Culver City Art Walk - Artists Unite in the Love of Creating
- athenianprint
- Oct 30, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 4, 2025
By Miranda Aquino
FOR MANY artists, creating art is often a solitary act used to display expression. However, this past weekend, hundreds of artists gathered as a community to display their passion and efforts to the public when the Culver City Arts District hosted its annual Culver City Art Walk & Roll Festival. Angelenos spent their day walking along Washington Blvd and took part in the proceedings.
Individuals could enjoy live music from bands and DJs split between two stages, view murals painted instantly, eat at designated zones with a selection of food, and meet artists selling and exhibiting an abundance of work. Each moment during the festival was lighthearted, with attendees collectively contributing to an unspoken theme of joy that defined the event. There was a wide range of participants that made up the festival, but artists found a more meaningful significance that echoed their perspective as creators.
Artists were scattered along the festivities as vendors, live muralists, exhibitors, and more. Each individual independently showcased their pieces to the district, but were connected by the commonality of creating art.
Live muralists and painters were working within their own space, channeling ideas and building off them as the day went on. It was a great opportunity to share their work with others and give them a glimpse into their process of creating.
Ernie Steiner was one of the live muralists who was painting an 8x8-foot mural consisting of a deer, a figure, and floral designs with twine painted going between the subjects, with the idea of “everyone living together and working together.” Ernie's work is intentional and thoughtfully curated, as he has “always been able to express [himself] much easier through visual arts than I have been verbally.”
His voice is clear through his work, giving meaning to each detail and projecting peace through the entirety.
Ernie has had previous experience working in similar events across Los Angeles.
His recent work done for the other festivals was impactful to audiences, as he was invited by a staff member from the Art Walk & Roll Festival to participate in this past Saturday’s event. As the event went on, Ernie interacted with several artists and onlookers, which is “a fantastic way to meet other people with similar interests to art, and just share an experience with a lot of people.”
All artists in attendance were wonderful people with authentic personalities equivalent to their unique works of art. It made no difference whether they were composing on the spot or if they were in vendor booths; they mutually expressed their appreciation for the arts. Brandon Hill, an art teacher, was running the Machiko Music & Art booth with his partner, Machiko, the owner of the program, which focuses on teaching youth piano and art in Culver City.
Around the age of six, Brandon began to draw cartoons, and since developed his knowledge of creating through art lessons in high school, and eventually pursued a degree at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Brandon signed up for the festival to highlight the mission of Machiko Music & Art of immersing both auditory and visual arts. He believes getting involved with the community is “the number one thing,” as he can “share [his] art and be able to talk to the parents and students about the importance of art, music, and culture.”
As a youth educator, it is important to cherish imagination as an artist, which Brandon does wonderfully. As a visual artist, he wants audiences beyond students to “see joy, happiness, culture, and just appreciation for life.
"I try to inspire everyone through my art to feel young again."
"Sometimes, as we get older, we start to lose track of our youthfulness, and I try to inspire everyone through my art to feel young again,” he says. Sincere messages in art, such as Brandon’s, are one of the most expressive opportunities to connect with the public.
The act of embedding stories into art remains one of the most beautiful aspects of creative practices. Most art is created based on personal experiences, which each artist exhibited well within the festival.
For Cola Smith, “art is [her] life.” It's a “representation of life, freedom, happiness, and joy.” Her portraits are a reflection of acknowledging traditions, heritage, and values. She started painting women "because I am inspired by indigenous cultures out of Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, and Australia.”
Cola had a set idea of her artwork and where she was getting her creativity from. After being taught about the most established European artists, she sought to challenge common art techniques and blended unique ideas into her work.
"I decided I'm not going to try and pattern myself off of anybody anymore, and that was the most liberating thing I ever did for myself, cause then I was able to find my own style,” she said.
Cola plays a lot with colors and shapes, producing artwork that audiences are in awe of. Being at the festival presenting her work is something she loves because she "always gets really positive responses.” Cola, in addition to other artists, is imaginative and follows their personal ideas to create works of art that reflect themselves as artists.
The Culver City Arts Festival was filled with people who came together for the love of creating. Similar events such as these need to be held often to give light to artists who want to show the beauty of creativity and imagination, no matter the medium. Expanding the ideas of art helps keep artistic energy alive.
The festival gave artists like Ernie a space to create publicly and offered creators like Brandon and Cola a platform to share and sell their work. Many others added to the sense of joy and connection that filled the event. For audiences, it was a chance not just to admire the art but to learn from it, and maybe feel inspired to create something of their own.
