Works of art created by artists of every generation are on display at the biannual Brewery Artwalk near the Los Angeles River outside of Downtown Los Angeles. It takes place at the Brewery Arts Complex inside vintage industrial lofts once owned by the Los Angeles Brewing Company (later Pabst) and the Edison Electric Steam Power Plant. The complex was transformed into artist residences in 1982.
I took the LA Metro to Union Station and then boarded the #76 bus near Olvera Street. It dropped me off directly in front of the Brewery ArtWalk complex. As I walked through the doors of the historic former brewery, I was greeted by a friendly young man who offered me wine. That was a great start to my tour of talented Los Angeles artists’ lofts.
The Brewery Artwalk Complex
It was easy to get lost in the maze of winding hallways and rickety stairs. After a while, I completely lost my sense of direction. It didn’t matter, though, because no matter where I ended up, I was treated to an experience that was unique to itself.
The lofts are the artist’s personal living and working space. You could see each one’s whimsy, madness, or clear observation of what inspired his or her creative mind.
These visions were transferred to canvas, walls, photographs, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, furniture, and even kitschy kitchen magnets.
The colors, paints, the symmetry of arrangement, or non-symmetry were almost overwhelming but completely captivating.
Freedom to be creative at any age
Not all the artists are young. Some are Baby Boomers and seniors living as bohemians in retirement (or not) reveling in their fantasies and enjoying the fruits of their artistic expression. Most of them appeared to be thriving and productive, although I’m sure there are those who struggle. The business of art has always been a dicey profession
Several had high-tech equipment and were working on shiny computer monitors with graphic displays to monetize their talents as graphic designers, video producers, commercial photographers, architects, clothing, and jewelry designers.
The Brewery is the world’s largest artist-in-residence community and largest art complex with 500-700 artists living and working within its walls. It’s an amazing support community where artists collaborate, inspire, and nurture each other.
Watch this video about life at the Brewery Arts Complex. I love that many of the artists are over 50, living their dreams and expressing themselves in later life. If I had any talent as an artist, I’d want to live there too.
I ran into an artist I knew who I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. His kids went to school with mine and I was friends with his wife. He sublets a space there to work in but still lives in the Valley.
Afterward, I headed outside to the courtyard of the Brewery ArtWalk where there was a restaurant and outdoor tables set up. I ordered a sausage sandwich and beer and sat at a shady table outside.
Toward the back of the complex is the old Edison Electric Steam Power Plant building circa 1904. It was used to supply energy to run street lights and the old and long-gone Red Car electric rail system. For a while, it was a gumball factory.
Half of the building are lofts and the other half (originally the Edison boiler room) has been transformed into a gigantic rock climbing structure. Kids and adults were hanging on colorful walls throughout the cavernous room.
You can get plenty of exercise climbing the steep stairs to go from one loft to the other in the Edison Building. But, I didn’t mind because there were amazing artists on every floor.
Some of the upper lofts hold views of the complex and surrounding area.
Not all the lofts are galleries. Some are performance art spaces and music studios. One I walked conducts specialized cooking classes. They gave out samples of colorful spring rolls and creamy soup.
Some artists’ works were poignantly comical like this altar dedicated to a dead Asian artist with fried chicken left as an offering.
. . . and here is a wall dedicated to pot art. (as in cannabis)
It’s almost impossible to see all the open lofts in one day.
The ArtWalk takes place every spring and fall and is free to attend. It gives the artists in residence an opportunity to sell their work, promote books, and sell services. You can hang out, drink beer, and be inspired.
The complex was closed during COVID but the first post-COVID ArtWalk was held April 2022.
Visit their Facebook page here
Find the best literary, art & music tours in Los Angeles here.
Have you ever dreamed of living in a downtown loft? What kind of art would you create? Please leave a comment below.
And I am so overdue for a visit to LA. It’s been way too long, so I’ll pin this for future reference!
I hope you come out here. It was such a fun event.
WOW! I’m a born and raised LA kid. How is it I didn’t know about this? So happy to be in the que! This is fabulous and I will be visiting is super soon. Thanks for the share, the pics and the video. Awesome!
Hi Tammy,
Don’t feel bad. I didn’t know about it either until I wrote a post about old breweries and happened to pass by it on the freeway. Then I found out some of my friends knew about it and had gone in previous years. It’s so worth going and they do it twice a year.
The Brewery looks amazing! I’ve never heard of it until now! Thanks!
Glad you now know. It’s pretty amazing. And well worth checking out.
This looks like a fun time.
What struck me as so odd is that your pictures could have just as easily been Downtown Durham. In fact, I had to reexamine them and your words to be sure where you actually were!
I’d have loved this kind of experience – living so close to all the action. It’s how I felt when I lived in Manhattan, or just NYC in general. Back in the day. 😉
That’s funny about the similarity between the two cities, although it makes sense because industrial areas tend to look alike. It’s outside of the main part of downtown and could be anywhere.
I enjoy exploring L.A. I was just in the Art District last week. I’m looking forward to visiting the Brewery ArtWalk. Thanks for the information.
You will love it. I’m not sure when the next artwalk is, but I know it’s twice a year. It would be such a cool place to live and work.
What a happy, colorful post and place! I love this line: “…seniors living as colorful bohemians in retirement (or not) reveling in their fantasies or enjoying the fruits of life-long artistic success.”
I always longed to be bohemian and involved in the art scene. Instead, I get all artsy fartsy all by myself on the computer. Meh… kind of the same. Definitely not as colorful, though.
Thank you for sharing. Such fun!
I feel the same way. I always wanted to live the artist’s life. I did lots of theater when I was younger but lived more of a “normal” life at home.
Oh, I love it! We have a brewery similar not far from where I live. I live in a very artsy town too and I always enjoy going to the local art exhibits here. Thanks for sharing this!
Your welcome. If there’s lots of art in a town, you know it’s a cool place to be.
That is so cool. I would love to visit. We have an artists’ colony nearby but it pales in comparison to this one!
This one is huge! I was surprised to see so many artists living in one complex. It’s a fantastic way to help and support each other.
What could be better than enjoying a beer and a space filled with unique art and it’s creators. Thanks for sharing!
The beer we drank was quite good and yes, creativity was everywhere we looked.
There is nothing like this in Philadelphia, alas. Thanks for a terrific tour. I think my favorite part was the boiler room transformed into a colorful climbing space. Whoever came up with that had a really cool imagination.
Isn’t that amazing? What a great idea to put climbing walls in there.
Great blog, Rebecca! I only saw one of these places when a friend was housesitting years ago. Amazing idea to document this great art walk. Love it.
Thanks, Myeva,
Glad you liked the post. It’s hard to believe there are between 500-700 artists in there at one time. I can’t imagine the wild parties!
Wow, what an amazing place. I’m so with you – to be young and surrounded by creativity! Can’t we do something like that with midlifers?!
Actually, there are quite a few midlifers who live there. I think we should all move in. LOL