The Brewery Artwalk

The Brewery Artwalk

This weekend, The Brewery Arts Complex opened its doors and its artists opened their doors therein, for the spring edition of its open studios.

I attended my first Brewery ArtWalk shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 2008. I was blown away by the sheer number of artists who call the sprawling industrial complex their home and workplace.

The twice-annual art walk features works from more than 100 participating resident artists. Their work varies in mediums including video, painting, performance, ceramics, interior, fashion, and multi-media.

Originally the Edison Electric Steam Power Plant, the warehouses were eventually transformed into a Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, and opened as the Brewery Arts Complex in 1982.

Under the Artist-In-Residence code, artists rent live/work space in the industrially zoned buildings. The waitlist for a coveted studio is years-long.

The ArtWalk takes place in the spring and the fall. Attendees can peruse the art, and buy on-the-spot. Or, they can just drink beer and people-watch. The opportunities to gaze upon fascinating, stylish, and/or eccentric folk are endless and ever-inspiring.

But the art. It’s diverse, unique, stimulating, bizarre, and beautiful. Just like LA.

“After You” by Sean Sobczak, Sandman Creations
“Sky the Leafy Sea Dragon,” Sean Sobczak, Sandman Creations
Bruce Dean Art
Media Pollution, installation by Dan Dowding