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Graff Tours

4.4 (17 reviews)
Closed • 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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"Beautifully Destroyed" by RISK (http://muralconservancy.org/murals/beautifully-destroyed)
Luke L.

A very informative tour - definitely gave me a different perspective on the world of graffiti. I found $25 for two (originally $50 for one) Groupon deal and signed up on the website for Sunday Los Angeles Graff Tours. We met and began at the front entrance of Novel Cafe (located in the Art District - http://www.yelp.com/biz/novel-cafe-los-angeles). Our tour guide, Carolyn, was very friendly and knowledgeable (I believed she has an art history degree and worked at MOCA before). The original planned schedule was supposedly 1.5 hours, but some people in our tour group began to wander off and took their time taking various graffiti photos. So the tour began to drag on and Carolyn kindly offered additional 30 minutes of tour. During this 2 hours of mini-adventure, we walked around the Art District and Carolyn identified and explained various graffiti / mural arts. We also learned about the history and association of graffiti and gang cultures, background of graffiti artists (e.g. RISK, How & Nosm, Mister Cartoon, etc), and the relationship between government, street artists, and local business (e.g. L.A. Freewalls Mural Project, gentrification, etc). Expect to walk about 1.5 miles, bring a good attitude (and a camera), and you will be ready to enjoy this unique tour. Tips - Free street parking on Sunday and don't forget to bring a sunscreen!

Carolyn, Graff Tours' awesome guide
Kari A.

I love trying new things and enjoying all the unique experiences LA has to offer. So today I went on a graffiti tour with Carolyn from Graff Tours. There were about 18 people in our group and Carolyn lead us around several blocks in the LA Arts District, showing us the work of various street artists and explaining the history of street art in LA and beyond. Loved her enthusiasm and expertise, and I especially appreciated how she pointed out the details in each work. I recommend this tour for any art enthusiast or anyone who likes to step outside the box and try something different. A fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon:) Bring plenty of water to drink!

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4 months ago

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9 months ago

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11 months ago

Great experience! Learned about the history of Graffiti and made some art for the wall.

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Review Highlights - Graff Tours

“I just took my high school age Girl Scouts for street art walking tour and studio workshop.”

Mentioned in 3 reviews

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Los Angeles Arts District

Los Angeles Arts District

4.6(54 reviews)
0.4 km•Arts District, Downtown
•$$

Embrace Los Angeles eclectic scene that spans about three miles long. A creative and cultural hub…read morewith a nice selection of eateries and coffee shops as well as cool A$$ murals. Now let me just say this, if you're one of those individuals who looks down on other people for their creative expressions or economic status then I don't think this a place for you, no apologies! My only gripe here is the parking because this place gets Hella packed! But since I'm an early bird I don't sweat it, LoL!!! They also have very interesting thrift shops and antique stores with a twist. Personally I enjoyed exploring around each corner since you never know if there will be a new mural popping up! So if you're open minded and cultural color blind then you should definitely check this place out. And that's my take on this Los Angeles gem, Peace...

Located right next to Little Tokyo, I'm not often here, but once in awhile, we swing by to get some…read moregood food or there's a pop up gallery event that I want to stop by (in this most recent case, we went to the Ryoko Kui/Dungeon Meshi exhibit at Art Share L.A. It's possible, if you're vigilant and lucky enough to swing around and find street parking in this area of LA. Again, just be wary of your surroundings and variables. I've heard stories of friends and mutuals cars getting broken into. Neat wall and street art here. Lots of pop up street food vendors too. Had some yummy Brazilian BBQ and burgers here before. Food-wise, I'm a fan of Prince Street Pizza, Urth Caffe, Tsujita, and Wurstkuche. A bit higher end restaurants than what you'd find next door, but that does mean it does get busy. So parking might get even tougher in an already busy area. I'm not one for the retail they have here, but there are some clothing stores, art and book stores. Great to stop by if you haven't before or just to swing around for food.

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Los Angeles Arts District
Los Angeles Arts District - Looking for Art in the Arts District!

Looking for Art in the Arts District!

