Cardboard City – Pop-up Art Center

Exhibit - Cardboard Makerspace - Hands-on Activities - Classes

FREE

Santa Monica Place, First Floor

June 25-August 14

12:00 - 6:00 PM

Open Daily, Closed Tuesdays and July 4

 

Get inspired at Cardboard City 2022! With 12' sculptures, massive collaborative art installations, cardboard costuming, skills building classes, and community connections Cardboard City 2022 is LA's best free art program this summer.

See works by 25 LA-based artists, chat with artists-in-residence, and make your own cardboard creations.

Visit

Cardboard City is located on the first floor of Santa Monica Place in the East Court, between the Central Courtyard and Fourth St entrance. Nearest parking is in the immediately adjacent Santa Monica Parking Structure #7 and Parking Structure #8. Santa Monica Place is served by numerous bus lines and the Downtown Santa Monica stop on the Expo Line.

For groups of 10 or more please make a reservation. Community groups and camps with up to 30 visitors are encouraged to attend.

Cardboard City is free and open to all visitors. Start your visit with a tour of the Cardboard City exhibit, viewing inspirational cardboard art from LA artists. Be sure to come back throughout the summer as our artists-in-residence create new works each week, incorporating elements created by you and other Cardboard City participants.

Experience the hands-on fun of transforming simple cardboard into cool creations. Facilitators and Artists will be available to assist your making experience in our free Activity Zone! reDiscover has searched the world for the best cardboard tools that are kid-friendly and versatile. Come to Cardboard City with an idea of something you want to make or follow one of our prompts to create a project like a hat, a figurine, or architectural model, to take home or contribute to one of our collective sculptures.

No visit to Cardboard City is complete without a stop in the Cardboard City Shop. Here you will find cardboard sculptures, kits, and the tools and materials to make your home into a mini-Cardboard City, packed full of your family's imagination!

 

Try Cardboard Camp by reDiscover Center

Take inspiration from the amazing work at Cardboard City and try your hand at cardboard art and innovation at Cardboard Camp! Learn how to use Tinkering Tools and build projects big and small out of cardboard and extension materials like skewers, mylar, and Makedo scrus.

Each day includes skills-building activities, project prompts like costuming, vehicles, models, and mechanisms, and open build time to make projects as wild as your imagination. Facilitated by artists and makers, Cardboard Camp develops kids' creativity and pushes them to build big incredible projects that they own from conception to completion. Campers go to a nearby park for lunch and outdoor play.

 

Art Exhibit

Did you ever think cardboard could stand twelve feet tall? Or look like a sea creature? Or even become a dress? Visit Cardboard City to see artworks that will redefine what you think about this common material. Artworks and installations by emerging and prominent artists from across Los Angeles County, including a weekly rotation of Artists-in-Residence.

Volunteer

Looking to participate in fun sustainable art making while making an impact? reDiscover's community outreach programs are made possible by the contribution of hundreds of volunteers who work with youth or behind the scenes to prepare materials for educational programs. At Cardboard City, we have individual and group volunteering opportunities daily through July and August. Volunteers who sign up for a regular schedule receive additional training in using tools and teaching hands-on STEAM programs. We love our volunteers!