The New York Times 'Look West' Series Comes to Segerstrom Center, 4/1

Find out what's new, noteworthy and collectible in Southern California's art scene, internationally recognized for the scope and diversity of its museums, galleries and artists. Join the conversation as some of its leading figures Dr. Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum; Paul Schimmel, partner in the new gallery space Hauser Wirth & Schimmel; Todd D. Smith, director and C.E.O. of the Orange County Museum of Art; and rising young Los Angeles artist Samara Golden discuss the state of the arts with Robin Pogrebin of The New York Times on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Look West is a new event series that brings game-changing innovators in the arts, media and technology on stage for engaging discussions with The New York Times journalists before live, local audiences in states throughout the Western U.S. The New York Times' Look West series is presented by Bank of the West.

Tickets for this event are $25 and can be purchased by visiting nytlookwest.com. For general Segerstrom Center box office questions, call (714) 556-2787. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds Kia, Official Automotive Partner of the Center, and United Airlines, Official Airline of the Center.

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is a global media organization dedicated to enhancing society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information. The company includes The New York Times, International New York Times, NYTimes.com, INYT.com and related properties. It is known globally for excellence in its journalism and innovation in its print and digital storytelling and its business model. Follow news about the company at @NYTimesComm.

Bank of the West is a regional financial services company chartered in California and headquartered in San Francisco with $69 billion in assets. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 650 offices in 21 states and the internet (bankofthewest.com). Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 75 countries with 180,000 employees.

Dr. Timothy Potts has been director of the J. Paul Getty Museum since September 2012. Previously, he was director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (2008 - 2012), the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1998 - 2007) and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia (1994 ? 1998). Potts is a specialist in the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean on which he has written widely. He was educated at the Universities of Sydney (B.A. Hons) and Oxford (D. Phil.), where he also held academic positions as a research lecturer and British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Christ Church (1985 - 1990). At Cambridge, he was Professorial Fellow and Director of Studies for the History of Art at Clare College (2009 - 2012).

Paul Schimmel is vice president and partner at international contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth's forthcoming Los Angeles venture, Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. He most recently served as Chief Curator of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from 1990 to 2012. Schimmel has organized major one-person retrospectives for artists such as Chris Burden, Willem de Kooning and Robert Rauschenberg and several significant thematic exhibitions such as Helter Skelter: LA Art in the 1990s (1992); Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object, 1949-1979 (1999); Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981 (2011) and Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949- 1962 (2012).

In 2014, Todd DeShields Smith joined the Orange County Museum of Art as Director and CEO where he will lead the museum through a critical transitional phase and ultimately to a new facility at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. Smith has served in leadership roles at several museums across the United States, organized significant exhibitions and held teaching positions at universities, as well as authoring publications considered important contributions to the field. Prior to his leadership role at OCMA, Smith was the Executive Director at the Tampa Museum of Art for six years where he oversaw the building of a new internationally award-winning museum in 2010 that served as a prime catalyst for the cultural and economic rejuvenation of downtown Tampa.

Currently on view at MoMA PS1 in New York, The Flat Side of the Knife marks Samara Golden's first solo museum exhibition. Golden received her M.F.A. from Columbia University and has exhibited her work at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; SculptureCenter (New York); Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, Arizona; Night Gallery (Los Angeles); CANADA (New York); Cardi Black Box (Milan); LOYAL Gallery (Stockholm) and The Ister (Paris) among others. Most recently, Golden's work was featured in the 2014 Hammer Museum Biennial, Made in L.A.

Robin Pogrebin is a staff reporter at The New York Times, where she covers the business of cultural institutions and issues including preservation, arts funding and architecture for The Culture Desk. Prior to joining The New York Times, Pogrebin worked as an associate producer for Peter Jennings' documentary unit at ABC News, producing hour-long specials on subjects such as Bosnia, Haiti and Christianity in America. Pogrebin has written freelance articles for various publications including Architectural Digest, Vogue, Town & Country Magazine, Departures and New York Magazine and her work has been featured in several anthologies. She teaches journalism and is a frequent radio guest, speaker and moderator.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization and owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Judy Morr Theater, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series. The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center opens in 2015.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family- friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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