Not too long after city officials told a pair of Silver Lake residents that Phil Lumbang's popular "Hello!" mural must come down, a different mural in downtown's official Gallery Row neighborhood is targeted for removal today. Los Angeles artist Emmeric James Konrad's mural at the Down and Out Bar on Spring Street prompted a complaint, which alerted city officials to the illegal mural. more ›

Times are a-changin'... Three galleries--Pharmaka, the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA) and El Nopal Press--at the corner of 5th and Main were recently given eviction notices by the building's owner, reports blogdowntown: "While the notices were surprises, the move fits with the growth patterns that have characterized gallery districts around the country. Galleries enter a depressed but interesting neighborhood, help make it a safer and more vibrant place, and then are pushed out once rents rise. The three galleries, all located on the ground floor of the Amerland Group's Rosslyn Lofts, have long been aware that a time would come when the building owner would want to attract a tenant paying higher rents." more ›

Sometimes, the most fun in life comes in surprises. Last night, that surprise came in the form of a random marching band appearing out of nowhere at the corner of 5th and Spring playing a hybrid of New Klezmer Afro-Brazilian Tango during last night's Downtown Art Walk. We followed the free-jazz, experimental, all-genres-equal Killsonic for about an hour throughout Gallery Row intruding upon art galleries and people's peace and quiet. At one point, we found ourselves with the band of around 20 musicians on a city DASH shuttle. What a trip... in more ways than one. more ›

If you're looking for something interesting to do this weekend, tomorrow night from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., a group of young women under the name Fetus are organizing the first of a planned monthly event at the INMO Gallery, in Billy's Coffee Shop, at the historic 1920s Rosslyn Hotel building. more ›

If walking the “self-guided” tour of downtown’s art galleries during the Downtown LA Art Walk isn’t your idea of a good time, consider being guided by a poet who plies you with alcohol and whispers words of poetry in your ears at each stop. Sound better? We thought so. more ›

New York City has won the honor for America’s Top Arts Destinations in AmericanStyle Magazine for the past three years. This year, let's change that. Vote Los Angeles because... 1. Musicals really aren't that great anyway. Small 20-seat theatres rock. 2. Barnsdall Art Park. 3. We don't destroy our murals. Wait, shit, that's us. 4. Festivals, festivals, festivals. 5. Green Umbrella Series. 6. Public Art everywhere. 7. Street Art. 8. Otis, Art Center, CalArts.... more ›

Dane Davis won the Oscar for “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” for The Matrix. He’s also a photographer. Catch is his piece and other artists at LACDA on Gallery Row at the opening reception this Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00. The show will run until April 1. more ›

Ed Note: We postponed publication of Monday's LAist Interview until today in honor of the Independence Day holiday. more ›