In The Arts

Hanauer tapped as president of Playhouse board

Joe F. Hanauer, a longtime Laguna Beach resident and businessman in real estate, has been elected president of the Laguna Playhouse’s Board of Directors, playhouse officials announced in a news release.

“The Playhouse’s contributions have been enormous over the past 91 years and will grow even more in the years ahead,” Hanauer said in a prepared statement. “It is with great enthusiasm that I assume this role and work with a very committed board as the Playhouse expands its impact on the cultural and intellectual life of South Orange County.”

According to the release, Hanauer, the principal of Combined Investments, has sat on the Playhouse board for two years. He also serves as a trustee on the Laguna Beach Live! and Mission Hospital Foundation boards.

“I have a deep appreciation for the impact that a strong cultural presence can have on a community,” Hanauer’s statement continued. “In addition to the Laguna Playhouse’s core focus on providing wonderful theatrical performances the Playhouse also is becoming a center for performing arts hosting music, ballet, comedy, author events and an array of other exciting programs.”

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JWA to showcase Laguna arts and culture

John Wayne Airport on Sunday will open an exhibit showcasing the Laguna Beach summertime art festivals and local cultural institutions, the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau announced in a release.

“We are honored that Laguna Beach has been chosen to feature its wealth of arts and cultural organizations in the summer/fall 2012 exhibit at John Wayne Airport,” Judith Bijlani, president and chief executive of the Visitors & Conference Bureau, said in a prepared statement.

The exhibit, called “A Legacy of Arts,” will be temporarily displayed in the airport’s new “Orange County: Destination Art & Culture” promotional space, made up of a set of 11 wall-mounted cases in the walkway joining Terminal B to the recently completed Terminal C.

The exhibit will highlight the themes of “Laguna Beach Yesterday” and “Laguna Beach Today,” and will feature photographs and images from the Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters, Sawdust Art Festival, Art-A-Fair, Laguna Art Museum and Laguna Playhouse, the release said.

“Laguna Beach has long been synonymous with the arts — both visual and performing,” JWA Director Alan L. Murphy said in prepared comments. “We are delighted to help showcase these amazing venues and hope that passengers and local residents alike will be moved to see some of them first-hand in beautiful Laguna Beach.”

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LAM exhibitor to screen films at UCI

Two films that are part of Peter Bo Rappmund’s “ex•pose” exhibit at Laguna Art Museum will be screened at UC Irvine on the night of July 19.

Rappmund’s films, “Psychohydrography” and “Tectonics,” will be shown at 7 p.m. at the McCormick Screening Room in the Humanities Building, following a 6:30 p.m. reception. Admission is free.

The exhibit of work by Rappmund, an artist who works in film, video, photography and sound, will run at LAM, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach, through Oct. 7, according to information posted on the museum’s website.

In other Laguna arts news, the Laguna Beach Film Society will screen the Brazilian-French film “Found Memories” at 7 p.m. at South Coast Cinema, 162. S. Coast Hwy., following a reception and pre-film conversation at LAM, scheduled for 6 p.m.

Tickets for the film only are $15 at the door and $20 for admission to both the reception and screening. Film Society members get in for free. For more information, contact JoAnne Story at (949) 494-8971 ext. 201.

—Imran Vittachi