Los Angeles to host 1st public art biennial at LA River

ELYSIAN PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Art will be installed for the public to enjoy at 14 sites along the Los Angeles River and throughout the city as part of its first public art biennial.

The goal is to create a new way to experience the art and as a way to look at the surrounding environment.

"Los Angeles is the creative crossroads of the world, undeniably," Mayor Eric Garcetti said during the Tuesday announcement.

The first biennial will focus on the city's relationship with water, specifically with the river. Los Angeles was one of four cities selected from more than 200 applicants to receive a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies in their public art challenge.

The money will be matched by the Department of Cultural Affairs private arts development fee program.

"Public art is a communal activity. It inspires people to talk, to think, to re-imagine, to enter a museum that has no walls," Garcetti said.

The biennial will kick off in July for one month with the sites to be announced soon.