Los Angeles Arts District - Retna

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Retna

Arts District Co-op

Arts District Co-op

3.0(69 reviews)
0.5 km•Arts District, Downtown
•$$

Funky co-op with lots of fun trinkets. A bit pricey but fun to look around in…read more Parking is hard to find as there are a lot of spaces here that say no parking but there are definitely cars parked in front of the sign. No taking photos inside (there are a bunch of different signs telling you this) so it's hard to describe what's for sale. Fun to take a gander inside if you happen to be in the area and find a parking spot but probably not the most exciting place to go for specifically since you'd have to fight traffic and very confusing parking rules to get here.

Had lunch at Urth Caffe with my daughter after the gym (still in our gym clothes) while walking…read moreback to our car we came across this cute looking store. Walked in, liked some things and bought some things. As we were ready to leave we noticed the wall in the back with the art displays. They have a beautiful piece with what looks like a woman in a turban or headpiece. They also have it painted on the wall. Considering it's permanently on the wall, think safe assumption, the woman behind desk would know the history of the painting. She said she didn't. And not in an I just work here kind of way but in a snobby tone. We got the impression she judged a book by its cover...like I said we were in gym clothes. She made it clear she had no interest in wasting her time on us. I'd like to go back and support the independent artists but not at the cost of a snob. I asked because I was interested in purchasing the painting but not after that encounter.

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Arts District Co-op
Arts District Co-op - The dress that I bought broke the first week and they wouldn't give me an exchange or refund.

The dress that I bought broke the first week and they wouldn't give me an exchange or refund.

Arts District Co-op - Love the dragonfly

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Love the dragonfly

The Museum of Contemporary Art - Admission.

The Museum of Contemporary Art

4.0(489 reviews)
1.3 km•Downtown
•$

I went to MOCA a couple weeks ago for the first time in almost twenty years. I'd only been once or…read moretwice before, in my student days, when the museum would host free events with live music and late entry into the galleries. I remember going with my cool friend June K. and seeing a Rauschenberg, thinking, "What is that?" This only came back to me on my more recent visit, to catch the end of an exhibit with my (cool for a 41-year-old) friend Sergio P. before lunch at Grand Central Market. It was called "The Expanding Field: MOCA's Collection from the 1940s to 1970s," and I randomly read about it in a newsletter the night before we went. I always hear about stuff at the Broad and LACMA, but I almost missed this MOCA exhibit completely. I guess it's a smaller museum, with a lower marketing budget. I'm really glad we caught it, because the exhibit was fantastic, an impressive showcase of collection highlights from the mid-20th century. First of all, there were eight Rothkos, all on view in one room alongside a couple of Giacomettis. There were works by Miró and Mondrian, Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns, a fantastic Warhol painting of a telephone. Multiple Rauschenbergs, which I appreciated more this time around. I also loved pieces by Joan Brown, Anne Truitt, and Nicolas de Staël, among many others. MOCA isn't big, and outside of this exhibit, the other gallery space seemed to be closed, possibly in preparation for another show. It took us less than half an hour, at a leisurely pace, to take in the exhibit. We stopped by the store after, which was great, full of art books and fun contemporary museum shop goodies. This was a wonderful way to spend an hour on a random Wednesday, and it cost nothing except for parking (the museum doesn't have its own lot, and I paid over $20 to park across the street at the Music Center; next time, transit). MOCA offers free admission, a bountiful gift to art enthusiasts in L.A. Reservations are recommended, but easy to get without much planning. Now that MOCA is back on my radar, I expect to go again soon, or at least in the next few years. It's a stellar museum with an interesting collection, worthy of regular visits.

