Downtown, with its plethora of powerfully moving cultural institutions, is always a place where ideas flourish, touch hearts, and encourage fresh outlooks, each and every weekend.
But the last weekend of October will be especially full around DTLA, and just beyond as two major art happenings beckon Southern Californians with a variety of activities, art, and community.
Grand Ave Arts: All Access is a pay-nothing treat that happens over several blocks of Grand Avenue on Oct. 25.
Over 14 cultural favorites are expected to join; look for the LA Opera, the Colburn School, LA Phil, and other important music-making, art-loving institutions to set up activity stations, pop-up performances, and vibe-raising diversions around the avenue.
The annual Día de los Muertos altars will also be erected at Gloria Molina Grand Park, with a start date of Oct. 25.
No ticket or reservation is required for Grand Ave Arts: All Access; simply stroll Grand Avenue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Temple to 6th Street, and soak up the sights, sounds, and fascinating (and complimentary) offerings.
Just a short drive away is one of Southern California’s best-known creative campuses, a wonderland of artists’ studios, lofts, and galleries.
And twice a year, The Brewery hosts a free look-around for lovers of textiles, paintings, sculptures, video works, and everything else under the sun and moon: The Brewery Artwalk.
That’s fabulously flowering Oct. 25 and 26, and, like Grand Ave Arts: All Access, no ticket is required.
Hundreds of artists participate, and you can linger as long as you like or take in a sizable swath of exhibits and displays over the course of a day.
Or two days, if you’re feeling it: It really might take a full weekend to enjoy all of the Brewery’s many art-filled nooks, crannies, spaces, and halls.