Southern California's Top 100 Events 2012 - Art & Design Events

#1 Art & Design Event
The buzzy benefit draws attention for its experiential events tied to exhibits and artists. The 2011 Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’ gala under the artistic direction of Marina Abramović drew 750 patrons who donned white lab coats and ate their dinner as apparently disembodied heads, positioned as table centerpieces, stared at them. Next: November 17, 2012

#2 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s "Art+Film" gala in November was the debut of the buzzy new annual event. This year, the event will honor artist Ed Ruscha and Stanley Kubrick with Steven Spielberg paying tribute to the late filmmaker. Leonardo DiCaprio co-chairs and Gucci is the presenting sponsor. Next: October 27, 2012

#3 Art & Design Event
Hammer Museum’s Gala in the Garden moves back to October this year (after a September shift in 2011), and will this year honor artists Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman. Next: October 6, 2012

#4 Art & Design Event
The Los Angeles Art Show this year split into two shows, known as "The L.A. Art Show: Modern & Contemporary" and the "Los Angeles Fine Art Show: Historic & Traditional." One ticket offered 40,000 people admission to both shows, which took to the L.A. Convention Center’s West Hall over five days. Next: January 23-27, 2013

#5 Art & Design Event
One of the county’s most prominent social events, Orange County Museum of Art’s Art of Dining Benefit celebrated the museum’s Cartier-sponsored 50th anniversary on June 2 at the Montage Laguna Beach. Next: Spring 2013

#6 Art & Design Event
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collectors Committee is a weekendlong program that ends with a gala dinner at the museum each spring. It raised $2.8 million this year. Next: April 2013

#8 Art & Design Event
The institution’s signature fund-raiser that draws 12,000, San Diego Museum of Art’s Art Alive is one of the longest-running and most widely attended events of its kind in the U.S. More than 100 floral designers create the exhibition of arrangements. Next: April 25-28, 2013

#10 Art & Design Event
This year the Los Angeles Antiques Art & Design Show moves from the spring to new fall dates, having expanded and rebranded. The expo brings more than 60 dealers from the U.S. and Europe to Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, and kicks off with a gala preview party the night before the show benefiting Lacma’s Decorative Art and Design Council this year. Also this year, the show adds the components of art and design (previously it was just antiques). Next: October 10-14, 2012

#11 Art & Design Event
Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters—in which real people pose to look like the subjects in classical and contemporary artworks—takes place in the summer. Next: July and August 2013

#12 Art & Design Event
Benefiting the Venice Family Clinic, Venice Art Walk & Auctions bills itself as the largest event of its kind in Southern California, attracting about 3,000 annually. In 2012 it partnered with Google and put on offer an array of new shows, tours, exhibits, and art. Next: Spring 2013

#13 Art & Design Event
Directed by Tim Fleming, Art Los Angeles Contemporary presents 70 top galleries from around the world, as well as hosts programming like artist talks, curator discussions, film screenings, and performances at the Barker Hangar. Next: January 24-27, 2013

#14 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
The largest event of its kind in the region, the Mission Federal ArtWalk San Diego takes over 18 blocks of downtown San Diego in the historic Little Italy district. Next: April 27-28, 2013

#15 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
Dwell on Design brings a massive exhibition floor at the L.A. Convention Center, on-stage programming, two weekends of home tours, plus an array of activities and lectures for about 20,000 in the design world. Next: June 21-23, 2013