ESMoA is pleased to invite you to a special event with artist Cole Sternberg and L.A. City Controller candidate Kenneth Mejia in a conversation moderated by writer Jennifer Swann. The conversation is tied to Sternberg's current exhibition FREESTATE at ESMoA that envisions a model of a more responsible, free and democratic society through a Free Republic of California, and critiques the priorities, budget and inequities–economic, political and social–of the United States in its present form. Kenneth Mejia is a CPA, community advocate and housing activist who is currently running for Los Angeles City Controller in 2022, leading a grassroots campaign aiming to make the L.A. city budget more accountable to the social, economic and environmental needs of the residents of Los Angeles. The conversation will be moderated by writer Jennifer Swann, the co-founder of theLAnd Magazine and a contributor on the topics of culture and politics to the L.A. Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, The Washington Post, among other publications. This event will be live-streamed on ESMoA’s YouTube channel.