Water & Power

Water & Power is a community space and artist collective at 3027 South Grand Avenue in South LA. It's run as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit by an artist-led queer collective, and it started because the people behind it saw too few places for young, older and queer South LA artists to show work. That mission shapes the calendar. Live music and DJ nights share the room with art shows, multimedia performances and peer-led workshops, and some of those workshops run as multi-week series on weeknights.

The room itself is one open space of about 1,200 square feet with a Midfield Horizon PA and a ceiling rig of Astera tube lights, which is plenty for an intimate concert or a small DJ night. Don't expect a club with bottle service and a velvet rope. Volunteers help run the door, and the workshops are often priced as a suggested donation with scholarship and sliding-scale spots.

Tickets are sold event by event through whatever link the promoter or artist uses, so check the listing for the price, the start time and any age limit. The space is also for rent, from a basic package for a private party up to a full production setup for album release shows, and it offers cheap or free use to mutual aid groups and community organizers. Rehearsal time runs by the hour.

If you want to help out, the collective keeps a volunteer list for door, cleanup and photo work, and volunteer hours can be traded for rental time.