Best Things to Do in SoCal and LA This Week: March 16-22, 2026
A night at the museum
Go behind-the-scenes with Autry After Hours | Curator Tour: Desert Dreams and Coastal Currents at the Autry Museum of the American West. This intimate evening program offers rare insight into the exhibition directly from curator Amy Scott, Executive Vice President of Research and Interpretation and Curator of Visual Arts, as she shares the ideas, stories, and artistic connections that shape the exhibition. After the museum closes to the public, guests can explore the galleries alongside Scott, who will lead a guided walk-through and give an in-depth look at the evolving identity of the American West as well as insight into featured artists. To learn more about curator Amy Scott, watch the Artbound documentary, "Imagined Wests".
4700 Western Heritage Way
3 exhibits, 1 evening
Santa Barbara Museum of Art invites you to the Spring Exhibitions Opening Celebration, a reception commemorating the opening of three new upcoming exhibitions: As if in a Dream: History, Fantasy, Future; Remixed: Entwined Histories and New Forms; and RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY: Internet Art. Exploring everything from imaginative storytelling to digital-age creativity, the night kicks off with a special performance by artist Porfirio Gutiérrez, followed by an interactive weaving installation, music by DJ SMOOV & Brooklyn Basement, and a photobooth to capture the moment.
1130 State St
Heritage meets contemporary
Forest Lawn Museum presents Convergence: Contemporary Artists of Armenian Descent, an exhibition showcasing more than twenty artists whose work spans bold abstraction, conceptual installations, and mixed media. Highlighting the complicated relationship artists have with heritage, the works explore the space outside traditional Armenian narratives. Ranging from artists born in the United States to immigrants across the diaspora, each work contributes individual perspectives that challenge simplistic definitions of identity and belonging.
1712 South Glendale Avenue
Curving light with color
Laguna Art Museum presents Andy Moses: Into the Light, a survey spanning more than twenty years of artist Andy Moses’s work curated by art critic Peter Frank. Inspired by life on the coast, the Venice-based artist explores how color, contour, and light shift the relationship between abstraction and landscape. Moses’s aqueous paintings invite viewers to see rippling terrains, distant horizons, or something entirely their own. Often linked to the Light and Space tradition while firmly rooted in painting, Moses’s work reveals how subtle changes in light and perspective transform the visual experience.
307 Cliff Dr.
Over 100 local artists, only 3 winners
Dive deep into the creative communities of Orange County at OC Made: Celebrating Orange County Artists, now on view at Fullerton Museum Center. A new biennial juried exhibition featuring more than 130 artworks by over 100 local artists, the exhibit showcases the region’s thriving contemporary art scene with a mix of painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. OC Made captures the many perspectives shaping Orange County today with each work reflecting personal stories, cultural influences, and a strong sense of place. Three notable pillars of the arts community will serve as jurors and select three top winners on opening day.
301 N Pomona Ave