Things to do in Los Angeles today

This display of film and video art, billed as “a sweeping odyssey into the depths of human experience,” will take over all six stories of the abandoned, historic Variety Arts Theater in Downtown L.A. (the theater served as the setting for this past Halloween’s immersive haunt Delusion, and the expansive space was as impressive as the production itself). Over a century of visual storytelling will be explored, blurring the line between visual art and cinema. The contemporary video works by artists including Marina Abramović, Doug Aitken, Chris Burden, Cyprien Gaillard, Arthur Jafa and Precious Okoyomon—juxtaposed with cinematic works by the likes of Walt Disney and Georges Méliès—come from the time-based art collection of the Germany-based Julia Stoschek Foundation.

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

There’s nothing Christmassy nor even wintry about this hour-long Palos Verdes trail, yet its nine stellar installations are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the budding after-dark botanical garden shows that’ve come to blanket L.A. toward the end of the year. Astra Lumina, which debuted in 2022, returns to South Coast Botanic Garden with the same array of celestial-inspired displays. Last year’s edition was basically identical to its debut. But if you loved your first trip to Astra Lumina or haven’t been at all, we still think this is a worthwhile (albeit somewhat expensive) event—perhaps better suited for a date night than a large family affair. While some other year-end light shows seem less focused on moment-to-moment encounters and more on the photogenic snaps you’ll walk away with, Astra Lumina feels truly experiential. You’ll venture through scenes that interpret the arrival and departure of stars in an earthly garden: Archways pulsate with light and mist, perforated lanterns spell out a stargazing journey, shooting stars chase up and down a cylindrical frame, shimmery bulbs blanket a forest floor and tranquil lanterns float among the trees. There’s plenty of wonderfully atmospheric fog along much of the trail, including in a shower of lasers so thick that you’ll swear you can touch them. (It’s also worth mentioning how lovely it is to experience a celebration of the night sky in one of the few locations in L.A. where it’s actually dark enough to see plenty of...

This new heart-eyed haunt from the producers of the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor will have you clinging to your Valentine. Featuring a fog-filled, circus-themed dance party and three other heart-racing story-driven experiences in the ship’s cavernous lower decks—including Sweethearts’ Slaughterhouse and the Search for Mary, where you escape the ghost of a little girl with nothing but a glow stick to guide you—the event also serves as an exclusive preview of this year’s Halloween attraction. Themed eats and signature cocktails will be available for purchase throughout the ship.  

When I first stepped foot inside of this exhibition of decommissioned Confederate monuments and reflective contemporary art pieces, I was taken aback by the scale of it all. I’d seen the installation photos of the side-by-side statues of Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee on horseback, but as I craned my neck up at these towering tributes, they felt awe-inspiring in the most dreadful meaning of the phrase. Most Angelenos don’t need to be convinced of the immoralities of the Confederacy—but most likely haven’t been forced to come face-to-face with such Civil War iconography either. “Monuments,” displayed almost entirely at MOCA’s Little Tokyo warehouse with a single Kara Walker installation at the Brick in East Hollywood, presents tangible proof that these monuments removed from public view over the past decade were not simple, somber remembrances for the recently deceased, these were larger-than-life celebrations of the Confederacy forged in the Jim Crow era and often financed by folks seeking to twist its history. Works from 19 artists respond either directly or thematically to the many statues on display, or in some cases physically alter them: Bethany Collins’s Love is dangerous chisels pieces of the granite pedestal of a Stonewall Jackson monument into Carolina rose petals. Other graffitied or paint-splattered statues speak for themselves: The Robert E. Lee monument at the center of 2017’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resides...

A display of over 30 mummified people and animals is back at the California Science Center; after the exhibition debuted there back in 2010, it traveled through the U.S. and Europe before returning to L.A., which is the final stop on its tour before the artifacts are returned to their lending museums. This time around, you can see a selection of specimens never before shown in Los Angeles. Mummies are, of course, most often associated with ancient Egypt, and while Egypt is represented here, you’ll also see mummified remains that were discovered in Germany, Hungarian, Peru—even the University of Maryland, which in the 1990s carried out the first ancient Egyptian-style mummification performed in 2,800 years. Memorable artifacts include the two Peruvian “bundle” mummies making their West Coast debut, amulets and organ jars (just like you learned about in history class), an ancient Egyptian cat mummy and a shrunken (but still very cute) sloth head. Be warned, though, that as you make your way through the different rooms, the displays become more macabre and, dare I say, haunting, with mummified organs and babies—so make sure you (and any kids in attendance) know what you’re getting into before visiting the exhibition. The museum’s IMAX theater will be screening the complementary 40-minute Mummies 3D: Secrets of the Pharaohs, and if you buy combo tickets for both the exhibition and film, you get a small discount on both.

The Hammer Museum’s excellent, ongoing series of biennial exhibitions ups the ante with each edition of its spotlight on emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists. This October’s exhibition—the seventh such show—brings together works from 28 artists, spanning film, painting, theater, photography, sculpture and video, that engage with the city of Los Angeles. Highlights include Kelly Wall’s penny press and wishing well, plus racks of postcards of L.A. skies fabricated out of glass; Patrick Martinez’s East L.A.–inspired cinder block wall, adorned with Mayan murals and neon trim (as well as another neon sign that reads “Agua is LIFE, NO ICE”); and re-creations and photo documentation of the late Alonzo Davis’s freeway murals from the 1984 Olympics. Before you even step inside, you’ll notice Alake Shilling’s Buggy Bear Crashes Made in L.A., which, yes, is a giant inflatable bear driving a car that’s careening toward the Glendon Avenue corner of the Westwood museum.

Watch a slate of classics from the past couple of decades on one of the prettiest rooftops in Hollywood at this outdoor screenings series. All movies are piped in over sets of provided wireless headphones. Before showtime, make sure to hit up the bar or the on-site kitchen, Oasis, which will be serving up wagyu burgers and classic film concessions.

Don’t go in the water, but do go to the Academy Museum to see the largest exhibition ever dedicated to Steven Spielberg’s original summer blockbuster, Jaws—which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The museum was already home to the last surviving model shark from filming, but now you can go behind the scenes and see some 200 original objects from the film across multiple galleries. Some highlights: a re-creation of the Orca fishing boat, the dorsal fin used both in Jaws and its sequels, costumes worn by the central trio and a room full of vintage film posters and merch promoting the film. There are interactive elements, too: You can have your own Chief Brody dolly-zoom moment (and see the lens used to film the famous shot), play the iconic John Williams two-note score and control a replica of the mechanical shark.

Anonymous feminist art collective the Guerrilla Girls—whose members gained notoriety for donning gorilla masks and fighting the patriarchy—is coming up on its 40th anniversary, and the Getty Center is marking the occasion with a behind-the-scenes look at the group. See photography, protest art and the group’s famed posters—sporting statistics, bold visuals and satirical humor—that showcase the tactics the members used to demand recognition for women and artists of color. The Guerrilla Girls have even created a newly commissioned work for the exhibition. And you can add your own mark on the “graffitti wall” installation, giving visitors a creative outlet for their complaints about the world today.  Accompanying programming throughout the run of the show will include a conversation between the Guerrilla Girls and author Roxane Gay, a feminist Valentine’s Day mail art workshop, cocktail receptions with the exhibition curators, tours and more.