Taking place every second Thursday of each month, DTLA’s free self-guided art walk that has been providing an authentic urban experience for nearly 10 years.
Between the official hours of 12:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., the Art Walk features more than 12 galleries and museums, dozens of local restaurant faire, and a few bars featuring specialty discount drinks and live entertainment.
According to the official website (DowntownArtWalk.org), many of The Downtown Art Walk activities take shape in and around the galleries predominantly on Spring and Main between 2nd and 9th.
However, there are a plethora of art related events activities, underground & private parties, and special programs that take place all over the downtown area as part of the festivity.
Although the Downtown Art Walk may just be the largest and most fun art walk in the country, it is still important that visitors take certain precautions to ensure a positive and memorable experience.
1. Wear Comfortable Shoes.
Trust me! Walking from gallery to gallery is way more fun when your feet aren’t hurting. It’s not unusual to see plenty of young beautiful women wearing the shortest of skirts and highest of heels during the walk. Hey with over 20,000 people on parade, if you got it….you definitely may want to flaunt it…However, pain may be the price of beauty after walking the 3 or so plus miles for 4 or more hours…wearing comfortable walking shoes is highly recommended.
2. Drink Responsibly
Now, this may be a bit harder for some than others. Immaturity, not being able to know your limit, or just plain alcoholism may be some of the reasons why, someone is always arrested for being too intoxicated during the Art Walk. Taking care of yourself as an adult is a big task…but as an adult you are responsible for your own actions. Never get too wasted that you can’t drive yourself, protect yourself, or keep yourself out of trouble. If you do…you might find yourself behind bars for Art Walk or worse.
3. Tuck Children and Elderly away at bed time.
I’m sorry, I love little children, and I love my grandma and all the old folks at the retirement home, but I still feel that after a certain hour, say 8pm, small children and grandparents need to be tucked away safe at home. Art Walk is seen as a bar crawl for many, a protest site for some, and lets face it, it’s still DTLA and accidents do happen…and yes we have the LAPD to protect us, and most of them are very handsome and single…but if they get riled up and turn on the protestors, it may be every man for himself, so take caution to let children and elderly enjoy Art Walk during its safest day light hours.
4. Public transportation and Staying Over Night
The best way to enjoy the festivities of Art Walk, in my opinion, is to take public transportation and spend the night. Driving and parking can be tough and expensive because of gas and parking fees. Take a taxi…take the Metro. It closes around 1am, so plan to stay overnight. Make reservations at Stay Hotel on Main…This way you can stay out as long as you want, enjoy the many festivities around town, avoid traffic and DUI charges, only to wake up in a nice cozy hotel with room service and continental breakfast.
5. Support the Arts
The DTLA Art Walk is highly successful due to the many successful and sometimes starving artists who work diligently to master their talents in an effort to support their livelihoods…These displays, made possible by neighboring galleries determined to keep their doors open for your viewing pleasure, appreciate and deserve your support.
Support the arts by making frequent visits throughout the month and purchasing original works for your home or office. Original artworks also make for great gifts and keep artists and galleries going strong. .
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