South Bay Art Department

We were totally stumped for a creative location for an evening party somewhere in the South Bay and, after previewing South Bay Art Dept., we decided to have our daughter’s 17^th birthday party there. It was just so cool!!! Andrew and Jamie just couldn’t have been any easier to work with; they were so incredibly flexible about set up, clean up, moving stuff around, answering silly questions and having teenagers in their building. The kitchen worked out great (fridge, sink, counter space), the lighting was cool (kind of like a club), the sound system was PLENTY loud and the tables worked out great for serving catered food. We’ll have a party here again — for adults! It’d be a great spot for a fun cocktail party with a project added in for fun! Rental price was reasonable, the guys were terrific to work with, the space was creative and fun. Our daughter — and her friends — loved it!

Our family and friends absolutely LOVE this place. My teen has enjoyed photography classes, holiday day camps, birthdays and kids night out always coming home with beautiful art projects of all sorts.
Andrew Lee and his staff are so sweet, knowledgeable and patient.
It’s a beautiful studio. Highly recommend it.

Good news… South Bay Art Department is not only for kids. Day and evening classes and Open studio space is available for beginners or seasoned artist. Folks are welcoming, knowledgable and helpful. Easels, paints, sinks, good lightening, personal trolleys for your paints, palates, canvas, paper and instruction most everything you need is available. First time is complementary. Try it, you’ll like it.

We just had our daughter’s 5^th birthday party today and I have only great things to say. The instructors were very sweet and helpful. The space itself it super cool and fosters a lot of creativity. Large area for parents to hang out. Highly recommend for your kids next party.

Went to a BYOB paint night and it was so fun. I think I got a coupon on Groupon for Art After Dark. We brought beers and some snack-​y foods. It isn’t a class really, it was more of a small group free painting with instructors there for questions or help while painting. I brought in a picture and learned new painting techniques. I would love to go again!
Parking was rough, but I definitely recommend the class if you enjoy a non structured art class. There were two men the day I went who must have went with their wives reluctantly and were party poopers, but everyone else was nice.

Both teen daughter and I have taken classes at SB Art Department, at the earlier location as well as their current location. The parking at the current location – well, there really isn’t much parking. You just have to hope for the best with street spaces. But it’s worth it, because this is a wonderful place. Good prices, too. Daughter especially enjoys the manga/​cartooning class with Sharry Lai, and I love the figure drawing sessions.

We discovered this studio over Christmas break and love it! Our oldest is 5 and she spent 2 days at the Christmas break art camps and can’t stop talking about how much she loved it! Like other reviews said, this isn’t just a «play around with paint» type place, it’s real art instruction while having fun. My daughter came home with piles of projects! She now asks to go to this camp any time she gets a day off school. Instructors are great with the kids, talented, and very friendly and accommodating.

My 10-​year-​old son takes art classes here; we started at the recommendation of a friend of mine whose daughter also takes classes here. This is a terrific teaching studio. If your child needs solid but friendly instruction, this is the place to go. This is not a cheesy, «let’s play with play dough» studio. Our teacher, Sherri, provides lots of instruction and feedback, and shows students her own work as well as work in film and media. During summer, the classes are two hours long!
The scheduling is incredibly flexible! You pay for a specific number of sessions, but then you can use them whenever you want. So if you have busy lives, you don’t have to commit to a weekly class for your child. Also you can try out different classes if you’re interested in broad areas of art.
If your child shows talent in art, or even just enjoys art, this is the place for you. A non-​artist, I’m so inspired that I even bought my own Art After Dark passes, and I’m looking forward to trying that out soon.

Instructors for the Art After Dark were very professional and down to earth. The music was relaxing and had a cool vibe to it too and everyone was supportive of each other. Definitely a must do event of the South Bay.

Art after dark is always fun! Great staff and good place to come and unwind, bring some snacks and beverages and have fun!

«What a wonderful place for a my child to let her creativity flow. In the week summer classes she made a self portrait sculpture, splatter art, 3d art, and much more and the classy art show on the last day was so amazing. The calm environment and teachers added to…