Things to do in Los Angeles today

Telling the story of Gorillaz, the animated band created by Blur’s Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett, involves a bit of real-world history and a bunch of cartoon mythology. House of Kong manages to blend both of those into a truly transportive walkthrough that mixes an art-on-the-wall gallery show with a cartoon-come-to-life manifestation of one of this century’s most singular bands. The L.A.-by-way-of-London experience, which sets up in the Arts District’s Rolling Greens from February 26 to March 19, starts outside in front of a hulking statue of Pazuzu, a Mesopotamian demon-god and in-universe motif that’s been plastered with decades-spanning Gorillaz stickers. That’s about the only thing you can photograph until you reach the finish of this largely phone-free experience (the island model from Plastic Beach and a sizable gift shop greet you at the end). From there, you’ll be handed a pair of headphones and embark on a half-hour-plus audio-guided tour. House of Kong starts like a proper museum show; gallery lighting focuses on prints of early concept art of 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel before diving into relics that chart the rise of the band (including, ahem, a 2005 Time Out London magazine cover) and its world-building lore. From there, in the classic style of a Disneyland ride preshow, things go awry, and the following five sections (no spoilers) see guests traversing through lovingly cluttered sets just bursting with hazy homages to both the animated...

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.

Ponyo loves Sosuke! And we love this exhibition at the Academy Museum dedicated to the wholesome Hayao Miyazaki film. Studio Ghibli donated more than 100 objects to the Academy Collection, and you’ll find everything from an animation desk to colorful art boards to dozens of frame-by-frame pencil drawings of the scene when Sosuke first finds Ponyo. Though you may recognize a couple of items from the museum’s debut Hayao Miyazaki retrospective, the vast majority of Ponyo pieces are new—and some have never been displayed in North America before. It’s also a colorful and super kid-friendly exhibition; you can watch clips of the gorgeously hand-drawn movie, recreate the wave-running scene and even make your own stop-motion animation. You’ll find it on the museum’s second floor, inside the first few galleries of the “Stories of Cinema’ space.

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...

You can currently see a handful of his works at the Broad, but Takashi Murakami is the star of the show at a new solo exhibition at Perrotin Los Angeles, where 24 new paintings by the Japanese artist grace the walls. Known for marrying traditional Japanese painting with Western influences, Murakami found inspiration for this show from a visit to Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France, and here explores how the Japanese art form of ukiyo-e, or “floating world pictures,” later inspired artists including Monet, Degas and Van Gogh. Next door, limited-edition Murakami prints and merchandise are for sale at a pop-up Perrotin Store through February 28 (Tue–Sat 1–6pm).

Step back into the era of grunge, supermodels and the dawn of the internet at this free exhibition at the ASU FIDM Museum in DTLA. This retrospective explores the decade’s spirit of rebellion and experimentation, featuring high-fashion couture from icons like Vivienne Westwood and Gianni Versace alongside the flannel shirts, slip dresses and bold prints that defined everyday style. Through a curated mix of garments, vintage magazines and video footage, visitors can trace how 1990s innovation continues to shape contemporary trends.

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at paddling (or drumming), this annual festival dedicated to the 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing is the place to do it. Not feeling competitive? You can stake out a spot along the waterfront at Burton Chace Park to cheer on the teams. Expect lion dancers on the sidelines, food trucks serving Asian-inspired street food, and stalls selling arts and crafts from local makers.

The reopened Getty Villa will descend into the underworld with this exhibition, which looks at the ritual spells and religious writings ancient Egyptians employed to garner favor with Re and Osiris in the afterlife. See the Getty’s collection of rare Book of the Dead rare hieroglyphics-adorned and illustrated manuscripts, dating back to around 1000 BCE, which were last displayed in 2023. The show should dovetail nicely with the museum’s “Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt,” which runs through January 2027.

When Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu made his debut feature, Amores Perros, over a million feet of film didn’t make it to the final cut (to put that into perspective, the finished two-and-a-half-hour movie used around 18,000 feet of film). Twenty five years later, some of these unearthed reels of celluloid now zip through a ground-floor gallery at LACMA as part of a multi-channel film installation. As much a piece of sculpture as it is film or video art, Sueño Perro assembles six 35mm projectors that pierce the hazy near-dark space with raw, nonlinear snippets of the movie, fed from a mesmerizing curtain of film stock speeding along sprockets. It’s an intense experience, both sonically (during the car crash that connects the feature’s storylines) and visually (dog fighting plays a pivotal role in the film, though you’ll see here some of the behind-the-scenes tricks that kept the production cruelty-free).

Step aboard the Queen Mary and into your own Agatha Christie novel at this new interactive murder mystery dinner from the team behind Murder & Mayhem on the Mary. Based on the ocean liner’s real-life “Last Great Cruise,” which set off from Southampton on Halloween 1967, the spooky yet silly experience combines a multi-course dinner with comedy, clues, live music and audience participation.