| A cultural locus, Los Angeles, CA is known the world | | | | hundreds more in the surrounding areas. |
| over for its vibrant arts & crafts scene. In the | | | | The City of Los Angeles also supports a public arts |
| downtown area, the arts district was founded in 1976. | | | | program, which compels area builders to contribute |
| Many artists gathered at the location, from nearby | | | | one percent of their construction-related costs for new |
| cities like Venice, Santa Monica and Long Beach. | | | | structures to a public art fund. |
| Professional and amateur artists sought and found | | | | Los Angeles is famous for its mural art, and the |
| large affordable spaces in previously abandoned | | | | thousands spread throughout the city are thought to |
| downtown buildings. | | | | be greater than in any other city in the world. Native |
| In the past, artists were compelled to hide their living | | | | Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera and Jose Orozco |
| status. Frequently, the local fire department would | | | | have painted noted murals in the area. |
| conduct unscheduled fire inspections. Fortuitously, | | | | Around the 1960's and 1970's, the Chicano arts & |
| artists dwelling in the many lofts typically had a few | | | | crafts movement began in the city. A lot of the |
| hours warning, and would rush to conceal any signs of | | | | material produced was in the tradition favored by |
| living there. | | | | Mexican muralists. Murals created in this era by artists |
| To provide assistance to the denizens, the Artists In | | | | and crafters still exist in East Los Angeles. The |
| Residence ordinance was enacted. This code allowed | | | | Chicano arts & crafts in Los Angeles also spawned |
| artists and craftsmen to legally live in buildings which | | | | the internationally known D?a de los Muertos annual |
| conformed to established safety requirements. The | | | | festival. |
| popularity of the downtown lofts raised rents from | | | | In conclusion, many of the most widely-known art |
| about 30 cents a square foot to above one dollar per | | | | museums on the globe are located in Los Angeles. |
| square foot. During the 1980's arts & crafts localities | | | | Among them are the Los Angeles County Museum of |
| were so plentiful that people made money by | | | | Art, the Getty Center, and the Hammer Museum. Less |
| conducting bus tours of the district. | | | | prominent arts & crafts museums in the city include the |
| Currently, greater than twelve hundred artists and | | | | Craft and Folk Art Museum, the California African |
| craftspeople live and work in the arts district, and | | | | American Museum, and numerous sculpture gardens. |