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Articles by Makeda Easter
Built at Barrett
Editor's note: This story was featured in the fall 2026 issue of ASU Thrive. Story by Makeda Easter Even though it’s been more than a decade, Alyssa Nazareno vividly remembers her college application strategy. Then a senior at Xavier College Preparatory, a private Catholic high school in Phoenix, she knew she wanted to be close to her family in Scottsdale and be surrounded by other academically driven students.
The quantum frontier
Story by Makeda Easter When ASU’s Christian Arenz starts teaching quantum mechanics, he expects to see plenty of confused faces. But a few weeks into the semester, that uncertainty often turns into excitement. Arenz, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, who came to ASU from Princeton, watches as students begin to understand the potential of quantum computing.
Kaitlyn Sardin's Fusion of Irish Dance With Other Styles Has Earned Her Hundreds of Thousands of Fans—Including Beyoncé
Irish dance made a surprise appearance during Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter stadium tour this summer. The show’s third act closed with “Flamenco,” a short, haunting song featuring the extraordinary dancer Kaitlyn Sardin. As Beyoncé sang, Sardin—wearing a short blazer dress, a cowboy hat, ruffled white socks, and hard Irish dance shoes—began a solo at the stage’s center. When the pop star strutted off for a costume change, the music sped up, and Sardin’s feet flew to match the tempo.
Making it: $napshots from the Artist Pay Project
Skip to Content When / Where The Artist Pay Project is an anonymous journalistic series that examines how artists survive and thrive through anonymous money diaries.
How Heels Dance Became a Wildly Popular-and Welcoming-Style
Beyoncé’s iconic “Crazy in Love” music video opens with her fierce strut in pointy red heels down an empty street. She drops low for a seductive, verse-long dance sequence on the ground, before being joined by a posse of women decked out in streetwear and, of course, high heels. It was 2003 and Beyoncé and her group of dancers embodied confidence and beauty.
How Heels Dance Became a Wildly Popular-and Welcoming-Style
Beyoncé’s iconic “Crazy in Love” music video opens with her fierce strut in pointy red heels down an empty street. She drops low for a seductive, verse-long dance sequence on the ground, before being joined by a posse of women decked out in streetwear and, of course, high heels. It was 2003 and Beyoncé and her group of dancers embodied confidence and beauty.
East West Players: Asian American Visibility, Also Sustainability
In 2018, Sandra Oh made history as the first woman of Asian descent to be Emmy-nominated for lead actress in a drama series.
The Alchemy of High-Performing Theatres of Color – AMERICAN THEATRE
How the historic Los Angeles company has stabilized both its mission and its finances. The Minnesota theatre is thriving in difficult times thanks to nimbleness, versatility, and time for reflection. Serving a community of color without identifying as a theatre of color has led this 65-year-old theatre to build bridges, while struggling with fundraising.
Chloé Arnold: The Star Choreographer Amplifying Tap in Hollywood
Chloé Arnold’s modern home is nearly inconspicuous on a sleepy street in Los Angeles. But behind the gate, Megan Thee Stallion’s smash hit “Savage” and the thunderous sounds of metal on wood fill its garage-turned-dance studio.
Meet the couple behind Artists Who Code, a group helping artists switch careers to tech
Catherine Ricafort McCreary and Scott McCreary founded Artists Who Code out of frustration with their experiences working as full-time artists. (Josefina Santos / For the Times) Catherine Ricafort McCreary, a Broadway performer turned software engineer, was nearly a month into her new job at the online clothes styling company Stitch Fix when the pandemic hit. Although she had made the leap to a more stable, well-paying industry than theater, her artist friends and former co-workers were in crisis.
5 Vegetarian Favorites in Crenshaw from a Vegan Chef
Fries and hot dogs served at Earle's on Crenshaw. | Still from "Broken Bread" Chef Whitt did not take a traditional path to a culinary career. She didn't attend culinary school, opting instead to get firsthand experience in the food industry by working as a prep cook and landing gigs for catering companies. "I literally went to these places with zero experience and kind of faked it until I made it," said Whitt, a chef for two years.
How Mustache Mondays Built an Inclusive Queer Nightlife Scene and Influenced the Arts in L.A.
"It was the best party in L.A. hands down." For nearly ten years, Mustache Mondays reigned as the queer place to be in Los Angeles. The popular weekly downtown club night, replete with signature fliers, graphics, DJs, performances and general revelry spanned from 2007 to around 2018. But, it was not just any party.
How One Woman’s Miniatures Are Helping Tell Powerful Black Stories
When people encounter Karen Collins' intimate depictions of Black history through miniatures, they tend to go silent and stare in awe — a fact the folk artist feels embarrassed to admit, even after more than 25 years of running her mobile African American Miniature Museum. But it's easy to be mesmerized by the intricate detail in her handcrafted dioramas, placed inside shadowboxes built by her husband Eddie Lewis.
