Past
What was on view on television in socialist Eastern Europe? Which programs attracted the highest viewer ratings? How did socialist television programs differ from – or perhaps resemble – their Western equivalents? And what do they tell us about everyday life on the other side of the Iron Curtain?
Join us for a fascinating journey through socialist-era television with leading experts on socialist television history – Christine Evans (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee), Anikó Imre (USC, Los Angeles), and Sabina Mihelj (Loughborough University, UK). The event will feature clips from a range of entertainment, fictional, and educational programs broadcast in socialist Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union.
Author and cultural historian Robeson Taj Frazier will discuss the role that different forms of media played in Yugoslavia's and China's efforts to represent themselves as allies of African independence and liberation movements. For China and Yugoslavia, and their respective leaders, media and representation were key tools in fostering an image of their governments as central agents in advancing a global anticolonial wave that would change the world for the better. Furthermore, such representation aided them in nationalizing and domesticating their own citizenries. In his discussion of this history, Dr. Frazier will incorporate a variety of media and artistic examples to highlight the importance that representation and culture played -- particularly depictions of Africa—in both Yugoslavia's and China's efforts to circulate particular narratives of nonalignment and anticolonial solidarity.
The Wende's August Family Day, presented in conjunction with curatorial consultant Robeson Taj Frazier, will explore the power of images. Dr. Frazier will offer a special talk for kids on how and why images have the power to influence us, which will inspire a poster-making activity in the garden.
Enjoy drinks and light refreshments in the Wende Sculpture Garden, plus a spotlight talk by the Wende Museum's Visitor Engagement Education & Volunteer Lead Henry Laurence.
The Wende Museum and the Southern California chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH/SCC) welcome author Stuart W. Leslie, PhD, for a talk on “The Architecture of Apocalypse: Thinking About the Unthinkable in Style,” based on his contribution to the new anthology Laboratory Lifestyles: The Construction of Scientific Fictions. Leslie's essay on the aerospace and think-tank architecture of the Cold War explores the architectural legacy of local institutions, such as the Rand Corporation and Hughes Research Lab. At this event, Leslie will compare the architecture of three U.S. think tanks with three Soviet think tanks of the same era. Beginning at 6:00pm, a reception including refreshments will be provided in the museum courtyard.
The reception is free and and is open to all registered guests, with the program to follow at 7:00pm.
In conjunction with the exhibition Watching Socialism: the Television Revolution in Eastern Europe, the Wende Museum presents Hotel Dallas. Playfully mixing fiction and documentary, Hotel Dallas is a surreal parable of communism, capitalism, and the power of art.
The Wende Museum of the Cold War, in partnership with the UCLA Alumni Silicon Beach Network, invites you to a reception and screening of acclaimed filmmaker Miloš Forman's 1967 comedy The Firemen's Ball.
Join us on Sunday, July 28th, as we enjoy a special Family Day at the Wende: Try your hand at being a secret agent with fun spy-themed activities for kids, as well as a spotlight talk for all ages on the history of espionage in the Cold War.
The Wende Museum invites you to a screening of short films in conjunction with the exhibition Watching Socialism: The Television Revolution in Eastern Europe. The evening's program includes an animated short film from the Wende Museum's High School Media Workshop alongside contemporary shorts by American and Eastern European artists and filmmakers.
To shed light on the ways Cold War history impacted human lives, the Fiona Chalom and Joel Aronowitz Historical Witness Project has been gathering oral histories from those who lived in the Eastern Bloc during the period from 1945 to 1991.
This event will be a live interview conducted at the Wende Museum between Vladimir Paperny and Mark Valley.
Join us in celebrating Pride Month this Sunday, June 30th with special kid-friendly activities and a spotlight talk commemorating the history of LGBTQ activism during the Cold War.
In honor of Pride month, the Wende Museum and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles present a screening of the 1989 East German film Coming Out, directed by famed DEFA filmmaker Heiner Carow.
In conjunction with the exhibition Nonalignment and Tito in Africa, the Wende Museum presents a workshop for educators. Curators and scholars Paul Betts (Oxford University), Radina Vučetić (University of Belgrade), and Robeson Taj Frazier (USC) will offer presentations on the Nonaligned Movement and Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, and invite discussion about how the themes of transnational solidarity and a “third way” beyond the Cold War’s capitalism-communism binary can be meaningfully explored with students and others today.
Please join us to celebrate the opening of our two new exhibitions Watching Socialism: The Television Revolution in Eastern Europe and Nonalignment and Tito in Africa with refreshments, programs and tours of the exhibition!
Join Culver City cultural leaders and scholars for a timely discussion on the hidden history of racism in Culver City and what can be done in the present to undo harm in the future. This event is co-presented with the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum, located at 4130 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230.