Los Angeles has a huge arts and music scene.

In our most recent visit to Southern California we had the opportunity to appreciate some of the L.A. arts.

Los Angeles Art We Loved

• Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA) – a HUGE art museum (the largest in the western U.S.) with an impressive permanent collection.

TIP: Don’t miss the display of 202 vintage street lights outside LACMA. This public sculpture is titled “Urban Light” and is a 2008 piece assembled from salvaged Los Angeles neighborhood lampposts.

TIP: Also next to LACMA are the La Brea Tar Pits. Viewing the pits is free. There’s an associated museum with fossil exhibits and more that we skipped.

• The Broad – we LOVED this museum because it is compact and focused on contemporary art. Tickets are best reserved in advance. Once you arrive put your name on the list (a virtual queue) to step into Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room.

• Walt Disney Concert Hall – designed by Frank Gehry, is located next door to The Broad. We were fortunate enough to catch a performance of Glen Hansard with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra when we were in town. AMAZING.

TIP: The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra also performs at another popular spot for music: Hollywood Bowl – an outdoor amphitheater.

Los Angeles Art We Previously Have Seen

• The Getty Museum & The Getty Villa – in 2014 we visited The Getty Museum filled with old masters; not really our favorite style of art but the museum grounds are beautiful.

Los Angeles Art We Missed

This is not certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list of art and music that we missed. But, these places were on our Los Angeles to-do list as they came highly recommended. We didn’t manage to get to them so next time we will!

• Barnsdall Art Park – home to both The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) and the Hollyhock House (a Frank Lloyd Wright project). We enjoyed our visit to another Frank Lloyd Wright project – the Rosenbaum House – in Alabama in 2014.
• The Hammer Museum – one of three public arts institutions (free admission) of the School of the Arts and Architecture at UCLA; interesting exhibits and public programs.
• The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens – diverse offerings but we’re most interested in the library and the gardens.
• The Museum of Contemporary Art – heralded as one of the best contemporary art collections in the world so we must visit!
• The Museum of Jurassic Technology – described as “is an educational institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the public appreciation of the Lower Jurassic.”
• Watts Towers – these seventeen decorated towers constructed from scrap metal and concrete were built over a 30+ year period. They are amazing and the state of California agrees – it is officially Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park.

Los Angeles Art Locations

This map highlights the points of interest mentioned in this article. Each point includes the website information as well.

March 3 – 11, 2018