All day: Art and Culture

Two exhibitions opening Sunday celebrate African American culture: During the Jazz Age of the 1920s, black artists congregating in Harlem promoted brisk cultural activity in what later became known as the Harlem Renaissance. It is often thought of solely as a literary movement, but the L.A. County Museum of Art’s “Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance” will examine how painting, drawing and sculpture contributed to the cultural movement. The traveling survey also includes photographs and rare archival film and jazz recordings by Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson and Duke Ellington.

* “Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Ends Oct. 19. Museum hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, noon-8 p.m.; Friday, noon-9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Museum admission: adults, $6; students and seniors, $4; children and younger students, $1; children 5 and under, free. (323) 857-6000.

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The intercontinental migration of African American musicians, artists and writers to Paris in the 1920s and ‘30s is the subject of the California African-American Museum’s “The Jazz Age in Paris, 1914-1940.” Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services, the exhibition details the lives of expatriates such as James Reese Europe, Ada “Bricktop” Smith, Sidney Bechet and Josephine Baker, with images, artifacts, audio and video works, sound recordings and 12 original art posters created during the Jazz Age.

* “The Jazz Age in Paris, 1914-1940,” California African-American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park. Ends Oct. 4. Museum hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission, free. (213) 744-7432.

Noon: Art

“Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture,” opening this weekend at the Museum of Latin American Art, presents a comprehensive look at the contemporary art of the region, inspired by a distinctively Caribbean consciousness affected by the area’s diverse religion, race, politics, class and language. The traveling exhibition features approximately 70 works by 56 painters and sculptors, including artists from Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago. Due to the renovation of the museum, the exhibition will be broken into two parts, beginning with “Formalism and Spiritualism,” Friday-Aug. 9, and “Personal Identity and Political and Social Commentary,” Aug. 13-23.

* “Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture,” Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach. Ends Aug. 23. Museum hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-6 p.m. Also open next Monday, Aug. 3 and Aug. 17 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: adults, $3.50; students, $2; children under 12, free. There will be only one admission fee for Parts 1 and 2. (562) 437-1689.

7 pm: Theater

A hit in London and New York, “Improbable Theatre’s 70 Hill Lane,” an exercise in imagination for all ages that is a mix of performance, music, puppetry, object animation and improv, makes its West Coast premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse.

* “Improbable Theatre’s 70 Hill Lane,” La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road. Regular schedule: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Aug. 23. $21-$39. (619) 550-1010.

Freebie: Make-A-Circus’ “Lungman and Windpipe’s Excellent Adventure,” Wilson Park, Torrance, 12:30 p.m. (310) 618-2930.

7:30 pm: Family

The inimitable comedy-theater-juggling troupe known as the Flying Karamazov Brothers makes its Hollywood Bowl debut with conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a family-friendly evening titled “Circus Madness.” Just some of the music to be played includes pieces by Franz Waxman, Nino Rota, Leroy Anderson and Bruce Broughton.

* “Circus Madness,” Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. $3-$70. (323) 850-2000.

7:30 pm: Music

The Irvine Barclay Theatre hosts a recital by American mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, assisted by the redoubtable Martin Katz. Part of Summer Songfest ’98 at UC Irvine, the program includes music by Rossini, Mahler, Satie and others.

* Susanne Mentzer, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. $6-$10. (949) 854-4646.

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Freebie: Make-A-Circus’ “Lungman and Windpipe’s Excellent Adventure,” Wilson Park, Torrance, 12:30 p.m. (310) 618-2930.