Circa’s Cultural Agenda: LA’s Top Exhibitions to See Now  

This season, LA is bursting at the seams with extraordinary new experiences for art lovers. The big news is Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART (previously Pacific Standard Time), returns for the first time since 2018. Many participating institutions are in the Downtown Los Angeles area, with everything from galleries to theatrical performances, and one-offs taking place between this fall and early 2025. Another event you won’t want to miss is LUMINEX, an outdoor multimedia extravaganza taking place in South Park, near Circa. And mark your calendars for the first Thursday of every month, when DTLA Art Night opens its doors to over 25 galleries. 

Getty Center art exhibitions near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

PST ART: Art & Science Collide – Various locations

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART (previously Pacific Standard Time), returns in September 2024 with 800+ artists, 70+ exhibitions, and 1 mind-blowing theme: Art & Science Collide. One of the most expansive art events in the world, PST ART is a Getty initiative in partnership with museums and institutions across the region. This “collision” will explore the intersections of Art and Science, both past and present, with diverse organizations activating exhibitions on topics like ancient cosmologies, Indigenous sci-fi, environmental justice, and artificial intelligence. 

LUMINEX art exhibitions near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

LUMINEX 3.0 1105 S Olive St. Los Angeles 90015

Save the date for October 5 when LUMINEX returns for a third year, bringing art and community together in an engaging outdoor exhibition using buildings as the canvas. For one night only, free and open to all, eight multimedia artists will transform a five-block radius in the South Park District of downtown Los Angeles. Featured artists this year include JOJO ABOT, Refik Anadol, Alice Bucknell, Nao Bustamante, Petra Cortright, Marc Horowitz, Carole Kim, and Sarah Rara, as well as special installations with Los Angeles Video Artists (LAVA). Don’t forget to book your pedicab!

Abstracted Light Experimental Photography at Getty Center art exhibitions near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Abstracted Light Experimental Photography Getty Center 1200 Getty Center Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90049  

Abstract imagery incorporating experimental lighting effects was of great interest to avant-garde photographers from the 1920s to the 1950s. This exhibition features photographs by international artists devoted to the practice, including László Moholy-Nagy, Francis Bruguière, Man Ray, Tōyō Miyatake, Asahachi Kono, and Jaromír Funke. The selection of works demonstrates the dynamic interplay between still photography, experimental film, and the dazzling time-based artworks by Thomas Wilfred called “Lumia instruments.” 

DTLA Art Night art exhibitions near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

DTLA ArtNight Emerging Artist Gallery 125 W 4th St. #102, Los Angeles, CA 90013

DTLA ArtNight is a cultural gathering and art walk organized monthly on first Thursdays where over 25 galleries debut new exhibitions from their fine arts collections. These collections encompass a wide array of mediums from artists across LA, the U.S. and the world. DTLA ArtNight is also an opportunity for emerging artists to display their art in participating galleries.


SCI-arc art exhibitions near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Views of Planet City SCI-Arc 960 East 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90013

Is it possible to design a socially and environmentally sustainable city for seven billion people? Views of Planet City imagines what the world might look like if humanity were to reverse the urban sprawl, and its entire human population were to be housed inside a single, hyperdense megalopolis. Drawing on the ideas of pioneering scientists and futurists and projecting on the basis of already gestating technologies, Views of Planet City challenges dystopian visions of the cities of tomorrow and offers an alternative vision in which urbanization at a planetary scale is not incompatible with the safeguarding of Earth’s biodiversity.


ED RUSCHA : NOW THEN art exhibition at LACMA  near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN LACMA 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036

As his first comprehensive, cross-media retrospective in over 20 years, ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN traces Ruscha’s methods and familiar subjects throughout his career and underscores the many remarkable contributions he has made well beyond the boundaries of the art world. The exhibition includes his early works produced while traveling through Europe, his installations—such as the Chocolate Room and the Course of Empire presented at the Venice Biennale in 1970 and 2005, respectively—and his ceaseless photographic documentation of the streets of Los Angeles beginning in 1965.

