Find Your New Favorite LA-Based Artists During Free-For-All Museum Day ~ January 30th

Your weekend refresh just got a lot more artsy. Museums across Southern California will offer free admission on January 30, offering Angelenos the chance to see a range of exhibitions and special installations. Participating museums in the Museums Free-For-All-Day include the big guys (LACMA and MOCA, for starters) and also culture-specific locations like the Japanese American Museum and Museum of Latin American Art. Not all special exhibits are included, so make sure to check each museum for more information.

We figure this is a great opportunity to check out from makers right here in Los Angeles. Here's a quick guide to some of the Angeleno creatives that you can discover during the free admission day.

Olga Lah, Orange County Museum of Art

Free days are the best time to seek out the more unconventional shows in museums. For starters, you could head to the Orange County Museum of Art and explore a 65-foot installation created by Long Beach-based Olga Lah. "Amass and Swell" features foam blocks carefully set up to create a memorable experience for visitors — thousands of blocks, to be exact. The exhibition will only be up until February 28 so now is a good time to see it for yourself.

Various Artists, Museum of Latin American Art

The free admission day comes at a good time since many exhibitions will be closing in February. Two exhibitions at the Museum of Latin American Art will end soon and offer work from a host of talented LA-based artists. “Somewhere Over El Arco Iris: Chicano Landscapes; 1971-2015” closes on January 31 and features pieces from Shizu Saldamando, Man One, Vyal Reyes and more. “Victor Hugo Zayas: The River Paintings” highlights work that portrays the city. From his studio near the L.A. River, Zayas creates pieces that reflect on natural beauty and the man-made metropolis.

Diana Thater, LACMA
If you love installation art and video works, you should definitely swing by the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art to check out an exhibition of the work of Diana Thater. The LA-based artist experiments with moving images, often with a focus on nature. Swing by “Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination” to see underwater footage of dolphins swimming and virtually travel to India through a piece filmed at Jaipu’s Galtaji Temple.