - Custom Minifigure of you and your special someone

1 - 3 YEARS

Bracelet I gifted myself 🙂 

  • Scrapbook or Photo book - chronicling your relationship with notes and other mementos

  • Date Night Activity - Taking one of their passions and making it a night where you do that activity together with all expenses paid by you i.e. Topgolf for someone who loves golfing

  • Jewelry - You could ball out or do something simple but don’t overthink it. Unless you are proposing please don’t give a ring to your boyfriend or girlfriend

3+ YEARS OR MARRIED

Photo from Oahu

  • Wedding Year Gifts - Use each year as a guide to give a more creative gift i.e. Year Three - Leather, you could gift leather flowers 

  • Vacation/Weekend Getaway - If possible, travel back to the hotel where you had your honeymoon or first vacation together

  • Advent Calendar - Start on Feb. 1st but have an advent calendar full of their favorite things or items you want to gift them that you know they’ll love and then maybe on Valentine’s Day it will reveal the ‘big’ gift

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Lavender cinnamon rolls that I’ve made for friends

  • Beaded Flowers

  • Baked Goods Tin - Create a tin full of baked goods made by yourself or store bought (no-one will know!). You can do just one item or 2-3 for a more well rounded baked goods tin

  • Create a Custom Basket - Similar to an easter basket but you could do different themes like travel, self care or full of their favorite things

COWORKERS

  • Jar Mixes - Layer dry ingredients for cookies, brownies, or hot cocoa in a clean jar. Don’t forget to add instructions!

  • Personalized Bookmarks - You could draw or use magazines to create a bookmark for a co-worker who still reads physical books. This is an inexpensive gift yet thoughtful gift

  • Valentine’s Mini Notes - Using inspiration from the cards we would give during elementary school you could purchase or do cool personalized ones for coworkers

Song for Volume III - Issue 3: The Cure - Friday I'm in Love

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