Beverly Hills is known worldwide for polished avenues and landmark hotels, but its creative side runs just as deep. Galleries, performance venues, public installations, and media institutions give the city a cultural footprint that reaches well beyond its compact footprint. This guide explores the most significant aspects of the Beverly Hills arts scene, allowing you to understand how each piece fits into the larger picture.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, often called The Wallis, is the city’s flagship performing arts destination. The complex seamlessly blends the restored 1930s Beverly Hills Post Office with a contemporary theater building, offering a unique blend of architectural history and modern design on one site. Theater, dance, classical music, and cross-disciplinary programs rotate throughout the year, giving you access to both international touring productions and local artists in an intimate setting.
The old post office lobby and historic murals offer a sense of continuity, linking present-day programming to the city’s civic heritage. Attending a performance here is a straightforward way to experience art and culture at a high level without leaving Beverly Hills. Guest artists range from chamber orchestras and jazz ensembles to acclaimed theater companies and spoken-word programs.
The old post office lobby and historic murals offer a sense of continuity, linking present-day programming to the city’s civic heritage. Attending a performance here is a straightforward way to experience art and culture at a high level without leaving Beverly Hills. Guest artists range from chamber orchestras and jazz ensembles to acclaimed theater companies and spoken-word programs.
Beverly Hills Art Show and Beverly Gardens Park
Beverly Gardens Park stretches along Santa Monica Boulevard and acts as one of the city’s most important outdoor cultural spaces. Twice a year, the park hosts the Beverly Hills Art Show. This juried festival attracts hundreds of artists working in various media, including painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and mixed media. The event spans several blocks, lined with booths set against the park’s fountains, gardens, and iconic Beverly Hills sign, transforming the greenway into a large open-air gallery.
Even outside show weekends, the park plays a role in the local cultural landscape. Permanent sculptures and rotating installations are situated at key points along the path, and the landscaped setting encourages you to walk, pause, and engage with the art at your own pace.
Even outside show weekends, the park plays a role in the local cultural landscape. Permanent sculptures and rotating installations are situated at key points along the path, and the landscaped setting encourages you to walk, pause, and engage with the art at your own pace.
Public Art and Citywide Installations
Beverly Hills has invested heavily in public art, and the city’s Fine Art Program supports over 80 works, dispersed across plazas, sidewalks, and building exteriors. Large-scale sculptures, abstract forms, figurative works, and designer benches appear in courtyards, along Burton Way, near City Hall, and around commercial corridors.
The city also organizes public art walking tours that highlight these installations and explain their background. These tours sometimes include stops at historic murals inside civic buildings and site-specific works created for temporary projects, such as murals on construction walls or reimagined streetscapes. This layered approach lets you experience art as part of the city’s infrastructure, not as something confined to galleries alone.
The city also organizes public art walking tours that highlight these installations and explain their background. These tours sometimes include stops at historic murals inside civic buildings and site-specific works created for temporary projects, such as murals on construction walls or reimagined streetscapes. This layered approach lets you experience art as part of the city’s infrastructure, not as something confined to galleries alone.
Rodeo Drive Galleries and Design-Focused Spaces
Rodeo Drive is best known for fashion houses and jewelry salons, yet the district supports a strong fine art and design presence. Several galleries showcase contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography, often focusing on blue-chip artists or emerging talent positioned for international attention. Large display windows allow you to preview exhibitions as you walk by, making the street itself feel like an informal gallery corridor.
Many flagship retail spaces also integrate art and design as part of their brand expression. For someone interested in both design and collecting, this overlap between luxury goods and art creates a practical way to track new trends and discover artists whose work travels between galleries, private homes, and commercial spaces.
Many flagship retail spaces also integrate art and design as part of their brand expression. For someone interested in both design and collecting, this overlap between luxury goods and art creates a practical way to track new trends and discover artists whose work travels between galleries, private homes, and commercial spaces.
Greystone Mansion and Historic Architecture
Greystone Mansion and Gardens, located in the hills above the city, is both an architectural landmark and a cultural venue. The estate’s grand interiors, terraced gardens, and historic structures host film shoots, photo sessions, tours, and special events throughout the year. Architectural details, including stonework, staircases, and period finishes, offer insight into early twentieth-century design at a scale rarely accessible to the public elsewhere.
Periodic events make use of the mansion’s layout to showcase music, fine art, or historical exhibitions. Film festivals and cultural programs sometimes integrate the property into their schedules, using its spaces as immersive backdrops. This connection between built heritage and present-day cultural programming helps you see how older estates can still play an active role in the contemporary arts scene.
Periodic events make use of the mansion’s layout to showcase music, fine art, or historical exhibitions. Film festivals and cultural programs sometimes integrate the property into their schedules, using its spaces as immersive backdrops. This connection between built heritage and present-day cultural programming helps you see how older estates can still play an active role in the contemporary arts scene.
Festivals, Film Events, and Pop Culture Moments
Beverly Hills also embraces pop culture through special events and themed celebrations. Tribute days honoring iconic films, outdoor screenings in local parks, and red-carpet galas at area hotels all contribute to the city’s cultural identity.
These events often pair screenings with live music, panel discussions, or curated merchandise, providing fans with multiple ways to engage with the story worlds they love. Seasonal celebrations and one-off public art campaigns, such as large-scale sculpture installations or fashion-linked exhibitions, occasionally transform public spaces into temporary cultural stages.
These events often pair screenings with live music, panel discussions, or curated merchandise, providing fans with multiple ways to engage with the story worlds they love. Seasonal celebrations and one-off public art campaigns, such as large-scale sculpture installations or fashion-linked exhibitions, occasionally transform public spaces into temporary cultural stages.
Boutique Galleries and Independent Art Spaces
Beyond the marquee venues, Beverly Hills includes smaller galleries and independent spaces that support emerging artists and niche interests. These locations emphasize contemporary painting, photography, experimental sculpture, or regionally focused work. Curators often rotate exhibitions frequently, giving you new material to see on repeat visits and exposing local artists to a broader audience.
These intimate spaces encourage slower viewing and conversations with staff who know the artists personally. Collectors seeking fresh work or residents curious about contemporary trends can use these galleries as an entry point into the broader Los Angeles art scene.
These intimate spaces encourage slower viewing and conversations with staff who know the artists personally. Collectors seeking fresh work or residents curious about contemporary trends can use these galleries as an entry point into the broader Los Angeles art scene.
Find Your Dream Home in Beverly Hills
Those interested in exploring how this rich cultural landscape connects with real estate opportunities can turn to Coldwell Banker Global Luxury. The team understands how proximity to galleries, theaters, public art, and creative institutions influences lifestyle and property appeal. Coldwell Banker Global Luxury can help you identify homes that align with your priorities and place you close to the best of Beverly Hills’ art and culture scene.
