Beacon Arts Building

This building has so much potential…
Not far from downtown Inglewood lies the Beacon Arts Building, formerly a storage warehouse turned artist studio space. In it are several of the most talented artists in the Los Angeles area.
The problem is they are going completely unnoticed because of a lack of events.
If you are an artist looking to rent a space here, here is my advice (I’ve been leasing a space for almost one year so far): it’s pricey by Inglewood standards. Be sure to negotiate and be willing to play hardball, and do your research on other locations first. The owners of this building also own 1019 West, so don’t plan on using that as your bargaining chip. There is no AC, so it gets UNBEARABLY HOT in the Summer. You will need a portable AC unit to avoid temperature in the mid-​90s inside your space. It’s pretty quite and the other tenants are cool, plus the property is gated and secured with an electronic keypad so no one bothers you. The annual Open Studios is kind of a joke, as it seems more of a gimmick for the city to position itself as «the creative place» in LA as opposed to truly promoting the artists. They put up a few banners around Inglewood but that’s it, so you won’t se much more than 100 or so visitors if you participate. With the new stadium and more money being pumped into downtown, maybe this will all change as the city gentrifies, but it’s still a ways out.
If you’re a visitor, make sure you don’t miss the annual Open Studios event. It’s a once a year opportunity to view some of the most creative folks in LA who aren’t obsessed with being in Venice or DTLA, but instead just want to work and create great art.
If you are the city of Inglewood reading this: PLEASE pump more funds into promoting this place. It has the potential of being the cornerstone of the new image you are trying to portray.

I attended the recent «Open Studios» tour at Beacon and 1019 West — the owner did NOT do substantial advertising… SHAME! I found both locations to be sublime in the friendliness and creativity of the artists and their work… both buildings are beautiful, parking was not a problem, and the tram that rode us to the smaller venues was a great plus — but not very crowded… PLEASE have more events and get that deadbeat owner to ramp up the media exposure… These are hidden gems in the LA art scene. and I am SOOO proud of them being in Inglewood — a mile from my home… OH, only one question — where are the African American and Latino (homegrown) artists… I saw few… that being said… have a spring event if you can… GREAT venues.

Wow very cool artist space that makes you retying everything you knew about Inglewood.

Off the beaten path in scenic Inglewood lies this multi-​story arts building that includes studios and gallery space. The name is a pun — this used to be the Bekins Moving & Storage building. And so, Bekins Building became Beacon Arts Building. There’s plenty of space, of course, and kind of a NYC loft feel to it as you get in the freight elevator or trudge up the echo-​ey industrial stairs.