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads art exhibition at LACMA near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads LACMA 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036

While you’re at LACMA, don’t miss The Zodiac Project, Ai Weiwei’s first major public sculpture. For this monumental new work, Ai has recreated the famous twelve bronze animal heads that once adorned the Zodiac Fountain in Yuan Ming Yuan, the Old Summer Palace, in Beijing. Cast around 1750, the original heads were looted by Anglo-French troops who took part in the destruction of Yuan Ming Yuan in 1860 during the Second Opium War. The heads remain a potent trigger for Chinese nationalist sentiments. Ai’s new work suggests a dialogue about the fate of art objects that exist within dynamic and sometimes volatile cultural and political settings. With his subversive wit, the artist adapts objects from the Chinese material canon going back to antiquity, twisting traditional meanings toward new purposes.

Olafur Eliasson: OPEN art exhibition at Geffen Contemporary near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Olafur Eliasson: OPEN The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA 152 N Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012

Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson (b. 1967, Copenhagen; lives and works in Berlin) presents a new site-specific installation made for The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. In line with Eliasson’s career-long exploration of light and color, geometry, and environmental awareness, the installation playfully engages with material and immaterial qualities of the museum’s architecture. A series of large-scale optical devices designed specifically for MOCA Geffen will respond to the building itself, as well as to the ever-changing atmosphere of Los Angeles. Visitors will encounter a dazzling range of sensory experiences that harness the laws of geometric optics to address feelings and concepts of embodiment, perception, and participation.

Breath(e) art exhibition at Hammer Museum near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Breath(e) Hammer Museum 10899 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90024

Part of Getty’s region-wide initiative PST ART: Art and Science Collide, Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice considers the connections between climate change, environmental justice, and social justice through the lens of contemporary art. The indoor/outdoor exhibition brings together approximately 100 works focused on climate change by a group of intergenerational contemporary artists, scientists, and activists, addressing anthropogenic disasters such as deforestation, ocean acidification, coral reef bleaching, water pollution, extraction, and atmospheric politics.

Storm Cloud art exhibition at The Huntington near near Circa residences in Downtown Los Angeles

Storm Cloud & Growing and Knowing The Huntington 1151 Oxford Rd. San Marino, CA 91108

Art and science collide in The Huntington’s new exhibitions, on view Sept. 14, 2024–Jan. 6, 2025. “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis” and “Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China” trace the dovetailing histories of the relationship between humans and the environment and emphasize the significant role that close observation has played in art, science, and ethics. When viewed together, provocative questions emerge about our interconnectedness with the natural world. The exhibitions are part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a regional event presented by Getty featuring more than 70 exhibitions and programs that explore the intersections of art and science, both past and present. 

Photo Credits:

Photo #1: NOW ART LA (LUMINEX LA)

Photo #2: Getty Center

Photo #3: LUMINEX LA

Photo #4: Getty Center

Photo #5: DTLA ArtNight

Photo #6: SCI-Arc

Photo #7: LACMA

Photo #8: LACMA

Photo #9: Geffen Contemporary

Photo #10: Hammer Museum

Photo #11: The Huntington

Circa’s Art Beat: LA’s Best Exhibitions & Shows

Art lovers rejoice! This season LA is a visual feast, with must-see art shows, exhibitions, and immersive experiences, many not far from Circa. If you’re considering some new art for your home, or just want to soak up the creative vibe, check out Felix Art Fair and Frieze Los Angeles. For an unforgettable immersive adventure, don’t miss Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, a recreation of the world’s first art amusement park with rides, games, and attractions by visionary artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and David Hockney. And mark your calendars for Free Museum Day on Saturday, March 23, when over thirty museums will offer free general admission. Check websites for details.

Luna Luna art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy 1601 E 6th St. Los Angeles, CA 90023

Thirty-seven years ago, Luna Luna landed in Hamburg, Germany: the world’s first art amusement park with rides, games, and attractions by visionary artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Sonia Delaunay, and David Hockney. By a twist of fate, the park’s treasures were sealed in 44 shipping containers and forgotten in Texas—until now. Housed within a 60,000-square-foot warehouse complex, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy unravels the tale of the most fantastical fairground the world has ever known. The immersive experience invites visitors of all ages to feast their eyes on rides and attractions rescued from the original 1987 park while learning how Luna Luna was created, lost, and reborn through story-driven installations. 


