Automata was founded in 2004 by artists Susan Simpson and Janie Geiser. Since that time, we have been presenting intimate performances of original work, film screenings of contemporary and historical avant-garde film, lectures, workshops, and exhibitions in a variety of spaces in Los Angeles. We have invited playwrights and composers, puppeteers and designers, visual artists, and new media experimenters to collaborate and create new works using performing objects. From 2007-2009 we operated The Manual Archives, a micro performance and exhibition space dedicated to newly invented folklore for the city of Los Angeles. Automata moved into its present Chinatown performance gallery in 2012.