Location Profiles: Cultural Centers

To get your curiosity flowing, Folk Art Everywhere has begun weekly "location profiles" of our myriad Folk Art locations! Our inaugural profile features "Cultural Centers." More than just places to exhibit and sell art like a traditional gallery, Cultural Centers are gathering places rooted to their communities. Quite simply, they're about people, FOLK! Below are 5 Cultural Centers where Folk Art Everywhere has made temporary homes.

1. Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural

Tia Chucha's may be our northernmost site, but it is well worth the visit! Tia's celebrates culture with a range of programming from music and dance to spoken word and visual art. You can also find books on Xicano history and literature, indigenous issues and social commentaries, as well as bilingual children's books.

With cold drinks and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, you might just hang out all afternoon, reading and soaking up all they have to offer.

For those who don't think there's any culture in the San Fernando Valley, think again! You don't want to miss this vibrant oasis!

Visit on Saturday, 10/23 at 1pm, when Tia Chucha's and Folk Art Everywhere present a storytelling and puppet making workshop. Targeted to children but everyone is welcome.

Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural
13197-A Gladstone Ave.
Sylmar, CA 91342
(818) 528-4511
Monday – Thursday: 12pm – 8pm; Friday: 2pm – 10pm; Saturday & Sunday: 12pm - 4pm



2. Lucy Florence Cultural Center

Lucy Florence Cultural Center is a premiere arts and entertainment venue, shopping marketplace and coffee shop located in the heart of the Historic Leimert Park. It was established in 1996 by twin brothers Ron and Richard Harris, longtime supporters of culture, performing and visual arts. The brothers named the space for their mother as a birthday homage.

See some art, watch a film, have a cup of coffee, stay for a chat with Ron and Richard.

Lucy Florence Cultural Center
3351 W. 43rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90008
(323) 293-1356
Daily: 11am - 10pm


3. 24th Street Theatre

Located near USC in the West Adams Historic District, 24th Street Theatre presents music, theatre, dance and the visual arts in both English and Spanish. It also offers arts education for students and teachers throughout Los Angeles.

Why not see a production, then wander over to 24th Street’s neighbor, the Velaslavasay Panorama, dedicated to the unusual panoramic exhibition format?

24th St. Theatre
1117 W 24th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 745-6516
Call for hours


4. St. Elmo Village

What started out 4 decades ago as 10 California bungalow-style court houses and 10 garages soon became St. Elmo Village, a unique cultural and community center, ensconced in the residential St. Elmo St. in Mid-City. It is one of the oldest black live-work-teach spaces in America, and features a public garden, gallery space and public meeting place. The village also offers free art, painting, photography, hand drum workshops, and computer graphics training. The experience of St. Elmo Village is beautifully summed up by its voicemail message: “Do what you love. Love what you do.”

St. Elmo Village
4830 St Elmo Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 931-3409
Hours flexible – call in advance




5. Levantine Cultural Center

Levantine Cultural Center promotes a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa by presenting artistic and educational programs that bridge political and religious divides. They offer a staggering array of programs, from language and drumming classes, to film screenings and comedy shows.

Visit on Thursday, 11/18 at 7:30pm, when the Levantine Center and Folk Art Everywhere present "View from a Grain of Sand" by Meena Nanji, about the complicated situation of women in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Levantine Cultural Center
5998 W Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 657-5511
Monday – Friday: 10am - 6pm

For an interesting take on "StoreFront Cultural Centers" -- part of the inspiration for this post -- see the wonderful Common Ground City website. You may find a couple of FAE sites on there!

Explore Mid-City.....by bicycle!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3
Folk Art Bike Ride

Gather time: 12:00 pm
Ride time: 12:30 pm
(Ends approx 2:30 pm)

Ride begins and ends at CAFAM
5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90036

Free parking available on 8th St. / Metered on Curson & Stanley

Co-sponsored by Folk Art Everywhere, a project of the Craft and Folk Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
Ride is FREE!

SEE art in the Folk Art Everywhere project
EXPLORE unique shops and cultural centers
TOUR Mid-City/Mid-Wilshire in a fun, easygoing way
MEET other art-and-bike lovers!

