Dream in Ribbons, 2022
Temporary public art installation
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
Los Angeles, CA

Ribbon, steel, wood
12’ x 31’ x 31’

Design, fabrication, and project management

Commissioned by LA Commons and The Music Center 



Structural Engineering by Tipping Structural Engineers
Steel Fabrication by Atomic Arts







Over the past two years, the Creating Our Next LA project hosted by LA Commons has united the communities of greater Los Angeles through art and participatory events that shed light on our hopes and aspirations for the future of our great City. Through personal stories, surveys, and artwork, the narratives that evolved from the events share a common vision for a more united, just, equitable, sustainable, and healthy Los Angeles.


Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center

“Our next LA looks like colors bursting. Bursting in art, food, stories, neighborhoods, schools, parks”
- Creating Our Next LA Participant


M/PAL Studio was awarded the design commission to create a centerpiece for Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center that engages the community and translates those visions into a work of art for the celebratory event commemorating the project on October 22, 2022.

Inspired by the community’s collective vision, the installation reflects a parts-to-whole concept where individual ribbons (over 12,000!) celebrate the diverse voices of Angelenos. In unison, the ribbons create a vibrant composition of color and texture designed to dance in the wind.

Reminiscent of a grove of trees, the installation invites you under a festive canopy to contemplate your dreams for our great city. In the center of the “grove” lies a communal ring where visitors inscribe their dreams for Our Next LA on multi-colored ribbons. Symbolic of prayer flags, the dreams are carried in the wind and shared with all of Los Angeles.

Upon deinstall, all materials were donated to local arts-based community organizations and artists for reuse.


Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center



Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center
Photos courtesy of Will Yang for The Music Center