Saturday, SEPTEMBER 9, 2023
5pm - 9pm
Schindler House

TICKET FOR ONE: $750
TICKETS FOR TWO: $1,500
TABLE FOR SIX: $5,000

The Evening

Virgo Rising pays homage to the long history of invigorating cultural practices at the Schindler House. From experimental living to weekly salons and conversations, the Kings Road House has long been an anchor for creative activity and avant-garde exchange. Since its emergence in 1922, the house and gardens have served as a site of Californian gathering, bringing together artists, architects, activists, musicians, poets, writers, residents, visitors, and scholars to share, celebrate, debate, and collaborate.  

A Culinary Collaboration

The evening features an extraordinary culinary collaboration in the gardens of the Schindler House. Guided by a constellation of rising stars, the evening features a multi-course meal by global chefs coming together in an exploration of living, dining, and community.

With a cocktail reception and canapes by Sandy Ho of Sandita's, dinner courses by Gerardo Gonzalez and Balo Orozco, and dessert by Malcolm Livingston II (August Novelties) and Sasha Piligian. 

Your contribution goes directly to supporting our annual calendar of exhibitions and free programming, alongside the public activation of three significant modernist sites by R.M. Schindler. 

About the Chefs

Sandy Ho

Sandy Ho is a Vietnamese, Australian born chef who works within the intersection of food and art. Her creations are forever inspired by natural forms and colors, Vietnamese nostalgia, and her experience traveling the world. Ho often calls back to her childhood in the kitchen along with her background in the arts as a driving influence. Her artfully inventive food along with her strong advocacy for uplifting the Asian diaspora and local farmers have cultivated her voice in the industry. Now based in Los Angeles, California, Ho continues to collaborate with brands, artists and private clientele to host special events, unique food styling and pops ups under her founded company, Sandita’s. Sandita's creates bespoke food experiences that aspire to spark positive sharing of food for everyone.

Balo Orozco

Balo Orozco grew up in Guadalajara where he started his career at a Japanese-run sushi restaurant at age 16. Then he moved to Tulum to cook at the renowned open air, wood-fired restaurant Hartwood. In Tulum, he worked on a farm raising pigs and rabbits and became devoted to combating food waste, coaching other farms in the area to do the same. Orozco is now based in Los Angeles, where he’s spent the last seven years cheffing in restaurants, cooking for a multitude of events, and building symbiotic relationships with local farmers. In 2020, he founded Sunset Cultures, a non-alcoholic beverage and preserves company that conserves excess produce and highlights Southern California flavors. 

Gerardo Gonzalez

Gerardo Gonzalez is a chef, artist and culinary consultant. The former Director of Food and Culture for Palm Heights, he’s passionate about using food as an entrypoint for collaboration between many disciplines beyond food. Prior to joining the team at Palm Heights, Gerardo lived in New York City and was part of a new wave of downtown restaurants that were known as much for their cultural impacts, as well, as food, most notably through his time at El Rey. Throughout the years, Gonzalez has worked with a number of artists, galleries, brands, and institutions in revisiting the power of food and event in a greater conversation about cultural connectivity within a larger, global context.

The Setting

The Schindler House has the inevitability of a masterpiece. The house became an architectural laboratory: it is the birthplace of the Southern California modernism we celebrate today.

With Gratitude

PLANNING COMMITTEE

Sue S. Chan
Bianca Chen
Jia Yi Gu
Heidi Korsavong
Amelia Lang
Jessica Trent