4:00 PM – Doors Open

4:30 PM – Lecture on the history of the Panorama with Director Sara Velas

5:30 PM – Panorama Viewing and Light Refreshments in Garden

Join the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles for an afternoon at the nonprofit Velaslavasay Panorama, featuring an illustrated lecture by founder Sara Velas! Housed in the historic Union Theater—one of Los Angeles’ first purpose-built cinemas—the Velaslavasay Panorama offers immersive entertainments and site-specific works.

Panoramic paintings were a popular form of entertainment in the 19th and early 20th centuries, giant canvases depicting landscapes or city skylines which transported viewers to places far and wide.

The current central exhibit is Shengjing Panorama—a 360-degree painted panorama of Shenyang, China around the years 1910–1930, during a moment of rapid cultural transition marking the end of Chinese dynastic rule and the birth of the South Manchurian Railway

System. It is the world’s first ever USA-China panorama collaboration,  painted by masters of the Luxun Academy of Fine Art, 李武 Li Wu, 晏阳 Yan Yang, and 周福先 Zhou Fuxian. 

For the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, Velaslavasay Panorama Founding Director Sara Velas will present a brief history of the panoramic artform, the birth of the Velaslavasay Panorama, and the creation of Shengjing Panorama—with highlights on Shenyang’s architectural features from the Art Deco Era. After the lecture, you will have a chance to view plus enjoy light refreshments and conversation in the Velaslavasay’s beautiful garden.

Pricing: $22/ General Admission and $19/ ADSLA or Panorama Enthusiast Society

Members. This is an in person event. Portions of the event are indoors.

Biography of Sara Velas

Sara Velas is an artist, graphic designer, curator, gardener, and native Los Angeleno. She is the Artistic Director/Curator/Creator of the Velaslavasay Panorama, a nonprofit museum and garden she established in the year 2000 to present experimental immersive experiences and variations on media popular before the invention of cinema. Born in Panorama City, Ms. Velas currently serves as co-President for the International Panorama Council, a Swiss-based NGO, and lives in West Adams with a blind dog named Milo.

The Velaslavasay Panorama is just south of the Santa Monica Freeway and north of USC. Street parking is available on 24th Street and nearby Hoover Street.

Make a day of it and enjoy lunch or dinner out! Support one of these historic restaurants and legacy businesses:

Papa Cristo’s Greek Grill (Est. 1948)

2771 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006

El Cholo the Original (Est. 1923)

1121 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant (Est. 1947)

704 S Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90057