How a Nazi Infiltrated L.A.’s 1930s Art Scene
Participants raise a Swastika for a German Day celebration at Hindenburg Park in 1936. Ferenz co-produced annual Swastika-draped picnics in Hindenburg Park in the 1930s.
The Bowser Effect
In 1998, Carla Banks Waddles wrote a $50 check she knew would bounce just to attend an event where TV writer and producer Yvette Lee Bowser would be honored. Waddles, then an aspiring TV writer, summoned the courage to approach Bowser, which led to a phone call and advice on which internships Waddles should pursue. Waddles ended up an intern—and later, a staff writer—for Bowser on NBC’s For Your Love.
The Evolution of Chicano Rock, From Ritchie Valens to Chicano Batman
Album cover for "Ruben and the Jets." | Courtesy of Universal Music Group This article is produced in partnership withL.A. TACO "Invisible people, the truth is we're all the same/The concept of race was implanted inside your brain It's time to start all over/You best believe we're taking over" Bardo Martinez, lead singer of Chicano Batman, sings these empowering lines on the band's album release, "Invisible People" (2020).
Inside the heartbreaking conservatorship battle of a 'Star Trek' legend
Tucked away at the end of a secluded cul-de-sac, Nichelle Nichols' Woodland Hills home was a testament to her boundary-breaking career spanning more than 70 years. Nichols lined walls and shelves with photos of herself as Lt. Uhura on the original "Star Trek" series, memorabilia from her legions of fans and documentation of her contributions to NASA's recruitment of women and people of color in the 1970s. The home was Nichols' pride and joy, say those close to the star.
How the New Deal Continues to Shape L.A. 90 Years On
Invisibly, to this day, New Deal handiwork affects the lives of every American. See how WPA projects continue to touch the lives of Angelenos and ponder what a 21st-century iteration could achieve. Note: The opinion expressed here is solely of the author and does not reflect the views of PBS SoCal, KCET or Link TV. If FDR were alive today and you tried to thank him for all the "infrastructure" his administration built, he would have no idea what you were talking about.
Inside the heartbreaking conservatorship battle of a 'Star Trek' legend
Nichelle Nichols won legions of fans and made history as an original "Star Trek" cast member, but friends and family say she needs help. How best to assist the actor, who has dementia, is the subject of protracted legal dispute. (Stat The Artist, aka Teddy Phillips) Tucked away at the end of a secluded cul-de-sac, Nichelle Nichols’ Woodland Hills home was a testament to her boundary-breaking career spanning more than 70 years.
For these 5 L.A. community groups, a $50-million windfall from MacKenzie Scott
Kristen Johannesen, left, Olivia Ramos and her mother, Dora Magaña, work on papier-mâché skulls for Day of the Dead at a Self Help Graphics & Art community workshop in 2019.
Celebrate Juneteenth with these arts and culture events across SoCal
A scene from Leimert Park's 2020 Juneteenth celebration. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) A mashup of its historic date, Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, received the news that they were free — nearly 2½ years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
How Amy Sherald's paintings capture the spectacularly mundane moments of Black life
Amy Sherald began experimenting with her signature style — painting Black people in gray monochrome — around 2008. At the time, she was working in her Baltimore studio and painting people true to their complexion when another artist suggested she paint figures using grayscale to speed up the artistic process. It became an aesthetic choice that eventually clicked.
How Amy Sherald's paintings capture the spectacularly mundane moments of Black life
LOS ANGELES – Amy Sherald began experimenting with her signature style — painting Black people in gray monochrome — around 2008. At the time, she was working in her Baltimore studio and painting people true to their complexion when another artist suggested she paint figures using grayscale to speed up the artistic process. kAmxE 3642>6 2? 26DE96E:4 49@:46 E92E 6G6?EF2==J 4=:4<65] $:?46 96C a_`a H@C< QtBF:=:3C:F>[Q $96C2=5 92D A2:?E65 @?=J q=24< A6@A=6[ @7E6?
How Amy Sherald's paintings capture the spectacularly mundane moments of Black life
LOS ANGELES – Amy Sherald began experimenting with her signature style — painting Black people in gray monochrome — around 2008. At the time, she was working in her Baltimore studio and painting people true to their complexion when another artist suggested she paint figures using grayscale to speed up the artistic process. It became an aesthetic choice that eventually clicked.
How Amy Sherald's paintings capture the spectacularly mundane moments of Black life
© Provided by The LA Times Contemporary artist Amy Sherald sits for portraits with her painting 'As American as apple pie' prior to her first West Coast exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in L.A. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Amy Sherald began experimenting with her signature style — painting Black people in gray monochrome — around 2008.