What a gem. I can't believe this museum is free…read more Located in Downtown Los Angeles, it's easy to pair with other nearby attractions, making it a great stop if you're spending the day exploring the area. The exhibits were fantastic. MOCA focuses on contemporary art, so you'll find everything from bold abstract paintings and large-scale installations to sculptures, video art, and thought-provoking mixed-media pieces. I love that contemporary art invites you to interpret it for yourself. Some works made me stop and think, while others were simply fun to experience. It was a nice balance of playful, emotional, and thought-provoking. The museum itself is quiet and easy to explore. It never felt crowded, so I could actually spend time with the artwork instead of feeling rushed from room to room. I also really enjoyed the gift shop. They had a fantastic selection of art books and exhibition catalogs that were honestly hard to resist. They also carried plenty of fun collectibles, including lots of reasonably priced Smiskis, which made me smile. Overall, this is an amazing free museum and an easy recommendation if you're in Downtown LA. Whether you're already into contemporary art or just curious to try something different, it's well worth stopping by.

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The Museum of Contemporary Art - Tall Figure by Alberto Giacometti.

Tall Figure by Alberto Giacometti.

The Museum of Contemporary Art - Welcome to MOCA.

Welcome to MOCA.

The Museum of Contemporary Art - MOCA Donors with their humbling transformative donations. :D #ILOVEART

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MOCA Donors with their humbling transformative donations. :D #ILOVEART

Downtown LA Art Walk

Downtown LA Art Walk

4.1(358 reviews)
0.9 km•Downtown
•$

An Art Walk in Los Angeles should be expected to be a scene where culture and artful expression…read moreknows no boundaries and embraces established techniques, modern absurdity and the limitless quanity of weird in the globe to produce what moves emotion or in other words to produce art. And my recent trip to the Downtown LA Art Walk was exactly that a collection of techniques, practices, talents, mediums, and modes of communication that came together and landed to create an amorphous experience that was shaped, like clay, to create visual and sensory craftwork. There were different galleries offering different works. I will begin this review by naming some of my favorite. There was this gallery showing photography that was enhanced, played, or showcased light and that is where I found the dinosaurs of Cabezon come to life by the angles of a camera. I clipped the picture of the drawing (art inception) and it shows a long neck dinosaur that I want to call a jirrafasuaraus but I know that is wrong, walking toward a twilight colored horizon-- where the low of the sky was orange, layered above by a lemon-yellow strip of sky, then followed a soften almost transparent orange, with the rest of the sky being a early evening blue. I could not tell that the picture was fake. I do not want to say that I thought that Jurrasic Park was real, but, the picture did make me feel that the dessert has seen dinosaurs walking toward lovely sunsets. Another favorite was a negative of a picture of what looked like a swan floating in water that was completely black, like a swan swimming on black construction paper. But the only visible parts of the swan was is feathered body, its long neck, and regal tail. I could not see its eyes, I could not see its beak, I could not see its crest up high. The swan was averting the lens of the camera and yet the beauty of the swan was evident because its pure white ruffles were silent against a black backdrop. I could continue naming the pieces I like and why, but then the artwalk would becoming an art viewing. So I will conclude that I also saw a woman wearing a ruffled vest that dragged to the floor. It was inconvenient and kind of bulky, and maybe drag dirt along the train, but this was also art. I point that out because the show attracted people with style, and style on a body, is art, as everyone knows. There was also an apartment building that opens its doors. It offered a fondue fountain, chocolate, pool table, blackjack, and a giant arcade machine where one could play spade invader or pac-man. So the engagement level of Art Walk expanded to art one could make on the spot. And if you wonder how one makes art at a pool table--- then I suggest seeing a video of a player using a stick to make a ball jump to avoid one ball and hit the other. The movement is a type of ballet jump (a piroutte) that is prompted by a stick propulsion. If that is not artistic expression, then, a person living in a glass box suspended in air above the ground isn't either. As I walked the streets of LA, I also saw a truck that had four spotlights. I have always seen events that are signaled out by spotlights but now I know that these spotlights are ambulatory, and kind of, yes, art in their own way. They rose lights to the buildings side and to the night sky. The movement was a type of dance light, and I defy anyone to prove me wrong because at its core, art can never be truly define by words because, on its own, its a visual language.

Fun experience going into these private artsy businesses and checking out their collection. This is…read morea well planned art walk where maps are included. You essentially just get lost going from one art studio to the next. It's everything about art into one event. Traffic can be difficult but once you're in, it doesn't even matter anymore. This was a fun experience.

