Danielle Brazell is the general manager of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs. She oversees arts and cultural programming throughout the city. Before she participated in a discussion about the future of creativity in Los Angeles, she talked about pixie haircuts, her background in performance art, and her two cats, Abraham and Wiggles.
Q: What did you like to draw when you were a kid?
A: Houses and punk rock ladies. I had a whole series of this amazing punk rock lady.
Q: What’s the wildest haircut you’ve ever had?
A: I did a pixie, a blonde pixie. That was back in the early ’90s.
Q: What was your favorite theatrical role that you’ve played?
A: As a performance artist, I would create characters based on experiences in my life. I would use them to talk about critical issues around race and culture. It was a way to create mythology around gender roles and identity.
Q: What’s the one thing someone needs to see if he or she visits Los Angeles?
A: I’d take them to Griffith Park. It’s my place, my go-to. It’s a place to get bearings.
Q: Would you rather fly or be invisible?
A: Fly. It’s fun to fly. You can open the aperture and actually see a little bit more.
Q: Where and when did you learn to ride a bike?
A: I don’t remember the first time. But I ride bikes, and I love to ride bikes. It’s the closet thing to flying, in fact. I can’t wait until L.A. has more bike lanes.
Q: What’s the first line of your obituary?
A: “Change agent.”
Q: What’s your least favorite thing about the Internet?
A: Sometimes I just get overwhelmed by the amount that’s there, the volume. How do you weed through and prioritize?
Q: Cats or dogs?
A: Cats. I own two: Abraham and Wiggles. But, really, I think they own me.
Q: What are you like behind the wheel?
A: It has changed a lot. Now, It’s my invisible cloak. I’m kind of incognito.
Q: If you couldn’t live in the U.S., what country would you live in?
A: The first that came to mind is Germany. Berlin, because it’s so rad.
Q: What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
A: I would have to say David Bowie at the Roxy. I got in to see him in Tin Machine. I was sure he was going to say, “Hey Danielle, come backstage!”
