The Arts District - A mental health haven for the LA creative
OK not necessarily related to painting but gotta write a tribute to the Art’s District real quick. Living in West LA, the trek to this part of town is not fast, easy, or pleasant. So what makes me keep coming back to this holy grail of a couple blocks surrounded by warehouses and the skid row homeless community? What is worth the hour of traffic and getting to the verge of tears trying to find street parking? Three words: mental friggan peace.
Every time I walk into the arts district area of Los Angeles I feel this massive wave of relief. I see people in trench coats, boys in crop tops, teenage girls with purple hair, fishnets, crocs, anything goes. There’s individuals sketching and writing in nooks of coffee shops, browsing book shelves and galleries. All of these people completely unbothered about the fact that they are alone and seemingly unbothered by the phones in their oversized jacket’s pockets. The relief comes from what feels like in a city full of attention seeking bimbos/himbos, false advertising, and overall smoke and mirrors, the arts district imbues authenticity. Maybe it’s just me and I’ve been in LA for too long, but its just nice to see and be around people who appear to have interests outside of social media and seem to be perfectly comfortable in their own skin.
There’s something to this. Why do all of the people in the arts district seem so cool and unbothered??!! Rick Rubin, one of the largest producers explains on the Andrew Huberman podcast that the creative process is similar to cooking - what tastes good to you might not taste good to others, and there might not always be a recipe, but you can tell when you’ve added too much salt. He explains that art is an expression of yourself, therefore you should work to listen to your intuition is telling you when creating. When you start considering others opinions knowing it goes against your personal ‘true North’, your work just appears to be the Walmart version of others if adopted into your art. True creativity and artist freedom derives from confidence to stand up for yourself and what you see as beautiful.
The people of the Art’s District appear to have this confidence down to a science. Everyone seems completely comfortable being themselves allowing their own thoughts, feelings, and creations to flourish without the dampening of other’s opinions. Individualism is valued here so creativity can flourish.
In addition to the relaxed community vibe, this neighborhood is home to some of the best and unique businesses in LA. Here are a few my favorite places in the Art’s District:
Hauser + Wirth Industrial warehouse looking building home to a handful of rotating artist galleries, amazing organic restaurant Manuela, and even a garden courtyard complete with a chicken coup!
Image taken from Time Out Los Angeles - Courtesy of Hauser + Wirth/ Elon Schoenholz
2. The Let's Go Disco Cocktail and dance club with 70’s theme. Between the attendees in costumes, colorful bar and dance floor, and wide selection of high end cocktails, it’s hard not to have a good time at this place. Come early to avoid a long line as this place tends to fill up fast. Be sure to try the delicious next door pan pizza before getting your disco on from De La Nonna.
Image taken from LA Eater
3. Boxx Coffee I try to stop at this little coffee shop everytime I am in the arts district. The baristas are always so friendly, the coffee apparatuses look like science experiments, and there is usually plenty of open seating to work or sketch out of. Also have witnessed various meet ups hosted here - from sketching to a starting point for photography walks.
4. Two Bit Circus For someone who dreamed of going to Chuck E Cheese as a kid (closest one was a state away - so me) and for the cult movie, wannabe hipster art lover (also me), welcome to your heaven on earth. This place is basically a hipster dave and busters - the games look like they were created & fabricated specifically for this spot and have everything from skeeball to virtual reality teams games. If you’re looking for a fun date that’s not your typical dinner, this is your spot
Other favorites include: Eighty Two - A 1980’s themed video game bar Everson Royce - Bar with outdoor patio The Factory Kitchen - Handmade pasta & organic Italian, Wurstküche - Sausage restaurant with traditional german social seating, SoHo Warehouse & MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art
