Co-Create Studio Open House Tours in Santa Monica

A half hour inside the room where Judy Chicago made The Dinner Party, with no ticket to buy, is a rare entry on any list of things to do in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, October 20, 18th Street Arts Center opens the doors of its new Co-Create Studio for a free 30-minute open house tour, and anyone curious about the space can walk through it.

When: Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 4:00 – 4:30 PM Where: Co-Create Studio at 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th St, Santa Monica Price: Free and open to the public RSVP: Drop in, or reserve a spot through the link on the event page

Inside Judy Chicago's former studio

The Co-Create Studio sits in the building where Chicago and more than 400 volunteers and workers produced The Dinner Party between 1974 and 1979. Today the same room is a membership-based creative workspace: a shared studio set up for sewing, painting, cutting, building, and whatever else your hands are dreaming up, as the center puts it. Artists, makers, neighbors and total beginners all work alongside one another there.

What the tour covers

The open house runs a tight half hour. You'll walk the space, meet the team that runs it, and hear how membership and day passes work, which is useful if you've been looking for an affordable spot to spread out a project that's outgrown your kitchen table. There's no pressure to sign up on the spot. The tour is as much about seeing the room and its history as it is about the workspace pitch.

Stay for The Intersection

The timing is deliberate. At 5 PM, right after the tour wraps, 18th Street hosts The Intersection, its twice-monthly gathering built around food, conversation and art. Tour the studio, then stick around, eat something, and talk to the people who actually use the place. That one-two combination makes a short Tuesday stop feel like a full evening.

Planning your visit

18th Street Arts Center is at 1639 18th St in Santa Monica, a few blocks from the 10 freeway and an easy ride on the Expo Line to 17th St/SMC. You can drop in, or reserve a spot ahead through the reservation link on the center's event page. Can't make a Tuesday afternoon? The center also books Co-Create tours at other times through its website.

For more things happening in Los Angeles, browse the arts and culture calendar or see what else is going on in Santa Monica.