End of spring at the Hammer: closing out the year with cultural exhibits at the museum

Located a quick 15-minute walk from UCLA’s campus, the Hammer Museum is one of Los Angeles’ cultural gems and contributes to the intellectual life of the university. Not only does the museum bring both budding and more established artists to its galleries, but it also hosts countless events throughout the school year, mostly free for students. Here are just a few of the Hammer’s end-of-the-year offerings to guide students into summer.

T. Kelly Mason’s Light Box Installation
Through Sunday

Artist T. Kelly Mason’s light box installation at the Hammer Museum will wrap up this week with a guided art talk on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. On Thursday, Mason will be joined by George Baker, a UCLA associate professor of art history, and Tyler Cassity, owner of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, for a discussion on the influence of 21st-century funerary objects and practices on Los Angeles culture.

“An Evening With Sherlock Holmes and Friends”
May 22, 7 p.m.

Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes, has long captured the public imagination. On Tuesday, the Hammer will host an irreverent discussion about the influence of Sherlock Holmes on contemporary culture. Panelists will include crime novelist Denise Hamilton, private detective Sarah Alcorn, Holmes scholar Leslie Klinger and writer and director Nicholas Meyer. Visitors are welcome to wear costumes to the event. The discussion will be followed by a book signing.

“Hollywood Cinema and the Real Los Angeles”
May 30, 7 p.m.

Palm trees and a hulking blue sky adorn the cover of Mark Shiel’s upcoming book, “Hollywood Cinema and the Real Los Angeles.” The image immediately evokes ideas about Los Angeles, perhaps a testament to the cinema’s ability to record and then perpetuate meanings associated with places. Shiel, who also happens to be a film professor at King’s College London, explores the cinematic history of Los Angeles both as a production powerhouse and as a locale for Hollywood films.

Thom Mayne: Culture Now
June 5, 7:30 p.m.

Founded by UCLA Distinguished Professor and Pritzker Prize-winner Thom Mayne, Culture Now is a new research hub focused on connecting academic research to real-world professional practice. Mayne, considered one of the world’s leading architects, will be joined by urbanist Karen Lohrmann to present results from Culture Now’s first major study of midsize American cities as they struggle to recover from the current economic crisis.

Hammer Presents Bloomsday
June 16, 7:30 p.m.

The Hammer Museum will host its third annual “Bloomsday” celebration, set in the Dublin newspaper offices of the “Freeman’s Journal” and “Evening Telegraph,” where Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus almost meet face to face. Along with live music from Irish band Sweet Set, the event, organized by Stanley Breitbard, will feature a presentation of the Aeoulus chapter from James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

“We Are Wisconsin!” Screening
June 19, 7:30 p.m.

Amie Williams’ latest documentary, focused on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill, places a magnifying glass over the public’s interaction with legislation in Wisconsin. Williams, who graduated from UCLA in 1992 with a graduate degree in film production, served as the director and cinematographer for “We Are Wisconsin!” The political narrative is told through in-depth interviews of six individuals who are central to the story that took place from February through March of 2011.