Best Things to Do in SoCal and LA This Week: April 13-19, 2026
Fossils & Films
There’s no better place to celebrate Earth Day than the Natural History Museum! This family-friendly festival invites visitors to explore Earth’s past, present, and future through interactive exhibits, special programming, and activities with scientists. NHM also presents Green Screen: Our Planet on Film, an environmental film series that brings urgent ecological issues into focus through cinema inside the Commons Theater.
900 Exposition Blvd
Through the Lens
Former L.A. poet laureate Luis J. Rodriguez brings his story full circle in Always Running: Photography at the Vincent Price Art Museum. Marking the 30th anniversary of his landmark memoir, this exhibition offers a rare glimpse into Rodriguez’s early years through previously unpublished photographs capturing Chicano youth, gang life, and the evolving landscapes of East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley from the 1960s to the 1980s. Seen through the lens of someone who lived it, these images deepen the legacy of "Always Running" and the life-saving power of art. To learn more about he artist, watch this episode of Departures.
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Searching for meaning
Jeffrey Deitch Gallery presents Burning in the Eyes of the Maker by artist Celeste Dupuy-Spencer in her first solo exhibition in five years. Moving away from traditional art-world practices, Dupuy-Spencer undertook the act of painting as a constant conversation with the canvas, noting each mark as a response without a final image in mind. Drawing on mythological and religious imagery, the works resist easy interpretation. This is not painting as a product, but painting as a process.
7000 Santa Monica Blvd
Discovery & Eco-Adventures
Newport Bay Conservancy invites the public to its annual Earth Day at the Bay. Set against the backdrop of Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, this family-friendly event connects visitors with the environment through hands-on arts and crafts, interactive science activities, and engaging educational booths hosted by local Adventure Partners. Enjoy live music as you wander scenic trails and join in a scavenger hunt packed with prizes and surprises. It’s a day of discovery, creativity, and outdoor fun.
2301 University Dr
Blurring the lines
Charlie James Gallery presents Burning Desires by artist Nehemiah Cisneros. Known for his bold, comic-inspired visuals, Cisneros pivots toward a softer, more introspective palette, crafting intimate self-portraits that read like visual diary entries. Blurring the boundaries between the everyday and the fantastical, the watercolor-style paintings transform quiet domestic moments into allegorical scenes of personal evolution and the passage of time. Inspired by the view from his apartment window, it’s an exciting new chapter for the artist.
969 Chung King Rd