Society for the Activation of Social Spaces through Art and Sound (SASSAS)

Fund: $15,000

The Society for the Activation of Social Spaces through Art and Sound (SASSAS) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that has served as a catalyst for the creation, presentation, and recognition of experimental art and sound practices in the greater Los Angeles area. Through programs such as the sound. concert series and soundShoppe workshops, SASSAS has worked to bridge visual art and sound communities and present accessible, engaging, site-informed programming throughout the city. After the sound. concert series was initiated in 1999, followed by the founding of SASSAS in 2002, the mission to document all sound. concerts with photographs, audio, and video recordings resulted in a vast archive of documentation and ephemera that includes concerts by more than 500 artists. In 2012, SASSAS contributed to the Pacific Standard Time Public Art and Performance Festival with Welcome Inn Time Machine, which converted the Welcome Inn Motel in Eagle Rock into a multi-room venue presenting a multifaceted history of Los Angeles sound. More than 30 artists played works by John Cage, the LAFMS, Bruce Nauman, James Tenney, and Pauline Oliveros among others. SASSAS celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019.