We caught up with Bettina Korek, founder of ForYourArt this week to discuss the current state of the L.A. scene and what we have to look forward to this fall. more ›

Never again will the country's oldest Holocaust museum be without a permanent home. First Xanadu, and now this. Way to be inclusive, Pan Pacific park. The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (LAMOTH) was the first Holocaust museum in the country, founded in 1961 by survivors learning English at Hollywood High School. They began assembling a collection of personal photos and items and that collection grew into the country's first Holocaust museum. Today, the last living founder of LAMOTH celebrates the grand opening of its new home designed by architect Hagy Belzberg. more ›

The Pacific Asia Museum sits unobtrusively on a corner of Los Robles in Pasadena, the front door hidden by trees. The points of pagodas and a large mural beg a second look. According to the website, the museum inhabits a historic building "constructed in 1924 by pioneering collector and entrepreneur Grace Nicholson." In the center of the museum lies a restful courtyard. Blooming lotus and three enormous koi add to the picturesque scene. more ›

LA is home to some of the world's biggest, best, most well-known, and most important museums, as well as some lesser-known gems. The role of museums in providing an informal educational experience for children and adults alike is clear, but it often costs money to go to these museums. And even though the money almost always goes directly back into the museums' operations, if you love museums as much as we do, then you could make a pretty sizable dent in your bank account. more ›

Natural History Museum officials yesterday revealed plans to expand the facility's programming area by 50 percent with the addition of a 3.5-acre urban wilderness area called North Campus (but that's just a working title). Located mainly between the museum building and Exposition Boulevard, where a Metro Expo Line station will be located, the $30 million plan will bring interactive outdoor exhibits, a new main entrance to the Museum, and a new car park (this is how they explain it: "a nature-filled structure that will feature a canopy of flowering vines and hummingbird and butterfly habitats creating a 'park' like setting instead of a stark concrete parking garage.) more ›

This morning at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Tom LaBonge and leaders from numerous arts organizations helped launch the start of LA Arts Month 2010. There are a number of lectures, events and exhibits planned throughout the city to help Angelenos realize that LACMA, MOCA and the Getty aren't the only art venues in town, and that it's ok to visit museums and other "artsy" places without out-of-town relatives in tow. more ›

LACMA officially announced today that they would like to merge with MOCA, who is having considerable money problems right now. "Under the terms of the proposed merger," reports Culture Monster, "MOCA's collection and programs would be exhibited at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary Space in Little Tokyo, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA and at LACMA's Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, under construction on the LACMA campus. Additional programs are planned for MOCA's Grand Avenue site." If the merger goes through, money from LA County would not support MOCA like it does with LACMA. The institutions would be operated by the same people and share the same infrastructure, but both would keep the "independence and integrity" of their missions. more ›

Or just sit back and watch. The Nike-hosted event will be happening tonight at The Montalban. Every Sunday night this venue will house a different sport. This week, the L.A. Dodgeball Society is helping out by bringing back the classic game of 4-square. Look out for wild costumes and that giant rubber ball. more ›

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that there really just isn’t any new information about Bob Dylan out there. No groundbreaking insight into his cryptic lyrics, no new facts uncovered about his lineage, no crystallized understanding of his place in history. And yet the knowledge that no such nuggets are likely available doesn’t stop me from hoping, from dreaming, that the next Bob Dylan exhibit out there might contain just one of the above. more ›

Since the recent opening of LACMA's Broad Contemporary (BCAM) a flurry of international eyes have been on Los Angeles, and an ensuing flurry of words have issued forth in review. It seems irresistible to review the Broad without also reviewing the city that houses it, which was precisely the tact taken by Chris Haslam in London's Sunday Times today. more ›

The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. more ›

If it's a day with the folks tomorrow, you might want to head out to Heritage Square Museum as anyone over 65 gets in free ($10 if your a youngin'). And if they know something about Los Angeles in the 1940s or before, they may participate in an oral history project too. "Old-Timers" Day aims to bring together true Los Angeles veterans from 12 to 4:00 p.m. at the museum located in Highland Park (if they are enthusiastic walkers, take the Gold Line to the Heritage Square/Arroyo Station or Southwest Museum Station!). more ›

Forget medical marijuana storefronts, the feds have found a new kind of place to storm into -- museums. Today, four Southern California museums, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena and the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, were raided in an attempt to bust an "alleged illegal smuggling of Southeast Asian and Native American artifacts."

The search warrants, which were executed shortly after 7:30 a.m., gave agents the authority to search the museum's galleries, storage areas offices and computers. The targets of the investigation are Robert Olson, an alleged art smuggler, and Jonathan Markell, the owner of Silk Roads Gallery in Los Angeles, which also was raided Thursday. more ›

Los Angeles philanthropist, Eli Broad (rhymes with road), has decided not to give his massively large and impressive private collection of art to museums, rather, keeping the collection in house under control of a private foundation according to the New York Times. One of the assumed recipients of the art was LACMA, where the new $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum is scheduled to open next month. However, even with Broad's name on the museum, there would be no gaurantee that any art he donates from his private collection will be on display 100% of the time.

