The Collaborative

Well I was here last night for the grand opening of Lightspiel. An awesome array of fun whimsical interesting lighted artwork. I have not seen or heard of any exhibitions or this particular gallery before.
This is a great way to go out and see something new and different in downtown long beach. I mean seriously when was the last time that you went to an art exhibition? Well perhaps you should go visit this gallery or one like it for something new and different. I rediscovered that myself last night.
The space is a glass fronted building with apartments for rent above. The gallery is a two story open area with a slightly covered area inside. For this exhibit there were semi sheer sparkly sheets hanging from the rafters intermingled with LCD lit cylinders with multicolored inserts.
PRO TIP: The bathrooms are in the garage hidden around a couple of corners of all places.
There is also a secondary display window in the lobby to show off a small amount of the artwork.
Parking is available in this building but there is a charge for it. There is plenty of street parking around and numerous garages in the surrounding area. If you are a local it would be easy to walk or bike over.
I hope someone else would dare to go check this out, it was a fun time and a number of my friends went as well.

Great exhibitions starting with the show «Descartes» — meaning, things you throw away. The gallery partners with MOLA. The only thing is the shows only change once every three months. Admission is free.

Edith Abeyta is collecting 3000 pieces of clothing for an installation («Long Beach Garment Manifestation») here. At the end of the exhibition, viewers can take clothes home and the remainder will be donated to the Women’s Shelter of Long Beach so I came over to drop off a bag because I got an e-​mail that the gallery would be open until 9:00 p.m. There was someone inside on a macbook pro or powerbook but he sat still so I wasn’t sure if he was a sculpture at first. We had to leave my bag of unwanted clothes at the back entrance to the lending office. Guest parking in the building is $ 10!
Even though this is downtown, it didn’t feel close enough to the city’s nightlife or shopping scene to be worth including in a gallery crawl. It is just a couple blocks away from the freeway and stinky river though. The Collaborative is a project between the Arts Council of Long Beach and the Museum of Latin American Art to raise awareness of emerging artists. There is a lot next door charging $ 6. This is located in the Gallery 421 apartment building.
I don’t think Fit Zone or Java Stop in the same structure are open yet so I wouldn’t go out of my way to re-​visit. There’s just no mix of dining and entertainment in the immediate area yet because the street-​level retail spaces are only fronts right now. The residences are supposed to include concierge services, private bike storage, and wifi. When I called the number to see if they validate parking, its for the Arts Council on Pine Street.