Join us for a special screening of “Somos NELA” and “Saving Arvia,” animated shorts featuring long term residents of Northeast LA, Lili Sanchez and Andrés Cortés. These animations are a part of Take Me to Your River: A Cultural Atlas of the LA River, an oral history project produced by the nonprofit Clockshop, as a way to engage all ages with the histories of these neighborhoods. Learn how a chance encounter helped five rental units in Cypress Park remain affordable and how a night market supports a community of local Northeast LA vendors.

Following the screenings, will be a conversation on cultural preservation, affordability in Los Angeles, and creative strategies to help long-term residents remain rooted and thriving in the neighborhoods they call home. The discussion will feature Elizabeth Ito, animator and creator of “City of Ghosts,” Lili Sanchez, Elysian Valley resident and community organizer, Helen Leung, executive director of LA Más, and Betty Avila, long term Cypress Park resident and board chair of LA Más.

RSVP Here
Sunday, October 18, 2026
2:00–3:00 PM
Central Library

Explore the cultural atlas at takemetoyourriver.org

Clockshop’s newest bilingual publication Take Me to Your River/Llévame a tu río, featuring photographs, personal essays,and interviews with residents of Cypress Park, Glassell Park, Atwater Villages, and Elysian Valley, will be available for purchase at the event.

For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.

SPEAKERS

Helen Leung is the Executive Director of LA Más and is a product of working-class Chinese immigrants, born in Los Angeles and raised in Frogtown (unceded Tongva territory). Since joining LA Más in 2013, Helen has focused on community-led strategies that minimize displacement pressures that come with gentrification. She ensures the work of LA Más is rooted in systems change, abundantly resourced, and resident powered. Helen has extensive policy and community-based experience having worked for the City of Los Angeles, Living Cities, the Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, and the Office of Political Affairs at the White House under President Obama’s administration.

Elizabeth Ito is a writer, director, and animator for animated television series such as Adventure Time and SpongeBob SquarePants and is the creator of the hit Netflix series City of Ghosts, and more recently the short Welcome to My Life, and Mall Stories.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, Elizabeth’s projects draw inspiration from her upbringing and memories in this eternal city. She currently works at Chromosphere, an international design and animation studio that explores the space between art and technology.

Lili Sanchez is a life-long resident of Elysian Valley. A community organizer and advocate, Lili has worked hand-in-hand with her immediate neighbors and throughout Northeast LA (NELA) to direct them towards available resources and to help them to continue to thrive in their communities.

ARRIVAL
For attendees joining us on their bikes: Bringing bicycles and other large wheeled conveyances inside library buildings is prohibited. Attendees can park and lock their bikes at the following locations near the library:

Bike racks at the Flower Street Library Entrance
Four racks at the Hope Street Library Entrance
Five U-racks at the 5th Street Library Entrance

There are also U-racks at the intersections of:

5th & Grand
6th & Grand
6th & Hope

The Los Angeles Central Library is easily accessible by public transit, serviced by a variety of Metro Bus Lines (720, 16, 18, 53, and the 70), DASH Bus Lines (Routes A and B), and the nearby Metro Rail Stations (Pershing Square and the 7th Street Metro Center, lines A, B, D, and E).