“We don’t want it to end up in storage, in either our basement or somebody else’s basement,” Mr. Broad said. “So I, as the collector, am saying, ‘If you’re not willing to commit to show it, why don’t we just make it available to you when you want it, as opposed to giving it to you, and then our being unhappy that it’s only up 10 percent or 20 percent of the time or not being shown at all?’” [New York Times]

Could you imagine Los Angeles without the Getty Museum? If that serene white chunk of Italian marble nestled above the 405 suddenly removed its bulk to some other parts, would you notice? Would you care? more ›

ART: Downtown’s Art Walk happens the second Thursday of each month. The Art walk is a monthly, self-guided tour of the art exhibition venues in Downtown Los Angeles, which includes commercial art galleries, public museums, and nonprofit arts venues. Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Ave (MOCA), Los Angeles Public Library Grey Goose, LA Artcore Center are just some of the places on the Walk. more ›

Picasso. Giacometti. Kandinsky. Klee. Brancusi. So begins a list of 20th century artists whose works are part of the largest single donation to LACMA in over 40 years. Private LA art collectors Henri Lazarof, a composer, and his wife Janice, a daughter of the late S. Mark Taper, gave 130 paintings, sculptures, and other modernist works to LACMA this week. The gift is valued at an estimated $100 million plus according to the LA Times.... more ›

On November 27th, the striking members of the WGA held a rally on Hollywood Boulevard. As I walked towards the rally from my car, I could feel the sound of the helicopters beating down around me. It was one of those silver fall afternoons, the sky distant like winter, but it was still warm. Walking up a side street, all the different Hollywoods crowded up around me – each taking its turn in a... more ›

President Bush may have passed a $460 billion defense bill, but he has vetoed a $150 billion bill that would have funded the Labor and Health and Human Services departments according to a report by the Daily News. It is also rumored that he will veto an upcoming $105.6 billion transportation bill. Congress is gearing up for a battle, with House Republicans upholding presidential vetoes and Democrats accusing their GOP counterparts of ignoring the... more ›

I am thankful that my family happens to include people who I would rather spend this day with than anyone else. I know today they will make me laugh, stuff me with food and touch my heart. For the opportunity to befriend everyone here at LAist, including (and especially) the readers For moonlight on the Seine For art museums For white narcissus For See's chocolates For the Pacific ocean For the smell of Crayons... more ›

Occasionally it doesn’t totally suck to work my weekend job on the Westside. Especially if there are art openings going on. I got to use that: “Well, I’m in the neighborhood anyway.” excuse last Saturday night. After a “hearty” Krishna carbo load at Govinda’s Restaurant, I and fellow art crawler, MXL, hit Mark Mothersbaugh’s Rugs During Wartime and Peacetime exhibition cum warehouse sale at the Scion gallery in Culver City. (Yep, that Mark Mothersbaugh, co-founder of the band, Devo.) more ›

Last night I was casually checking out what various travel websites had to say about the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Most of the summaries in Frommers sounded like this: Silver Lake, a residential neighborhood just north of Downtown and adjacent to Los Feliz (home to the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park), just to the west, has arty areas with unique cafes, theaters, graffiti, and art galleries -- all in equally plentiful proportions. The... more ›

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.
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A brief overview of the new Takashi Murakami exhibit at the MOCA. more ›

Like most people, proximity to death frightens me. Somehow the beauty of the headstones and obelisks overshadows my fear. To me, cemetaries are like museums. The mediums themselves - cool white marble, wrought iron fences, cracked bricks and mortar speak to me. But what really entrances me is the statuary, especially the angels. Their serene countenance and peacefulness somehow embraces penultimate sorrow. They have the ability to show respect for loss while still offering... more ›

NOHO Scene Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.: Promising a new, improved take on the NoHo Arts Festival. Free theater, dance and music , art exhibits, film screenings and workshops, plus food and goods from NoHo merchants. Proudly sponsored by your CRA/LA. Free. MAP Brewery Art Walk Sat-Sun 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.: This twice-a-year event is all the reason you need to explore The Brewery, conveniently (though conspicuously) located north of Chinatown. Lots... more ›

It seems the Bush's appointed Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, has something in common with Mayor Villaraigosa's appointed Department of Transportation head, Gloria Jeff: both are for goods movement, but not always for the people. Luckily, Jeff has not started any major wars with bicyclists like Peters' has, according to an article in Salon, with her current political rhetoric:In an Aug. 15 appearance on PBS's "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," Peters spoke against a proposal to... more ›

First launched in May of 1945, the Lane Victory saw service in three wars (WW2, Korea, and Vietnam), and is now maintained as a museum ship and docked at LA Harbor Berth 94 in San Pedro. Although the Lane Victory wasn't a combat ship (she was operated as a Merchant Marine vessel and carried cargo), she saw plenty of action and still has all her guns, some of which are still occasionally fired. Nothing... more ›

"The Temptation of St. Anthony" (1946) via Wikipedia My apartment manager's LACMA newsletter arrived with my mail a few days ago (he used to live in my unit), and before I redelivered it, I caught sight of something that got me a little excited. Starting Oct. 14th, the museum is featuring Dali: Painting & Film, a special exhibit with the purpose of examining the relationship between Salvador Dali's films and his paintings. Dali is... more ›

Did you know that LACMA is free everyday after 5pm?? Even on the weekends! more ›