AoA x IAO: I Smell LA
October 11–November 9, 2025
Opening: October 11
5-8pm at ICA LA
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This Summer, Institute for Contemporary Art Los Angeles’ Agency of Assets youth fellows worked with 11 esteemed arts organizations and businesses in Los Angeles: ICA LA; Feminist Center for Creative Work; La Plaza de Cultura y Artes; Self Help Graphic; EQT Recordings; Everybody.World; The Box; dublab; Heidi Duckler Dance Center; Latinx with Plants; and Echo Park Pottery. In an exercise of focused awareness, each youth fellow was tasked to pay attention to the scents of their workplaces and choose one representative aromatic note. In workshops, the youth fellows learned the process of perfumery with Saskia Wilson-Brown and the IAO staff.
Each aromatic note is presented in the Annex exhibition titled AoA x IAO: I Smell LA. Visitors are invited to lift each glass cloche to reveal a chosen scent for each organization. A final perfume composed of all scents presents an olfactory portrait of Los Angeles’ unique cultural arts sector.
Agency of Assets (AoA) is ICA LA’s youth fellowship program offering personal and professional development opportunities through experiences in the arts and culture sector.
Institute of Art and Olfaction (IAO) is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to advancing public, artistic, and experimental engagement with scent.
Agency of Assets is generously supported by the Snap Foundation; the Berman Family Foundation; and Fieldwork Council.
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