Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Laguna...

Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Laguna Art Museum will be observing “Day Without Art” on Dec. 1. The event at art museums and galleries across the nation coincides with the World Health Organization’s third annual AIDS Awareness Day and celebrates the achievements of colleagues stricken with AIDS and mourns the losses to the arts community. Newport Harbor will offer free admission, information on HIV infection and special programs throughout the day.

At 11 a.m. Michael Kearns and Dale Raoul will perform “Forget Me Not: A Collection of AIDS Letters,” a compilation of letters written by persons with AIDS, their families and loved ones. The theater piece was compiled by playwright James Carroll Pickett, directed by Libby Appel and produced by Artists Confronting AIDS.

At 1 p.m., there will be an audio presentation of AIDS/US II, a theater piece performed by people whose lives have been affected by the AIDS crisis, also produced by Artists Confronting AIDS (courtesy of KPFK Pacifica Radio, Los Angeles). Information: (714) 759-1122.

The Laguna Art Museum’s observance of the event, sponsored by the Laguna Beach AIDS Task Force and the Laguna Beach Arts Commission, consists of supplying information on the disease. Information: (714) 494-6531.

The LJB Gallery in Newport Beach will close its showroom at the end of the month when its lease runs out. Associate director Steve Johnston says that weak sales and high rent are forcing the closure. However, he added, another, larger site for the 15-month-old gallery will be sought, and an administrative space behind the gallery may be kept open beyond February, when its lease expires.

Meggie Brown, 5, of Santa Ana and Tysen Robert Quaintance, 4, of Azusa will alternate in the non-speaking role of Trouble in Opera Pacific’s production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” Jan. 12-19 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Brown and Quaintance were selected from about 35 children who auditioned last week for the role.