Join Absolut Art’s founders for a hands-on creative session inside the downtown L.A. studio of one of their favorite L.A. illustrators, Carly Kuhn. Absolut Art cofounder and CEO Nahema Mehta and cofounder and head of digital Marcus Lådö will share how they built an affordable online art market, making it easier than ever to own and display original pieces by contemporary artists from around the world. Kuhn (known on Instagram as @TheCartorialist) will guide you through an illustration activity, and you'll get to leave with their own artistic creation. Plus, you'll also get to explore the unique art scenes of cities across the globe with Absolut Art’s pop-up gallery of original prints, paintings, and drawings. 
Hosted by Nahema Mehta, Cofounder and CEO, Absolut Art; Marcus Lådö, Cofounder and Head of Digital, Absolut Art; Carly Kuhn, Fashion Illustrator

 

Homeboy Industries—a nonprofit job-training and rehabilitation program for the formerly incarcerated and gang-affiliated, led by Los Angeles icon Father Greg Boyle, S.J.—recently acquired a for-profit electronics recycling company, now known now as Homeboy Recycling. The partnership effectively created a new model for how the two sectors can work together for good, and defines what Homeboy Industries CEO Tom Vozzo calls the future of capitalism. On this visit to their HQ in downtown L.A., Father Boyle, Vozzo, Homeboy Recycling COO Chris Zwicke, and Homeboy Recycling employees including formerly incarcerated warehouse manager Xuong Cam will reveal how the innovative merger came about, and offer thoughts on how private sector companies can better engage with the nonprofit world to the tune of both great social benefit and financial success. (Also enjoy lunch catered by Homegirl Café, another of the organization’s social enterprises, where formerly incarcerated or gang affiliated men and women receive restaurant service training and critical job skills!)

 

We no longer simply watch entertainment—we share it. Users share GIFs on Facebook, Twitter, Slack, Tinder—even inside text messages—all powered by Giphy, the world's de facto GIF engine. Users watch more than 4M hours of GIFs every day—and many of those are made right in LA by Giphy's not-so-secret secret weapon: Giphy Studios. At this behind-the-scenes session, be the first inside Giphy's brand-new Chinatown HQ and get the lowdown on how Studios plans to be ahead of the pop culture curve (again). Then record some #reaction GIFs of your own!