4 Great Ways to Celebrate Women in L.A. (This Month and Every Month)
Who run the world? …Well, you know. While we definitely don’t need an excuse to celebrate the fact that women are doing awesome things, March is Women’s History Month, and a good time as any to champion the sisterhood. From a beer crawl featuring female brewers to a historic feminist hotel shining a spotlight on female artists and comedians, here are some of the best ways to support women and women-owned businesses all over town.
STAY
Fresh off a major renovation in 2018, Hotel Figueroa features a gallery dedicated to L.A.-based female artists as well as an in-house art program that supports emerging talent and an “all-female comedy night among other women-centric programming.” First opened in 1926, the property once served as an exclusive women's salon by the YWCA and served as a refuge for female travelers at the time. Today, Figueroa’s public areas showcase prominent creative names, including Jesse Mockrin, Whitney Hubbs and Sarah Awad.
Another downtown hub, the Ace Hotel DTLA, traces its history back to 1927 when a group of visionaries, including Mary Pickford, erected the home of United Artists studio and theater. Today, the building that later became the Ace hosts musical performances and stands out as much for its progressive attitude as for its hot-spot status. From acting as home base for this year’s Los Angeles Women’s March to hosting the upcoming Werk It! A Women’s Podcast Festival, the space is clearly a fan of female-forward happenings.
EAT
You can’t talk about L.A.’s food scene without mentioning Nancy Silverton, who went from pastry chef wunderkind at Spago to the queen of the Mozza empire. In Beverly Hills, a.o.c. is about as quintessential an L.A. restaurant as you can find, thanks to the respective culinary and mood-setting expertise of chef Suzanne Goin (the fifth woman to receive a James Beard award for Outstanding Chef in the organization's history) and co-owner Caroline Styne. There’s also Nightshade, the buzzy solo project from Top Chef winner Mei Lin (that’s her Szechuan hot quail above), and Niki Nakayama’s acclaimed kaiseki spot n/naka in Culver City. And we’d be remiss not to mention Jessica Koslow of Sqirl (catch her at Resy’s Women of Food dinner on April 2), Natalia Pereira’s Woodspoon, Minh Phan of Porridge and Puffs and many, many more.
DRINK
Set within East Hollywood’s emerging Virgil Village neighborhood, Vinovore is a wine shop with a unique (and awesome) focus: female winemakers. Shoppers are encouraged to discover their own wine personality, based on their flavor profiles of choice. (In honor of Women’s History Month, pét-nat is 20 percent off.)
Beer fans can sign up for one of many boozy tours with L.A. Beer Hop, like the Women in Beer Brewery Tour, which place a spotlight on the city’s prominent female brewers.
If it’s spirits you’re after, head to Big Bar in Los Feliz for handcrafted drinks made by some of the best female mixologists in town. In historic Filipinotown, the gin-focused Genever Bar—owned and operated by a trio of women—has already become a neighborhood favorite.
SEE
Featuring more than 4,000 photographs, Hauser & Wirth L.A.’s latest exhibition, “Annie Leibovitz, the Early Years, 1970 – 1983,” is the first comprehensive exhibition in L.A. history that’s devoted to the earliest work of the renowned American artist.
The next time you head to the Getty Center, meanwhile, book a Badass Bitches Tour. Actual text from the description: “Remember when feminism happened, and Georgia O’Keeffe kicked butt, and now museums and the art world totally treat male and female artists with equal value? JK JK IT’S STILL SUPER BAD!” All the more reason for the knowledgeable guides to shed some light on the female artists that deserve more recognition.
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