LA Art Walk rings esoteric
The well-attended Downtown Art Walk is a self-guides tour of the galleries located in the heart of Los Angeles. The official gallery map lists 46 galleries populating the swath of land between Temple in the north, 12th St. in the south, and from Hope and San Pedro on the east and west respectively.
One way to begin your walk is by visiting the Art Walk Lounge on 634 South Spring St.
A gallery map along with the onsite Art Walk Staff help plan tours of the area.
Located right next to the Art Walk Lounge is the Stay Hotel, which exposes one of their ground floor hotel rooms to the public for display.
Inside, three hippos reveal their private life to the viewers while working in a cable-filled room and once they leave a duck maid comes to clean up.
Some galleries have live painting and DJs.
In one gallery, patrons receive a recycled bag made out of old billboards and on the next corner there is a free sample assortment of products for curly hair.
The streets are filled with various people from the very trendy to the rocker, punk, and self-identified nerd. All are there to peruse the art.
On the sidewalk of South Spring Street in front of a closed storefront a street artist named Hug Romeo can be found. For a donation, Romeo draws portraits for anybody interested.
Yet Romeo's peddling was not tolerated by the local security who appeared at the Art Walk and asked him to pack up and move his street studio.
"I think it's related to the death of a two-month-old boy that happened several months ago involving a food truck," a security guard said. "As a result, the street vendors are no longer allowed during the Downtown Art Walk to reduce the number of people on the streets."
There is currently a petition for a no car zone during the Art Walk event, which would extend from as far as 2nd to 8th Streets and between Main and Spring Streets.
The Downtown Art Walk happens every second Thursday of the Month.
Gallery hours are typically open from noon until 9 p.m. but hours vary from gallery to gallery.
Some galleries remain open past ten in the evening and some restaurants stay open according to patrons who attended the event.
The next Art Walk is scheduled to be held on Oct. 13, 2011.
For more information about the next Downtown Art Walk, general information and parking, visit the event website-- Click here to go to the Downtown Artwork Website.