Founded in opposition to overdevelopment and the expansion of the 710 Freeway, Arlington Garden is Pasadena's only dedicated public garden. In the 19 years since its inception, this three-acre urban oasis has blossomed into a vibrant wildlife habitat for Pasadena's native flora and fauna, an outdoor classroom, and the host to the only remaining orange grove along historic Orange Grove Boulevard.
We gather at Arlington Garden monthly to reconnect with the natural world and with our community. Here, we are reminded of what's possible when we come together to self-determine our collective futures through art, ecology, and the simple act of gathering among friends. This garden stands as a testament to the power of grassroots action and the transformative potential of communal stewardship.
This month, we’re bringing together two of LA’s most present and engaged musicians, Pauline Lay and Marta Tiesenga! To list the amount of projects between them is an archival journey in its own right, but between their ensemble work whether in the form of Wild Up or stewarding Pehrspace or coordinating music for 25 synthesizers or sitting in with so many phenomenal friends, to know either of these artists to hold a great respect and admiration for both their craft and their humanity.
Pull up to start your December right, pick up some of Arlington’s Marmalade as a holiday gift, sip on hot coffee made by us, and literally give these two their flowers.
Hailing from Chicago, M.A. Tiesenga is a musician, composer, and multidisciplinary visual artist presently living and working in Los Angeles. As prolific as they are autodidactic, Tiesenga’s creative practice includes not only composition, but print-making, pen and ink drawing, visual scores, and participation in numerous musical groups, including, notably, the Eastman Saxophone Project (“ESP”)—of which they are a founding member—and the grammy-nominated collective Wild Up. Across mediums, Tiesenga balances a rigorous attention to craft, procedure, and structure while simultaneously inaugurating the requisite space for spontaneity, play, and the stranger fruits of creative mysticism.
Pauline Lay is a celebrated musician, composer, and organizer of happenings in Los Angeles. Though many know her legendary work of stewarding Pehrspace, we love to hype Pauline as a prolific and wondrous violinist who has played throughout the US and in some of LA’s jaw dropping ensembles.