Things to do in Los Angeles on Friday

One of L.A.’s best free live-music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its 35-year run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light) throughout the summer. We’re betting it’ll be even more popular than usual this year, with the new David Geffen Galleries in the background.

Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in a slew of summer concert slates at public plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is reliably packed. Familiar KCRW DJs will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at Maydan Market, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, La Brea Tar Pits, CAAM, ASU FIDM Museum, the Kidspace Children’s Museum, Hauser & Wirth, MOLAA, California Plaza, LACMA, Wende Museum, Union Station, downtown Long Beach, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Bowers Museum, the Autry and the NoHo Arts District. (Missing from the lineup this year and last are the party-till-midnight bashes at Chinatown Central Plaza.) The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights. (Note: The kickoff June 1 event at Maydan Market and Aug. 8’s LACMA event are only for KCRW members.)

You might have seen ads on Instagram over the past couple of months for Hospital of Emotions—a colorful, cartoony flyer that heralds a site-specific art pop-up located in a real hospital with the tagline “a place to heal your heART.” The conceit intrigued me off the bat: 70 artists (both local and international) given hospital rooms as a canvas to transform as they wished. Hospital of Emotions ads are also referring to it as “the experience of the year.” We’re only in May so that’s still TBD, but I do think the exhibition—which is inhabiting the former St. Vincent Medical Center in Westlake and is officially open to the public as of May 27—is well worth your time. While the entire experience is hospital-themed—you walk through a waiting room and are given an intake form and hospital wristband, employees are in doctors’ coats—it’s not the cheesy type of immersive exhibition (read: selfie factory) that you might expect. Instead you’ll find 80 rooms filled with thought-provoking, visually dazzling and, yes, eminently photogenic installations. But there’s both style and substance here. And though the tickets are definitely on the pricey side, there’s so much to see—I spent nearly two hours there during my visit—that it (almost) makes up for it. The rooms are organized by theme; you start at the top of the building in the “Resilience Department” and make your way through clusters of rooms inspired by feelings like joy, sadness, anger, grief, fear and hope. The emphasis on...

Now one of L.A.’s most treasured summer traditions, Barnsdall Park’s wine tastings regularly attract sell-out crowds. Perched atop Olive Hill on the west lawn of the historic Hollyhock House (which you can tour during the evening for an additional $37), the Barnsdall Friday fundraisers include fine selections of boutique wines provided by Silverlake Wine set against a spectacular sunset, DJ sets and 360-degree views of the city. Bring along a blanket and a picnic basket, or just nosh on food from the variety of trucks parked up there. Though there used to be lots of kids running around, the event lawn is now 21-and-up—perfect for a date night. Proceeds support the park’s art programs and historic renovations—an especially crucial cause now, as the park is once again facing proposed budget cuts from the city.

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings to LEVEL in Downtown L.A. Known for excellent film choices and a steady supply of snacks and booze, Rooftop Cinema Club is your snazzy, comfortable and less stressful alternative to other outdoor movie screenings. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair (with optional blankets for purchase to up the coziness). And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word. Find the full schedule on their site, or in our outdoor movie calendar.

The inimitable artist, musician and activist—and John Lennon’s other half—is the subject of the Broad’s new show, Ono’s first-ever solo museum exhibition in Southern California. Organized in collaboration with the Tate Modern in London, “Music of the Mind” is perhaps the Broad’s most participatory exhibition to date. Many of the works from the artist’s seven-decade long career invite audience engagement, all working toward a common goal of peace and connection. Hammer a nail into the wall (and hold your ears intermittently throughout the rest of your walk-through) in a re-creation of the piece that occasioned Ono and Lennon’s meeting; grab a blue marker and add your mark to a blank room anchored by a wooden boat; and listen to recordings of Ono’s music. You can even crawl into a black bag and strike a pose for Bag Piece (though no one took the plunge during my visit). In conjunction with the show, the museum has transformed the olive trees on the outdoor East West Bank Plaza into Wish Trees for Los Angeles, where visitors can tie their own wishes on the branches. Also on display is Acorn Event (1968) and Bed Peace (1969), anti-war works of activism Ono and Lennon worked on together, as well as additional performance art pieces captured on video. The minimalist exhibition is thought-provoking and mind-expanding—though it probably won’t change whatever opinion of Ono, whether positive or negative, you hold before the show.  Tickets for the special exhibition are $21 and...

If you really want to immerse yourself in local theater, you can’t miss the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Since 2010, this fest has specialized in productions from emerging writers and performers, and it now boasts hundreds of different shows—most are around $15 a ticket or less, and some cost absolutely nothing. Expect one-person shows, new musicals, comedies and edgy dramas to descend on Hollywood once again from June 4 through 28 (technically the start date is June 11, but many shows are starting their runs earlier). See the full list of shows here.

Catch free outdoor movies at the Dockweiler Youth Center. Bring a low-back chair to claim a first-come, first-served space. Tickets aren’t required, but RSVPs are appreciated to stay up to date on any changes.

L.A. native and artist Gary Baseman is bringing his unmistakable style to “Off the Menu,” his first solo exhibition in the city in over a dozen years. The show is a love letter to L.A. dining, featuring 40 of the artist’s “action” drawings that he’s doodled on menus while dining at local restaurants, from Musso and Frank to Canter’s. And it couldn’t be held in a more fitting place: the iconic Johnie’s Coffee Shop, right across from the Academy Museum. The exhibition’s opening (May 8, 3–6pm) will coincide with the Metro D Line expansion’s opening—it’s just steps from the Wilshire/Fairfax station. On May 9, there will be an opening reception (6–9pm), and the show will remain open through June 14. The classic diner hasn’t been open to the public in over 25 years, so don’t miss your chance to step inside.

Why not pair your World Cup watch party with some world-class art and one-of-a-kind views? The Getty will be screening pretty much every match that occurs during the museum’s operating hours (including some extended Friday evenings) throughout the run of the World Cup. You can catch them on TV at the Trellis Bar & Lounge (when you get off the tram, to the right of the entry stairs) and the Garden Terrace Café (the expansive patio between the museum courtyard and gardens). As usual, you’ll need a free timed ticket to the museum, but as a World Cup bonus, the usually-paid parking will be free after 5pm from June 11 to July 19.