'Hamilton' cookie portraits? See how healthcare workers make art to cope with COVID-19
© (Saira Malik Rahman) Dr. Saira Malik Rahman, a pediatrician in Indiana, created an art series inspired by the pandemic and the country's civil and human rights struggles. (Saira Malik Rahman) In a year of working through the pandemic, Dr. Hetvi Joshi, whose work is focused on caring for people in hospitals, said she has witnessed the immense agony, anxiety and pain experienced by patients.
Health care workers turn to art to cope
“COVID Fatigue” is how surgeon Dr. Frank Candela titled his painting — a weary blue face enveloped in a cloud of black. During the winter COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles, Candela sent the painting to Times health reporter Soumya Karlamangla, who tweeted: “When I asked him what inspired the image, he said, ‘my colleagues faces.’” As the pandemic stretches toward the one-year mark, with about half a million deaths in the U.S. alone, health care workers are increasingly burned out and traumatized.
Facing helplessness and fatigue, some health care workers turn to art to cope
LOS ANGELES – “COVID Fatigue” is how surgeon Dr. Frank Candela titled his painting — a weary blue face enveloped in a cloud of black.
Facing helplessness and fatigue, some health care workers turn to art to cope
LOS ANGELES – “COVID Fatigue” is how surgeon Dr. Frank Candela titled his painting — a weary blue face enveloped in a cloud of black.
Facing helplessness and fatigue, some health care workers turn to art to cope
LOS ANGELES – “COVID Fatigue” is how surgeon Dr. Frank Candela titled his painting — a weary blue face enveloped in a cloud of black.
How a $970,000 award represents hope and change for a Black LA dance company
LOS ANGELES – As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the arts, a $970,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has become a ray of hope for L.A.-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre and signals a breakthrough for a Black arts group historically passed over for foundation funding of this magnitude.
Young artists reflect on their first semester of college during COVID-19
LOS ANGELES — For freshman starting college this fall, COVID-19 upended their education, as some colleges closed their campuses and offered only remote classes, while others were the sites of outbreaks. For young artists studying music, dance, film, visual art, theater or other disciplines, remote or distanced learning brings unique challenges. Arts training relies on rehearsals, private instruction, ensemble shows and access to expensive equipment like cameras and software for projects.
Young artists reflect on their first semester of college during COVID-19
Part of a year-end series revisiting subjects of some of our most popular arts articles of the year. ———— kAm{~$ p}vt{t$ – u@C 7C6D9>2? DE2CE:?8 4@==686 E9:D 72==[ r~'xs\`h FA6?565 E96:C 65F42E:@?[ 2D D@>6 4@==686D 4=@D65 E96:C 42>AFD6D 2?5 @776C65 @?=J C6>@E6 4=2DD6D[ H9:=6 @E96CD H6C6 E96 D:E6D @7 @FE3C62<D]k^Am kAmu@C J@F?8 2CE:DED DEF5J:?8 >FD:4[ 52?46[ 7:=>[ G:DF2= 2CE[ E962E6C @C @E96C 5:D4:A=:?6D[ C6>@E6 @C 5:DE2?465 =62C?:?8 3C:?8D F?:BF6 492==6?86D] pCED EC2:?:?8 C6=:6D @?
John Outterbridge, key figure in L.A.’s Black assemblage arts movement, dies at 87
John Outterbridge, a central figure in the Black assemblage arts movement and former director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, has died in Los Angeles. He was 87. Tami Outterbridge, his daughter, confirmed the death, but other details, including the date, place and cause of death, were not disclosed. The artist was known for his evocative sculptures made from found or discarded materials including cloth, containers and metal.
Here's how an art show is humanizing the incarcerated during COVID-19
© (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Jason Perry is an artist who was incarcerated for 27 years. His work, about the lasting impact of systemic racism on Black people, is being featured in an L.A. exhibition, "Freedom and Vision." (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) COVID-19 ripped through California’s oldest prison, San Quentin, after 121 men were transferred from the California Institution for Men in Chino in May.
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. They had been chosen to exhibit their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and happened to be sharing a wall. Martinez, 33, often depicts women like flowers and honors her Black and Mexican heritage, and Holly, 41, a rapper and self-taught painter, creates street art-style interpretations of his childhood.
How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. They had been chosen to exhibit their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and happened to be sharing a wall. Martinez, 33, often depicts women like flowers and honors her Black and Mexican heritage, and Holly, 41, a rapper and self-taught painter, creates street art-style interpretations of his childhood.