The ride begins at CAFAM, where tour-goers may visit two new exhibitions. Then the ride will stop at Little Ethiopia Restaurant, a restaurant in the heart of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax; Levantine Cultural Center, which champions a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa through artistic and educational programs; and St. Elmo Village, a creative community offering workshops, tours, a beautiful garden, and much more…

Total mileage: 6.5 miles, with only slight hills.
Great for beginning cyclists.
Click on map:

Get your Folk! On

Next Wednesday 9/15, Folk Art Everywhere is proud to present a screening of the film Folk! in partnership with the Echo Park Film Center's Filmmobile program. Folk! is about the unique, acrobatic underground world of Ukrainian folk dancing. An often funny peek at what it's like to grow up in a Ukrainian-American community, the documentary is relevant to anyone trying to balance ties to one's heritage in a culturally homogenizing world.

7:30pm gather time
8:00pm screen time
Location: Echo Park Lake
Filmmobile will be parked near the Northwest corner of Glendale Blvd and Park Ave. (see map below)

The screening is FREE
Limited chairs provided, so consider bringing your own
Screening is outside – dress warmly
Parking is available on surrounding streets

Watch a brief film clip here!




View Larger Map

Folk Art Everywhere & Trekking LA present a tour in Leimert Park

Tour Leimert Park on Sunday, September 5 from 3 - 6 as we partner with LA Commons/Trekking LA and the Leimert Park Village African Art & Music Festival to show you around the neighborhood that LA Commons calls home. For our final tour we will mingle with local artists, enjoy live jazz and blues, sway to the sound of drums, sample treats from all over the globe and admire a vibrant and proud community. We will end our tour under the trees of our local park with a hearty meal featuring okra and sweet potatoes.*

*For info and to buy tickets, go to www.TrekkingLA.org*

We plan on stopping at Eso Won and sending visitors into Adassa's Island Cafe next to Ackee Bamboo to highlight the Folk Art Everywhere installations.

Who are the Folk?!

Video project hits the streets of Los Angeles in an attempt to answer this central question.

On a hot Sunday afternoon in April armed with two camera crews, CAFAM traveled through the “micro cultures” of Los Angeles to ask 100 people in 9 locations one question, WHO ARE THE FOLK? The result is a short video (2:24 minutes) that documents the voices of Angelenos encountered on the streets of Hollywood, Little Ethiopia, West Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, South Los Angeles, MacArthur Park and Historic Filipinotown. Watch the humorous and thought provoking video here:



The project aims to highlight our shared humanity in a playful format and was inspired by the late great folklorist and educator Alan Dundes who famously proclaimed “Who are the folk? Among others we are!”

The video is a project of the Folk Art Everywhere initiative (launched by the Craft and Folk Art Museum) designed to inspire exploration of the diverse communities and neighborhoods in Los Angeles. A central premise of the project is that art can serve as a catalyst for cultural understanding and connection. In an increasingly multicultural society, CAFAM believes in the power of art to build common ground. Learn more at www.folkarteverywhere.com

Video production: Stephanie Hubbard and Bee Keeper Productions. www.stephaniehubbard.com

Watch the video and tell us what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK0jQvdRtGI

Then go find some folk art! Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere is now on view, with art waiting to be discovered! www.folkarteverywhere.com/locations.html.

Folk art on the loose (again!)

Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere has just launched! That means new art in your favorite Folk Art sites all over town, with lots of fun and thought-provoking Happenings in the works. Stay tuned.......

LAST CHANCE to see Folk Art Everywhere!

Folk Art Everywhere is about to wrap up its first incarnation and we want to share the art with you! Whether you live in Highland Park or Boyle Heights, Mid-city or the San Fernando Valley, there is art to be found and neighborhoods to be explored.

This weekend, look for Folk Art Everywhere!

(Monday is the last day, but location hours vary. Check here before planning your cultural treasure hunt: http://www.folkarteverywhere.com/locations.html)

If you can’t explore this weekend, don’t despair! Round 2 of Folk Art Everywhere will soon begin, with art in your neighborhood! Stay tuned….

Images, l. to r.: Figueroa Produce & 24th St. Theatre

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Upcoming Folk Art Everywhere Happening:

Saturday, August 7
11am – 3pm

FREE Folk Art Workshop
Presented by St. Elmo Village and Folk Art Everywhere

St. Elmo Village
4830 St. Elmo Dr.. Los Angeles CA 90019

SEE art in the Folk Art Everywhere project
MAKE your own art
EXPLORE the wonderland that is St. Elmo Village

11am – 1pm Painting & Drawing
1pm – 3pm Digital Media

The Painting & Drawing workshop will be a hands-on activity, while the Digital Media workshop will be more observational.

The workshop is a FREE event

Parking: St. Elmo Village is located in a residential neighborhood. Parking is available on surrounding streets.