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Downtown LA Art Walk
Downtown LA Art Walk
Downtown LA Art Walk

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Hauser & Wirth

Hauser & Wirth

4.3(154 reviews)
0.5 km•Arts District, Downtown
•$

Hauser & Wirth is a modern communal art gallery space that features a lot of different rotating art…read morepieces. This spot is located right in the heart of the Arts District and is free admission. There are multiple galleries to peruse along with a garden, restaurant, and bookstore in the vicinity as well. I stopped by to see the one Yoshitomo Nara piece they had on display before it would be taken down!

We were going to the Obscure Bar in the Arts District for the 6 cocktail we had no clue what at 8pm…read moreand while I had walked past this beautiful restaurant a few times roaming around the DTLA arts district, I had never actually eaten at Manuela's. This restaurant is set in the Hauser and Wirth art Gallery complex and since we got there early we toured the front gallery with an incredible assist from a docent named Michael who pointed out the most incredible pieces and steered us to the gallery at the back of the complex behind Manuela's. Both galleries are worth exploring. THE GENERATIVE UNIVERSE In the main gallery, there was an exhibition of one artist work: Keith Tyson. His work begins from the belief that the universe operates as a single generative system--a continuously shifting causal network in which forms arise, transform and dissolve. Originally trained as an engineer, Tyson was an early practitioner of generative art, often approaching artmaking through the logic of systems and natural processes, allowing a blend of chance, material behavior, mathematics and intuition to shape the outcome. The work was thought provoking and with the help of Michael the docent/guard, we learned the importance of the work moving from the natural world to the blend with technology to the technological.

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Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth - Art on display

Art on display

Hauser & Wirth

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Los Angeles Conservancy

Los Angeles Conservancy

4.7(127 reviews)
1.4 km•Downtown

Archie was a great guide, very knowledgeable. I lived the old photographs he brought. Sad to think…read moreif the many beautiful buildings that were list, but still many gems to revisit and riscover. It's great to discover your own city. I thought the KA

Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve the historic places…read morein Los Angeles. They offer weekly and monthly architecture / history walking tours in Downtown LA with few seasonal tours. [Weekly Saturday tours]: Historic Downtown, Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District, Art Deco, and Union Station. [Monthly Saturday tours]: Angelino Heights, Modern Skyline, and The Biltmore Hotel lobby. *** Historic Downtown Walking Tour - each Saturday at 9:45 AM *** [Parking]: Option #1 (shorter walk) is the Pershing Square underground garage (532 S. Olive Street, Los Angeles, 90013) - $9 all day on weekends. 2nd option (longer walk) is the Westlawn Garage at Central Library (524 S. Flower Street) - discount is offered to Los Angeles Public Library card holders (parking validation is available at the library's Information Desk on the first floor). I only paid $1 at the Westlawn Garage with parking validation ($1.00 flat rate - validation still apply even if visitors come before 9:30 AM). [Special notes]: Arrive at least ten minutes early to check in. Tour meets at the center of Pershing Square near the mini-groves of Orange trees. The tour was supposed to start at 9:45 AM, but everyone arrived at 9:30 AM so our tour had an early start. [Price]: $25 per adult. $18 per youth (17 years and under). [Duration]: Our tour started at 9:30 AM and ended at 12 PM. The starting point was Pershing Square and the ending point was behind The Bradbury Building. All tours are led by volunteers. [Experience]: The tour mainly focuses on discussing beaux-arts vs art deco buildings. Our group walked into 5 different buildings including PacMutual Building, Los Angeles Public Library, The CalEdison, Grand Central Market, and The Bradbury Building (aka known from the 1982 movie Blade Runner). There was a short restroom break at Los Angeles Public Library at 10:30 AM. Our group also rode Angels Flight Railway and fare was covered as a part of the tour. [Conclusion]: A solid tour and it was a great experience to learn some basic history of buildings in Downtown LA. I would definitely consider doing some of their other tours to learn more about LA.

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Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles Conservancy - Angels Flight Railway (Jan 2026)

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Angels Flight Railway (Jan 2026)

Graff Tours - arttours - Updated October 2026

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