You See LA: January 2026
Five Things to See and Do Near L.A., Handpicked by UCLA Arts' Will Rawls
The arts are an essential part of UCLA. They inspire dialogue, encourage creativity, and drive real lasting change, across disciplines, borders, and backgrounds. They also create opportunities for increased engagement with our surrounding communities.
Will Rawls, choreographer, dancer, writer, and associate professor and dance program lead in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, has curated a diverse selection of things to see and do in the greater Los Angeles area.
As part of the Hammer Museum biennial Made in L.A. 2025, Rawls has choreographed the performance Unmade, which moves throughout the museum, traversing both gallery and outdoor spaces. Each iteration features multiple vignettes that reflect on ideas of resource-sharing and social choreography. Unmade will be performed on the following Saturdays beginning at noon: Jan. 17, Feb. 7, and Feb. 28.
As a new Angeleno, it helps to take long walks as medicine after traffic—it's even better if you don't need to drive to the head of the trail. I've joined the diverse cast of characters huffing and puffing up the steep stone steps of BHSO every Sunday. From my doorstep and back, it's 6 miles. And there's an affordable juice truck at the base of the hill run by an avowed antifascist Mexican comrade who plays techno and wears a sweatshirt that says "Black Women Deserve Better." There's no place like home.
Nancy is an IYKYK fashion designer. Her clothes are all made in L.A. and are just like her—courageous, inventive, whimsical, and elegant. Once I started spotting her looks on artist friends, I realized she's a local icon who rocks some of the best style I've seen in L.A., N.Y.C., or anywhere. She also made the incredible costumes for Unmade, my commission for the Made in L.A. biennial. Her website says she was born in L.A. and will probably die here. If I die here too, bury me in one of her outfits.
In Culver City Center™, where picnics unfold in the readymade town square or among frenemies at Erewhon, Esme offers a bijou dining experience that is intimate, neighborly, and cheerful. Their compact menu is mighty in flavor, service and care—the grilled cabbage, bomba rice, and harissa half chicken keep me coming back.
I still believe that reading can save us. It's easy to miss this storied family-founded shop that's been going since 1976. You'll need to go through that side door at the back of the busy restaurant patio on touristy Venice Beach Boardwalk. They have knowledgeable staff and a good zine section at the front. It feels like walking into the bookstore from the film The Neverending Story, minus the cobwebs…but you may still find a sorcerer who can recommend the book of your dreams.
Air Drying Laundry
As a person whose sun, moon, and rising are East Coast, damp and sardonic, I sincerely love how fast my laundry air dries here in sunny SoCal...except when it rains for a week straight, which I also love.
Header image: Pictured L to R: Tiara Jackson, Maya Billig, Ajani Brannum, Gurmukhi Bevli, jeremy de'jon guyton, and Kensaku Shinohara. Performance costumes by Nancy Stella Soto.
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