Sep 19, 20165 min read

10 Los Angeles Artist Communities to Check Out

Brewery Artwalk Spring 2016, Photo Credit Kristine Schomaker

10 Los Angeles Artist Communities to Check Out

by Diane Williams

1. Keystone Art Space Keystone Art Space features over 50 artists’ studios and Keystone Gallery, an exhibition space, located in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. Twice a year Keystone Art Space hosts a popular free Open Studios event.

Keystone Art Space, FALL 2016 Open Studios

2. Los Angeles Industrial Arts Compound Los Angeles Industrial Arts Compound [b. 2010] is an industrial arts based community with work-only studios for professional fabricators, artisans and fine artists on 1.5 gated acres. LAIAC is a community consisting of 54 studios in 4 buildings.

Los Angeles Industrial Arts Compound

3. Beacon Arts Building The Beacon Arts Building, originally the home of the landmark Bekins Moving and Storage Company has been transformed into a workplace for creative professionals in the heart of the burgeoning Inglewood Arts District in Los Angeles County, adjacent to Culver City, California and just minutes from the I-10 Freeway.

An iconic four-story, solid reinforced concrete structure, the Beacon Arts Building sits prominently on La Brea Avenue providing studio spaces for rent in a warehouse style environment from 150 to 2,200 square feet.

Bibi Davidson’s studio at Beacon Arts Building in Inglewood. Photo Courtesy Kristine Schomaker

4. 1019WEST Just minutes away from the Beacon Arts Building at 1019 W. Manchester Blvd. is the easily accessible sister project, 1019WEST, offering gallery and creative work space for rent up to 550 square feet in a fertile environment for the creative process, promoting and accelerating the growth and visibility for promising young artists. The property was the location of the first Volkswagen automobile dealership in Southern California. 1019WEST is just 16 minutes from Santa Monica, 11 minutes from Venice, 13 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and proximate to the 405, LAX, Loyola Marymount, Otis College of Art and Design.

Pontus Willfors at 1019West in Inglewood, Photo Credit Kristine Schomaker

5. Werkartz Werkartz is reimagining the way creative space should function. Our multidisciplinary arts complexes cater to contemporary artists, photographers, and filmmakers by offering vertically integrated amenities and services in breathtaking settings. Our boutique locations are characteristically unique, but share in the common goal of bringing an art-conscious aesthetic to production-world needs.

Werkartz in Los Angeles, Photo Credit Kristine Schomaker

6. PSSST The PSSST building is designed for flow between four distinct spaces: the main exhibition/performance space, an outdoor area, four artist studios, and office. The building is architecturally-tailored to meet both the practical considerations and philosophical needs of a diverse set of practices. Equipped with state-of-the-art technological features, the environment encourages collaborative possibilities between artists of different backgrounds and media. The physical space promotes the blurring of conceptual boundaries and encourages fluidity and evolution in contemporary work. The 2,000-square-foot main exhibition/performance space synergizes the qualities of a traditional gallery, music venue, black box theater, and dance studio. Featuring a fully-sprung floor, modular sound and video system, and a grid-based truss infrastructure, PSSST is adaptable to multiple media. With complete lighting control, the space can be presented as typical white-box gallery space with natural and artificial lighting or completely blacked-out for film or theatrical events. The main space opens out onto a 500-square-foot concrete patio. This indoor/outdoor permeability allows the patio to function as an extension of the main space, or as a distinct platform for the presentation of work.

PSSST Los Angeles

7. Santa Fe Art Colony The Santa Fe Art Colony in Downtown LA is a hidden gem- a true enclave of art and creativity nestled in a bustling industrial area. While many people are familiar with the art galleries nestled between high end salons and boutiques on the Westside, not as many people are familiar with the awesome creative spaces so many of the artists showing in those galleries live and work.

Santa Fe Art Colony, Photo Courtesy Diane Williams

8. Brewery Arts Complex The creation of the Brewery Arts Complex began in 1982 at the site of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery. With the passing of the Artist-In-Residence code, artists could rent live/work space in industrially zoned buildings. We rented only to artists and that is our policy to this day. In July 1997, the LA Weekly called us “the world’s largest artist-in-residence community” and in a March 1999 Los Angeles Times article The Brewery was quoted as the “world’s largest art complex.” These are true lofts, not apartments, in industrial buildings that are a part of what has become a uniquely vibrant and creative community.

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Brewery Artwalk April 2016, Photo Credit Kristine Schomaker

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9. ALL(MOST) ALL(MOST) Studio & Gallery is a private / community space that plays host to a tight-knit collaborative group of artists. We offer: • Creative office / studio space for artists in residence • Gallery openings and art events • Creative labs for artists in residence and visitors, including: photography studio, wood shop and screen printing • Temporary space to pop-up, host events, take pictures or finish that large project As a tenant in our studios, you will be a part of a life-filled community studio and have access to a gallery space that inspires, nurtures and pushes you into creating your best work. When you rent a studio from us, you have full access to all of our creative spaces, including the gallery. As a guest or temporary tenant, you will be welcomed and fully-immersed in our community. Whether you rent our temporary space, sign up for a special event or attend a gallery opening, we aim to include you and inspire you in turn.

ALL(MOST)

10. Santa Monica Art Studios Santa Monica Art Studios is a 22,000 square foot hangar where artists work in private studio spaces and can participate in classes, lectures, and exhibitions and take advantage of discussion critique and collaboration. An integrated and vibrant community of artists, it was initially conceived by founder Yossi Govrin nine years ago at the height of competition from dot com companies and film studios for affordable spaces in Santa Monica. A study commissioned by the City of Santa Monica documented that more than half the artist studios in the city had been eliminated in a three-month period while the report was being finalized.

Drawing on 18 years experience of creating and running one of the first such art centers in Santa Monica, Govrin approached the city of Santa Monica in 2000 and was awarded the project in early 2001. With partner Sherry Frumkin who has owned a gallery in Santa Monica for the past 14 years, the project was finally approved for construction in December 2003.

As part of the project, 2400 square feet were dedicated for ARENA 1 Gallery, an exhibition space where cutting edge work is featured in shows organized by curators across the globe. Santa Monica Art Studios is at the heart of a series of arts related improvements at the airport that will anchor the area and contribute to the growing reputation of Santa Monica as a cultural mecca. Designed by Villya Karalius, with concept design by Tanja Rector and construction by Uri Mizrachi of AVI, the interior takes full advantage of the soaring airplane hangar roofline. Skylights and a Plexiglas opening cut around the entire building allow light to pour in at all angles. Twelve foot white walls against the aged patina of the exposed metal structure provide the perfect environment for creative endeavors.