RESURRECTION + REINVENTION

By Michael Holt — Jun 7, 2024

The enduring spirit of Judy Garland, the legendary singer and star who repeatedly resurrected her career against all odds, runs deep this month at Family Affairs Studio.

You're reading work ◆ flow, a newsletter by Family Affairs Studio written by founder Michael R. Holt to share updates from our studio and content designed to help you reach flow in your creative venture or practice.

Upcoming

Bottoming For Jesus
Friday + Saturday, June 28 + 29 at 8PM
Written and Performed by Michael R. Holt
Directed by Spenser Theberge
Produced by Family Affairs Studio
Limited Capacity | 40 tickets available per performance

21 years after baptizing himself against his family wishes into the Mormon Church—his “greatest work of performance art to date”— Michael R. Holt returns to the stage with BOTTOMING FOR JESUS, an hour-long performance spanning stand up, cabaret, and queer religious revivalism. In this work, Holt shares his attempts and failures at living a purpose-driven life, promising a deep look inside the mind and heart of one of Los Angeles’ last “good gay white guys”.

Buy Tickets for Friday, June 28 at 8PM
Buy Tickets for Saturday, June 29 at 8PM

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Special Offer from LINT Studios

The space formerly known as NAVEL is now under new management as LINT STUDIOS with support from Studio 3XP, a queer-owned production company operating onsite. LINT STUDIOS will offer short-term event and production rentals of the upstairs loft main space and black box studio, and is also seeking proposals for long-term subletters of the shared ground floor warehouse space.

Receive 15% off your space rental fee when you mention FAMILY AFFAIRS STUDIO for all June/July/August 2024 short term bookings.

Learn More | Submit a Short Term Booking Request | Propose a Long Term Sublet

A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER

Woe is the Artworker. Former NAVEL ED and Family Affairs Studio founder Michael R. Holt serving artworker realness in the final days of NAVEL. Photo by Wyatt Coday of NOR RESEARCH STUDIO.

Greetings from Portland, Oregon!

It’s been nearly four months since we launched work ◆ flow and as many of you already know I have been going through an intense transition since resigning as Executive Director of NAVEL, the independent arts space I managed since 2018.

Although my resignation triggered the painful decision for the organization to leave the space, I am grateful to report that we have since received some additional support from local government arts agencies to assist with NAVEL’s transition and to begin a documentation process to share learnings from our collective experiment with the field.

Love notes written to NAVEL by attendees of NAVEL NONSTOP, a 12-hour farewell party we threw on March 30, 2024.

In addition to assisting with NAVEL’s transition, I have spent the past months in recovery mode, working to finish a project for my colleague Leslie Tamaribuchi at LA Commons, an established arts organization rooted in South Central Los Angeles, which included a separation readiness audit and strategic plan to guide their transition away from their long-time fiscal sponsor to become their own independent creative entity.

At the end of May we started working with Leigh Robbie Gaymon-Jones, founder and executive creative director of The Nest Creatives, an emerging creative studio and gathering hub offering design services, event production, and community-based programming to amplify radical visions for the future. We’ll be providing systems design and workflow optimization support, enabling more efficient collaboration and streamlined operations between the studio's various clients and creative design teams.

Lastly, I have been blessed over the past month to dive deep into my creative process with the brilliant director and artist Spenser Theberge to bring forth BOTTOMING FOR JESUS, an original solo performance which I’ll premiere at the end of June in Los Angeles. There are only 40 tickets available to each performance, so don't sleep on buying tickets for either Friday or Saturday evening.

Getting out of my head and into my body with support from genius creative director and movement artist Spenser Theberge.

I have spent the past week in residency developing material for the piece at Open Space, a creative container and dance school in Portland, Oregon co-founded by Franco Nieto, Maeve Dougal, and Charlene Hannibal, who graciously offered me the space and opportunity. A huge special thanks to Kelsey Aroian for offering us her home to stay in, and to company manager extraordinaire Mikenzie Ames for production coordination and storytelling advice <3

Open Space's THE STATION, where I've been in residency since late last week.

Even with all of this activity, we are keen to bring on a number of new projects and clients to FAMILY AFFAIRS throughout the summer and appreciate it if you spread the word about our offerings to your trusted colleagues and collaborators. Check out our offerings and then reach out to set up a free consultation.

Finding flow after a major rupture takes time, care, and support. I am humbled by and grateful to the many, many friends and supporters who have showed up for me throughout this transition, and look forward to sharing more of our studio’s development throughout the summer.

Happy Pride! Free Palestine!
With care,
Michael R. Holt

MICHAEL R. HOLT is an artist, producer, and creative strategist based in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the independent artist space NAVEL, where he organized programming for artists and cultural workers 2018 through 2024. Holt’s work examines and bends institutional infrastructure and social architectures to create more accessible pathways for artists to cultivate and maintain the value of their intellectual property. At NAVEL, they curated and commissioned artists such as Spenser Theberge, Jermaine Spivey, Jerome AB, Justin Elizabeth Sayre, Harmony Holiday, Sebastian Hernandez, Alice Yuan Zhang, and Huntrezz. From 2018 to 2022, Holt advised and raised funds for the ASSEMBLIES initiative, a collaborative learning platform that provided resources and incubation to over 33 artist-led research groups at NAVEL. From 2012-2015, Michael was the Assistant Director of Marketing at Lincoln Center, where he guided all loyalty marketing efforts across eleven programs and festivals. He is the founder of FAMILY AFFAIRS STUDIO.

FAMILY AFFAIRS STUDIO is a management consultancy and creative studio founded by Michael Holt. We have over 25+ combined years working with organizations, brands, and studios like Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NAVEL, Stuart Thompson Productions, Denniston Hill, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation's Residency on Captiva Island, Visions2030, LDK Productions, and LA Commons.