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. kAm%96J 925 366? 49@D6? E@ 6I9:3:E E96:C H@C< 2E E96 |FD6F> @7 r@?E6>A@C2CJ pCE r=6G6=2?5 2?5 92AA6?65 E@ 36 D92C:?8 2 H2==] |2CE:?6K[ bb[ @7E6? 56A:4ED H@>6? =:<6 7=@H6CD 2?5 9@?@CD 96C q=24< 2?5 |6I:42? 96C:E286[ 2?5 w@==J[ c`[ 2 C2AA6C 2?5 D6=7\E2F89E A2:?E6C[ 4C62E6D DEC66E 2CE\DEJ=6 :?E6CAC6E2E:@?D @7 9:D 49:=59@@5]k^Am kAm%96 6I9:3:E:@?
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings By Makeda Easter, Los Angeles Times on Nov 19, 2020 Published in Health & Fitness « ‹ › × LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. They had been chosen to exhibit their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and happened to be sharing a wall.
Has the pandemic changed how you enjoy arts? We want to hear from you
The Daily Beast Delaware Teens Lured a Classmate Into the Woods—Then Murdered Her With a Baseball Bat: Prosecutors A Delaware teenager has been charged with murder after allegedly luring her classmate into the woods and beating her to death alongside the girl’s ex-boyfriend, prosecutors said.Annika Stalczynski, 17, was arrested on Monday after a New Castle County grand jury indicted her on several charges—including first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during commission of a...
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. They had been chosen to exhibit their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and happened to be sharing a wall. Martinez, 33, often depicts women like flowers and honors her Black and Mexican heritage, and Holly, 41, a rapper and self-taught painter, creates street art-style interpretations of his childhood.
And now for a happy story: How love fuels this couple's collaborative paintings
© (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) Artist couple Al-baseer Holly and Cristina Martinez have a gallery showing on Nov. 14, displaying collaborative works and their independent paintings at the East Angel. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago. They had been chosen to exhibit their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and happened to be sharing a wall.
People across America do a happy dance to celebrate Biden's win
A pro-Biden crowd dances at the intersection of 3rd and Arch streets in Philadelphia as Joe Biden pulls ahead of Donald Trump in the Pennsylvania vote count on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) On beat, off beat, line dances and voguing — people across the country are pouring out into the streets to dance in celebration of Joe Biden being elected 46th president of the United States on Saturday.
Former Fowler Museum director and Ghanaian arts scholar Doran Ross dies
Doran Ross, a Ghanaian arts scholar, was former director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. (Fowler Museum) The man who cemented the Fowler Museum at UCLA’s reputation for deeply researched, contextualized, multimedia exhibitions on global arts has died. Former Fowler Director Doran Ross, a respected Ghanaian arts scholar who spent 20 years at the museum managing or curating nearly 40 African and African American exhibitions shown at 30 venues across the country died Sept.
What does it take to pull off a drive-in dance show? L.A. Dance Project explains
In "Solo at Dusk," a work choreographed by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber for L.A. Dance Project, the costuming included floral masks. (Lorrin Brubaker) As the pandemic stretches toward year's end, dance companies have been forced to experiment and to move beyond virtual shows as a means of resuscitating the art of live performance. Some have found an unexpected lifeline not on the stage but in a parking lot.
In a holding pattern
LOS ANGELES — The proposal was a belated birthday gift. The day before, on my 29th birthday, my boyfriend Thane and I celebrated by trekking around L.A. We both took the day off from work — I cover the arts, he works on movie trailers and is usually my plus-one to all the events I cover.
How learning to roller skate helped me connect with a piece of L.A. Black culture
Many people are just starting to roller skate during the pandemic because of social media, but L.A. has a long, rich history and culture of skaters. (Micah Fluellen / Los Angeles Times) Some people turned to sourdough. Others became plant parents. My quarantine hobby of choice? Roller skating.
Didn't expect the marriage proposal - or the pandemic. Now what?
LOS ANGELES — The proposal was a belated birthday gift. The day before, on my 29th birthday, my boyfriend Thane and I celebrated by trekking around L.A. We both took the day off from work — I cover the arts, he works on movie trailers and is usually my plus-one to all the events I cover.
Poets, rappers and playwrights use battle rap to call out Trump on '45 Lies'
By Makeda Easter | Los Angeles Times Posted 10/6/20 Using the iconic and heavily sampled beat from the Honey Drippers' 1973 track "Impeach the President" as a backdrop, poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph rhymes: Sign up to keep reading — IT'S FREE! In an effort to improve our website and enhance our local coverage, HillCountryNews.com has switched to a membership model. Fill out the form below to create a free account. Once you're logged in, you can continue using the site as normal.
How out-of-work strippers made their show virtual and are 'taking the power back'
Coco Ono, left, Kitty, Danielle and Reagan in front of Jumbo's Clown Room. With the club closed during the pandemic, the women have moved their dancing online. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) It was in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when a group of dancers from the East Hollywood hipster strip club Jumbo’s Clown Room realized no one was coming to save them.
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