Events @ ARRAY

ARRAY @ PLAY x LOVE, PEACE & SPADES
2026-08-22 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ARRAY Creative Campus, 180 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, United States
Pull up + play! Join ARRAY + Love, Peace & Spades™ for an afternoon of conversation, culture and card games open to all experience levels.
ARRAY invites Love, Peace & Spades™ to our Creative Campus to host their signature Talk + Play program. We’ll begin with “The Importance of Preserving Play” panel, a moderated discussion and community talkback exploring why play matters, what we lose when it disappears and what it means to preserve the games passed down for generations. Then we pull up chairs and play. Spades. Bid Whist. Tunk. Dominoes. These are not just games; they are family heirlooms. Whether you’re picking up a deck for the first time or returning to a game you grew up with, Talk + Play creates a welcoming space to learn, relearn and share in the enduring traditions that have kept communities connected for decades. Free lessons provided!
Bring your curiosity, your game face and your community spirit. There’s always room at the table.

ARRAY @ PLAY is a summer storytelling series to spark your sense of play through games and films as tools for strategy, connection and community-building. Hosted on ARRAY’s Creative Campus in Los Angeles.

Panelists:
DR. NATHANIEL BRYAN (participating virtually)
Dr. Nathaniel Bryan is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin and the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Faculty Fellow. He is the founder of Black PlayCrit and author of Toward a BlackBoyCrit Pedagogy, a landmark text exploring Black boyhood, literacy, and early childhood education. His research centers equity, diversity, and social justice in early childhood spaces—and his work in the American Journal of Play sits at the exact intersection of scholarship and the cultural traditions Love, Peace & Spades exists to honor.
DR. XHERCIS MÉNDEZ
Dr. Xhercis Méndez is an Associate Professor of Women, Gender & Queer Studies at California State University Fullerton, a popular educator, decolonial feminist philosopher, and conflict resolution specialist. She is the Director of Education at Love, Peace & Spades™ and the co-architect of Spades Academy™’s curriculum through her consultancy, Listen Bridge Change Consulting. Her work bridges rigorous scholarship and community practice—building educational frameworks rooted in cultural truth and collective healing.
KIMELIA WEATHERS-SMITH
Kimelia Weathers-Smith is a former TV challenge producer turned entrepreneur, originally from Washington, D.C. After producing for competition series including Hell’s Kitchen, Project Runway, and Making The Cut, she channeled her creative instincts into game design and launched Kim For The Win. Her flagship title Brilliant or BS? is stocked nationwide at Walmart, Barnes & Noble, and Target. She and her husband co-founded The Blackout Game Night—the nation’s first free community game night built exclusively around games designed by Black creators—using play to build connection, spark conversation, and celebrate creative genius.
CJ “KINGSOUL” PETERS (participating virtually)
Clemille “Cj” Peters, Jr. is a gaming entrepreneur, producer, and UX designer best known as the founder of Konsole Kingz and the creator of the culturally authentic mobile card game Black Spades. Founded in 2004, Konsole Kingz helped establish a blueprint for an urban gaming lifestyle brand—spanning content, virtual goods, platform distribution, and influencer-led campaigns that connect Hip Hop culture and gaming. Recognized as an industry pioneer, his career reflects a rare ability to bridge culture and technology—delivering commercially viable gaming products while authentically representing an underserved audience at scale.

AUGUST 28: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PEOPLE @ 6PM
2026-08-28 18:00 - 19:00 | ARRAY Creative Campus, 180 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, United States
Commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to commemorate the museum’s opening in 2016, this 20-minute film reflects on six significant events in African-American history that all occurred on August 28 in different years. ARRAY joins the Smithsonian’s nationwide 10-year anniversary celebration of the film directed by Ava DuVernay and starring Don Cheadle, Regina King, Angela Bassett, David Oyelowo and more. A filmmaker conversation with Ava DuVernay will follow this screening.

View Trailer

Additional Screening @ 7:30PM

AUGUST 28: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PEOPLE @ 7:30PM
2026-08-28 19:30 - 20:30 | ARRAY Creative Campus, 180 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, United States
Commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to commemorate the museum’s opening in 2016, this 20-minute film looks at six significant events in African-American history that all occurred on August 28 in different years. ARRAY joins the Smithsonian’s nationwide 10-year anniversary celebration of the film directed by Ava DuVernay and starring Don Cheadle, Regina King, Angela Bassett and more. A filmmaker conversation with Ava DuVernay will be hosted BEFORE this screening at 6:30PM. Entrance for the conversation will begin at 6:20PM

View Trailer

Additional Screening @ 6PM

QUEEN SUGAR: 10-Year Anniversary Celebration
2026-09-12 12:00 - 16:00 | ARRAY Creative Campus, 180 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, United States
Join ARRAY and fellow QUEEN SUGAR fans for a daylong celebration of the TV series which debuted in 2016 and aired for seven seasons! Inspired by Natalie Baszile’s acclaimed novel Queen Sugar, the television series created by Ava DuVernay for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) brought the Bordelon family, the land and the legacy of Louisiana to life, and created a steadfast community of viewers who saw themselves, their families and their experiences reflected on screen. We’re opening our Creative Campus in Los Angeles for the fans who watched, shared (#GimmeSugar) and carried the spirit of QUEEN SUGAR long after each episode ended. Spend the day reconnecting and revisiting the moments and the storylines that brought us together.
ABOUT QUEEN SUGAR
QUEEN SUGAR chronicles the lives and loves of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Saint Josephine, Louisiana. Reunited by a family tragedy, the Bordelons must navigate their complicated lives in order to run an ailing sugarcane farm.

PLEASE NOTE

No RSVP is needed to watch the panel via livestream. Stay tuned to this page on September 12 to press play at the livestream start.
In-person RSVPs do not guarantee your seat or entrance to our campus. We reserve the right to limit entrance based on event capacity for the day. Check-in begins approximately 30mins before each episode screening or panel.
The program schedule is subject to change.

AVA DuVERNAY'S MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY AT THE FORD
2026-10-29 20:00 - 22:00 | The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90068, United States
Main Character Energy is a movie night that refuses to stay quiet. Talkback is not only encouraged, it is invited. For one night only, ARRAY transforms The Ford into a cinematic storytelling experience curated and hosted by writer and director Ava DuVernay. Clips from iconic films that honor our shared humanity are paired with vibrant voices from today’s most captivating thought leaders, artists, actors, and filmmakers. Throughout the night, you will not just watch… you will respond, and at times, you will even step into the scene. On this night, you are not a viewer. You are the main character.
The night is about community immersion with others, shoulder to shoulder in the dark, led by cinema that provokes ideas connecting us to the most defining issues of our time. So come and make your voice heard, Main Character. We are ready for your close-up!
