ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

THE ARTS

Architects Bid to Redesign Museum

Thom Mayne, who two days ago was chosen to design the Caltrans Building in downtown Los Angeles, is one of five architects competing to redesign the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The winner will be formally announced Thursday.

Each contender will have presented his vision to museum officials in a series of meetings Thursday, Friday and today.

Mayne (Pomona’s Diamond Ranch High School) is the only Angeleno on the list of finalists. The others are Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas (the Guggenheim, Las Vegas), Berlin-based Daniel Libeskind (Jewish Museum in Berlin), Parisian Jean Nouvel (the Institute for the Arab World in Paris) and New York’s Steven Holl (the Bellevue Art Museum in Bellevue, Wash.).

The proposed $200-million renovation and expansion includes a new contemporary art structure and possible razing of the Ahmanson Building. Five centers for art--American, Asian, Latin American, European, Modern and Contemporary--are part of the conceptual plan.

“Though we’re respecting the past, our aim is to transform the museum--reorganizing our permanent collection to provide the visitor with a more coherent art experience,” LACMA spokesman Keith McKeown told The Times. “One of the charges we gave to the architects is to create a physical environment for each of the art centers--and bring unity to our entire campus, which is now divided between LACMA West and LACMA.”

Exhibition Focuses on N.Y. Memorials

A flier from a son seeking his father. A teddy bear saluting the bravery of a flight attendant. They’re part of “Altered Moments,” a traveling exhibition of photographs by fashion and arts photographer Luca Babini focusing on New York City’s memorials to victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

The exhibit, hosted by Babini friend Donna Karan, will be displayed at Santa Monica’s Hamilton Galleries on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. Remaining at the venue through the weekend, it then heads to San Francisco, Seattle and New York City.

“There was something cathartic and healing about seeing these shrines,” said the Italian-born Babini who moved to New York in 1987. “There was a kinship of pain, of brotherhood. Before Sept. 11, I felt like a stepson--accepted but always at a bit of distance. Now I am a true son of New York, feeling its pain and wanting to help in any way I can.”

TELEVISION

Two Shows Help MTV Take a Stand

MTV will premiere two new documentaries next weekend, an outgrowth of the Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination campaign launched by the network.

“The Aftermath of Terror,” airing Saturday at 1 p.m., examines the impact of the World Trade Center attacks on young people in ethnically diverse Paterson, N.J. Following at 1:30 p.m. will be “Bullying,” an examination of bullies, the bullied and the bystanders.

QUICK TAKES

BET’s issue-oriented “Teen Summit” series launches its season today with a new magazine format and two new correspondents: Marcelle Kroll of Long Beach and Cinque Glendy of North Hollywood. The show airs Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m..... A 25th anniversary edition of “Roots,” the landmark 1977 TV miniseries based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alex Haley, makes its DVD debut Jan. 15.... The Los Angeles ABC Radio group is joining forces with the Voice of America to produce a CD of holiday greetings to American troops overseas. Beginning today, members of the public can add their voices to the track at Panorama City’s Panorama Mall.... Actor Forest Whitaker (“Ghost Dog,” “Battlefield Earth”), arrested in an investigation of driving under the influence in Santa Monica last weekend, issued a statement Friday saying, “I regret the incident and I am currently assessing the situation with my legal counsel.” Billy Crudup (“Almost Famous”) will play the disfigured John Merrick in a revival of “The Elephant Man,” opening on Broadway in January, according to USA Today.... Nickelodeon has picked up a second season of “The Fairly OddParents” and a third season of the preschool show “Dora the Explorer.” CBS has ordered a second edition of the unscripted adventure series “The Amazing Race.”