Founding director of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (LAICA), Robert Smith, describes the events leading up to the establishment of the non-collecting, non-profit art space in 1973, and some of the programming highlights of his years at the helm. Projects he discusses include performances by the Kipper Kids, Hermann Nitsch, and COUM, as well as installations by Barry Le Va and Michelangelo Pistoletto. He discusses the simultaneous decision to start a magazine, the LAICA Journal, and the sometimes fraught relationship between the editorial board and the curatorial board. Towards the end of the interview he talks about the national movement of artist –run spaces and his involvement in the first New Art Spaces conference. This interview was conducted by Thomas Lawson and Aram Moshayedi at REDCAT in Los Angeles August 9, 2011. Camera and sound by Larissa Brantner James.