6 Ways To Get Cultured ASAP

Somewhere between our seventeenth viewing of Twilight: New Moon in November and a Keeping up with the Kardashians marathon in December, we determined that there just might be a lack of culture in our lives. Ergo, our New Year's resolution to see more art, and the debut of a quarterly BGG feature listing our favorite shows as they come and go in LA. It might be true that our gym membership has only been used once so far, and our Chinese language CDs are already gathering dust, but seeing more art is a resolution that should be easy to stick to -- at the very least, for the free wine at openings.

Museums Free-For-All -- this Saturday and Sunday, a score of LA-area museums -- including the Getty and the Hammer Museum -- are opening their doors free of charge.

Ellsworth Kelly at Matthew Marks -- the famed New York gallerist’s first LA show lives up to the hype and then some.

Damien Hirst at Gagosian Gallery -- if you don't really, REALLY love dots, then this is not for you…but it is probably the most talked-about show in LA right now. While perusing, you may even bump elbows with one of Hirst’s countless celeb collectors, like Jay-Z, the Beckhams, and Elton John.

The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists at LACMA -- this exhibition (which opens on Sunday) will feature iconic artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Frida Kahlo.  We love seeing female artists get credit where credit’s due!

Elger Esser: Voyage en Egypte at RoseGallery -- these achingly beautiful photographs taken along the Nile River will take your breath away.

Pacific Standard Time -- this bizarre colossus of exhibitions is like an old friend -- it feels like it's been around forever, and yet it still manages to delight. Don't miss out on the performance and public art festival happening now through Sunday, especially Liz Glynn at Black Box (which is the big talk this week). 

Under the Big Black Sun at the Geffen Contemporary -- this show, which is one of our favorites out of the PST lineup, explores the pluralistic, often anarchistic experimentation in the California art scene during the 1970s. If you don’t have tickets to their sold-out party this Saturday (featuring the Dead Kennedys with Henry Rollins DJing), make friends with someone who does. 

If all this art-viewing (or perhaps the price tags on some of the pieces) inspires you to get creative yourself, remember that LA has loads of affordable art classes and workshops -- check out Machine Project, Blue Rooster Art Supplies, Urban Craft Center, Barnsdall Art Center, or Self Help Graphics.