LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LIBRARY FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES ANNOUNCE NEW CREATORS IN RESIDENCE

Two New Creators Selected from Nearly 750 Applicants for
Eight-Month Residency to Produce New Work Inspired by the Library

Andy Crocker (L) and Shing Yin Shor (R)

Los Angeles (CA) – [October 30, 2023] – The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), in partnership with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), announces the second cohort of LAPL Creators in Residence: experience designer and director Andy Crocker, and graphic novelist, woodworker, and game designer Shing Yin Khor.

The new Creators’ proposed projects are set to deliver dynamic opportunities for creative public engagement. Andy Crocker will create a playful series of site-responsive, interactive installations at branch libraries, inviting patron participation to co-create a constellation of stories that could only take place in the library. Shing Yin Khor, inspired by the LAPL’s Map and Photograph collections, envisions a series of large-scale, hand-painted maps documenting historical and personal narratives from L.A.’s queer and immigrant diaspora communities.

“With their fascinating backgrounds and the originality of their proposals, both of these amazingly talented individuals are just what we envisioned when we established Creators in Residence,” says City Librarian John F. Szabo. “I am so excited to follow along as they interact with our spaces and collections in such incredibly special ways.”

Through an open call, the LAPL received nearly 750 applications, ranging from filmmakers to poets to cultural historians to composers, and beyond—widely reflective of the creative talent in the diverse communities across the city—and highlighting how the library captures the imagination of all.

“The Library Foundation is committed to supporting the Library as a creative haven,” says LFLA President and CEO Stacy Lieberman. “We eagerly anticipate sharing Crocker and Khor’s insightful and innovative work with Library patrons, inviting Angelenos to engage with the Library in meaningful new ways or perhaps for the very first time.”

In the summer of 2024, these projects will culminate with an exhibition and interactive experience at Central Library in downtown Los Angeles and at branch libraries across the city. The project will also encompass a range of engaging public programs, enriching the visitor experience. These artistic endeavors will become part of the Library’s permanent collection. To facilitate the breadth of this work, each Creator is awarded a $20,000 honorarium, supplemented by additional support for expenses. New cohorts will be selected on an 18-month cycle.

The Creators in Residence program, designed to support local interdisciplinary creators and to inspire new work informed by the LAPL’s collections and services, is funded by the LFLA with an endowment provided by the Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund. For more information, please visit lapl.org/creators.

About the Creators

Andy Crocker is a live experience designer and director known for highly participatory, fun-forward pieces. With expertise in innovative storytelling, she’s worked with collaborators and clients from Noah’s Ark at the Skirball to Walt Disney Imagineering. Recent independent work includes the absurdist show/game Escape from Godot, the musical decluttering seminar Objectivity, the interactive pirate radio documentary 40 Watts From Nowhere, and Shower Thoughts, a mini-memoir styled after a Dr. Bronner’s soap label. Her mischievously uncategorizable projects have been recognized across industries, winning awards intended for escape rooms, immersive theatre, and themed entertainment.

Shing Yin Khor is a multidisciplinary graphic novelist, analog game designer, and installation artist exploring mythic Americana and new human rituals at the intersection of race, gender, immigrant stories, and queerness. They are the author of The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66, one of NPR’s Best Books of the Year in 2019, and The Legend of Auntie Po, a 2022 Eisner Award-winner and National Book Award finalist. Their games and immersive installations—such as the live mail game Remember August, which won the 2022 IndieCade Tabletop Award, and the guerrilla art performance The Gentle Oraclebird—create delightful interruptions in everyday life.

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About the Los Angeles Public Library
Celebrating 150 years of service, the Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest and most diverse urban population of any library in the nation. A recipient of the nation’s highest honor for library service—the National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—its Central Library, 72 branch libraries, collection of more than eight million books, state-of-the-art technology accessible at lapl.org, and thousands of public programs provide everyone with free and easy access to information and the opportunity for lifelong learning.

About the Library Foundation of Los Angeles
The Library Foundation of Los Angeles provides critical support to the Los Angeles Public Library, resulting in free programs, resources, and services available to the millions of adults, children, and youth of Los Angeles. Through fundraising, advocacy, and innovative programs, the Library Foundation strengthens the Los Angeles Public Library and promotes greater awareness of its valuable resources. For more information, please visit lfla.org.