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Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/aepg

You can visit 39 SoCal museums for free this weekend—start with these five

Michael Juliano
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Michael Juliano
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If the price of admission is the only thing stopping you from visiting some of L.A.’s best museums, then make sure to take advantage of this Sunday’s Museums Free-For-All.

Thirty nine museums across Southern California (mostly in and around L.A.) will offer free admission on January 28 as part of the annual program. That date also happens to coincide with the official close of “Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA”—which makes it the perfect opportunity to see dozens of exhibitions before they depart L.A.

So where should you visit first? While we’ll never say no to free museums, institutions like the Broad, Hammer Museum and Annenberg Space for Photography are always free. On the other hand, spots like the California Science Center and the Natural History Museum don’t include free access to special exhibitions during the event, while the Getty Center and Getty Villa will still require paid parking and advance reservations, respectively.

If you’re looking for the most advantageous way to tackle the free afternoon, we suggest starting with these five museums.

Craft & Folk Art Museum

L.A.’s only public showcase devoted to contemporary craft and community-based folk art unveils its latest exhibition this weekend, just in time for a day of free admission. “Melting Point: Movements in Contemporary Clay” mounts the museums first biennial focused on how artists are pushing the boundaries of works in clay.

Descanso Gardens

It may be the middle of winter, but Southern California never really cared much for seasons anyway. The flora is still lush at this La Cañada Flintridge botanical garden; expect to see quite a few roses as well as the beginning of the magnolia and camellia bloom.

LACMA

The Miracle Mile doesn’t have any specially ticketed exhibitions at the moment (save for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s sold-out Carne y Arena), so you’ll be able to roam the entire museum for free. Make sure to check out “Found in Translation” for a multicultural mix of modernism that includes everything from ornate Mexican armchairs to design documents for the ‘84 Olympics to a cement block from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House.

Museum of Latin American Art

This Long Beach museum houses a comprehensive collection of works from across Latin America. Make sure to check out “Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago,” a colorful survey of cutting-edge art from the Caribbean.

Pasadena Museum of California Art

The PMCA recently rolled out a trio of new exhibitions: “Testament of the Spirit,” “The Feminine Sublime” and “Homegrown.” Swing by the Pasadena museum to view Eduardo Carrillo’s Mexican-inspired magical realist paintings, a survey of large-scale feminist works and Ana Serrano’s domestic scenes of brightly colored cardboard and paper.

If you’re feeling ambitious (or simply want more to choose from), here’s a full list of all of the museums open for free on Sunday.

  • Annenberg Space for Photography
  • Autry Museum of the American West
  • The Broad
  • California African American Museum
  • California Science Center
  • Columbia Memorial Space Center
  • Craft & Folk Art Museum
  • Descanso Gardens
  • Forest Lawn Museum
  • Fowler Museum at UCLA
  • Getty Center
  • Getty Villa
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Hammer Museum
  • Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
  • Japanese American National Museum
  • Kidspace Children’s Museum
  • La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
  • LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
  • Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
  • The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)
  • Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
  • Museum of Tolerance
  • Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
  • Orange County Museum of Art
  • The Paley Center for Media
  • Palm Springs Art Museum
  • Pasadena Museum of California Art
  • Petersen Automotive Museum
  • Pomona College Museum of Art
  • Riverside Art Museum
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art
  • Skirball Cultural Center
  • Sunnylands Center & Gardens
  • University Art Museum, CSU Long Beach
  • USC Fisher Museum
  • USC Pacific Asia Museum
  • Zimmer Children’s Museum
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