Felix Art Fair art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Felix Art Fair The Hollywood Roosevelt 7000 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028

Feb 28-Mar 3 Established in 2018, Felix is an art fair created with the intention to foster intimate experiences that prioritize conversation, collaboration, and community. One of the highlights of the 2024 edition is a shoppable installation of Dover Street Market by celebrated artist Oscar Tuazon. Conceived by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe, Dover Street Market is a place for creators from various fields to gather, encounter and collide with each other in a burgeoning atmosphere of beautiful chaos. 


Masters of the American West Autry Museum art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Masters of the American West Autry Museum 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027

The popular Masters of the American West Exhibition and Art Sale returns to the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park. With over 60 extraordinary artists, this prestigious exhibition and sale displays paintings, mixed media, and sculptures by nationally recognized artists working within the Western genre. The fixed-price sale is February 24. Purchases support not only the artists themselves, but the Autry’s diverse cultural and educational offerings and programs, and constitutes one of the museum’s biggest annual fundraisers.

Frieze Los Angeles art show near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Frieze Los Angeles Santa Monica Airport 3233 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Mar 1- Mar 3 Frieze Los Angeles is a leading international art fair that was launched in 2019. Frieze Los Angeles largely focuses on contemporary art and celebrates the exceptionally dynamic culture of Los Angeles and its global contributions to the visual arts. The fair will be held at the Santa Monica Airport and will feature over 95 of today’s most exciting galleries from around the world; an expansive program of ambitious installations, collaborations with nonprofit organizations; and pop-ups from some of Los Angeles’ most beloved restaurants.

Bubble World art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Bubble World Experience 1345 N Montebello Blvd. Montebello, CA 90640

Following its premiere in Milan, this multi-sensory experience is offering Angelenos a fantastical adventure into a world of breath-taking, vibrant, and colorful digital images. Discover uniquely-themed rooms with plenty of photo opportunities in ball pits, VR tech, hot air balloon simulators, and illusions. They even have a room with an animatronic machine that makes bubbles!

Angeles Robert Vargas art installation near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Public Art Walk Through Bunker Hill

Once home to romantic Victorian mansions and sycamore trees that overlooked a young Los Angeles, Bunker Hill has been transformed into the cultural heart of the city’s glittering skyline. Architectural masterpieces like Walt Disney Concert Hall, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Broad Museum are Bunker Hill’s mansions of today. But outside these stunning cultural palaces, the neighboring streets are filled with world class public artworks by acclaimed artists such as Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Vargas, Michael Heizer, and more. No need to buy a ticket or wait in line – Discover Los Angeles has mapped out a walking tour – just bring a pair of comfortable shoes and your imagination.

Japan House art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Japan House 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028

DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN | Bridging Design and Life, is a new exhibition showcasing internationally renowned Japanese creators from diverse Japanese regions. The six artists come from various areas of design practice, from product design to film and video production, fashion and textile creation, video game design, and architecture. Having investigated the creative aesthetics unique to the diverse regions and localities of Japan, each creator has packed the examples they have gathered from Japan’s prefectures with histories and supporting artifacts.

DTLA  ArtNight art exhibition near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

DTLA ArtNight Emerging Artist Gallery 125 W. 4th St. #102, Los Angeles, CA 90013

March 7 DTLA ArtNight is a cultural gathering and art walk organized monthly on first Thursdays, where over 25 galleries debut new exhibitions from their fine arts collections. These collections encompass a wide array of mediums from artists across LA, the U.S. and the world. DTLA ArtNight is also an opportunity for emerging artists to display their art in participating galleries.

The Broad art museum near Circa residences in downtown Los Angeles

Free Museum Day

Mar 23 is Free Museum Day, when over thirty museums—presenting art, cultural heritage, film, natural history, and science—will open their doors and offer free general admission. This offer is for general museum admission only and does not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions. Regular parking fees apply at each museum. Consult individual museum websites for hours, directions, and other visitor information.

Photo credits:

Photo #1: Bubble World

Photo #2: Luna Luna

Photo #3: Felix Art Fair

Photo #4: The Autry Museum

Photo #5: Frieze Los Angeles

Photo #6: Bubble World Experience 

Photo #7: Chela Simon-Trench / Discover Los Angeles

Photo #8: Japan House

Photo #9: DTLA ArtNight

Photo #10: The Broad