DTLB Design District x LA Design Festival presents “Design Futurism”
June 26 - June 29
The DTLB Design District is thrilled to be a featured site of this year’s LA Design Festival, joining forces with ArtCenter Pasadena, ROW DTLA, and Helms Bakery District. Under the theme “Design Futurism,” four days of panels, exhibits, and events will spotlight the future of design – from sustainable cities and craft revival to AI, indigenous knowledge, and cross-cultural innovation.
June 26–29: Shifting Tides: Evolution of the Long Beach Waterfront
Studio One Eleven, 11 AM – 5 PM daily.
Explore Long Beach’s changing relationship with its coastline through a visual and narrative exhibit by production designer Nathan Amondson, in collaboration with Studio One Eleven’s Long Beach Shoreline Visioning project. This immersive experience includes a speculative journey into a fantastical futurescape of the manmade oil islands off the coastline. On view at
June 27–28: Muse Apothecary Pop-Up
Visit the retail pop-up via the promenade entrance, 11am–5pm daily.
Kristen Flores brings her Long Beach-grown apothecary to Studio One Eleven, featuring a signature scent originally crafted to capture the “Essence of Community” for the DTLB Design District. Inspired by coastal air, native botanicals, and creative energy, it’s now the official scent of the LA Design Festival.
June 26–29: “10 Degrees Cooler” Poster Exhibition
Open air, on view daily.
In collaboration with Poster Territory, the DTLB Design District presents “10 Degrees Cooler,” a grassroots poster show reflecting Long Beach’s creative spirit and cool coastal energy. Posters by local and international designers are displayed throughout the district, capturing the city’s unique identity.
June 26: Dumpling & Cocktail Class at Midnight Oil
The
workshop starts at 6:30 PM. Space is limited.
Join us for an intimate evening at one of DTLB’s newest restaurant/bar concept Midnight Oil, featuring a hands-on dumpling wrapping and cocktail class inspired by Chinese apothecaries. Their kitchen will prepare your dumplings for dinner, or package so you can freeze them to enjoy later. Guests will also get an exclusive preview of Hao Peng You (“Good Friends”), the restaurant’s new speakeasy-style space designed as an antique Chinese hand laundry.
June 27: LADF Block Party in the Long Beach Design District
The event is from 6-9pm and is free and open to the public.
The Mosaic Promenade comes alive with music, local vendors, interactive installations, and featured work by regional designers. Experience a 3D AR installation by Metapunkz, originally shown at Art Basel Miami, alongside their playful Love Kitties in Space activation, celebrating Long Beach’s new “Space Beach” identity. Also featured: Rainbow Machine by Nathan Amondson with the RDC- S111 Maker Group, a kinetic sculpture of wind-activated panels casting shifting rainbows and mist-enhanced light.
June 27–29: Greg Ito: Ascend
On view at LBMA Downtown, 11 AM–5 PM daily.
Los Angeles artist Greg Ito brings his signature visual language, drawn from family history, folklore, and the dreamscapes of LA, to his first animated work, Ascend. Created in collaboration with animator Andrew Eastman and composer Dmitry Selipanov, the piece translates Ito’s symbolic world into motion and sound, expanding his design practice into new dimensions. A conversation with the artists, moderated by curator Paul Loya, will take place Saturday, June 28 from 2–4 PM.
June 27: The Vault & The Temple
The event runs from 4:00 – 5:30 PM and concludes with a drink and conversation at The Altar Society, now a brewery, restaurant, and event venue.
A guided architectural tour connecting two historic Downtown Long Beach landmarks: the Farmers & Merchants Bank (est. 1923) and The Altar Society, formerly the Masonic Temple (est. 1903). Led by current stewards, the tour reflects on what these once-commercial and ritualistic spaces reveal about the city’s evolving design identity.
June 26–29: Design 間APPENING — The Future is Design is Happening. Come Unprepared.
Open June 26–29, on view 11AM – 5PM daily.
CSULB’s Immersive Design Research Lab opens its new space for an interactive experience centered around 間 (Ma), the in-between moments of perception and experience. Visitors are invited to move, pause, and engage with design as sensory content.
June 28: Cliff May Ranchos — Lecture and Home Tour
Presented by the Society of Architectural Historians (SoCal Chapter), this program begins with a lecture by Cliff May scholar Katie Kaford Papineau at Studio One Eleven and includes self-guided tours of seven iconic postwar homes in East Long Beach. Space is limited.
June 26 – 29: “The Money Train: the Last Mile from Track to Table” at Acres of Books
On view from 11 AM–5 PM daily.
A speculative design exhibition exploring how transit infrastructure can be reimagined to advance food equity and urban resilience. Against the backdrop of climate instability and a global food crisis, it asks how commuter rail systems might support hyper-local food distribution, mobile commerce, and public stewardship in underserved neighborhoods. Featuring drawings, models, maps, and immersive media, the show invites viewers to rethink how movement through the city might also nourish it. Curated by Kevin Sherrod (USC School of Architecture / Gensler LA), with support from Logos Faith Development and the USC School of Architecture.
June 28: From Art to Action: The Role of Creatives in Revitalizing Urban Design
The event starts at 2PM. Space is limited to 14 guests. RSVP required.
Join 4K More Creative and Culture Cart for a conversation and mobile tour exploring how artists and designers are transforming Downtown Long Beach. Kicking off with a discussion at Studio One Eleven, the event rolls into a guided ride aboard custom pedicabs and golf carts—blending storytelling, movement, and civic imagination. It’s a vibe on wheels, offering a fresh perspective on urban space through the eyes of local creatives.
June 28: Design Dinner: Utensil — A Tasting Menu That Celebrates How We Eat
Dinner starts at 7pm. Seating is limited.
A chef-driven tasting menu at Chez Bacchus where each course is thoughtfully crafted to highlight the unique function and form of a specific utensil—transforming the act of dining into an exploration of utility, creativity, and culinary design. Menu designed in collaboration by Chef Danny Le and James Tir, LB Food Coma. Wine pairing by advanced Sommelier, John Hansen.
June 29: Pieces of Japan Pop-Up & Kintsugi Workshop
Two sessions available at 11AM and 3PM; space is limited.
Hosted by Intertrend at the historic Psychic Temple, Pieces of Japan (POJ Studio) brings a curated pop-up celebrating the beauty of craftsmanship, intentional living, and the enduring traditions of Japanese artisans. Discover the art of Kintsugi—repairing pottery with gold—in an intimate, beginner-friendly workshop.
June 29: Echoes of the Ancestors: A Two-Museum Guided Journey
The tour starts at 11am and there is limited space available.
Explore memory, resistance, and ancestral wisdom at the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) and the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA). MoLAA features Endless Spiral by Betsabeé Romero from the 60th Venice Biennale, tracing migration and identity. PIEAM’s Art 25 highlights how Indigenous and Black art lives today and envisions its future beyond the 25th century.
June 29: Tacoshop Poetry with Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
The event begins at 3 PM in the Sonoratown Courtyard, tucked at the end of the brick alley.
Award-winning journalist and poet Adolfo Guzman-Lopez revives the legendary taco shop poetry readings he co-founded in the 1990s, this time with a fresh twist. Joined by guest poets and musicians, the event celebrates taco shops as lively, unconventional stages for cultural expression. Adolfo will also read from his forthcoming collection, California Southern: Writing from the Road, 1992–2025.
Come experience how design is shaping the world to come—with a distinct point of view from Downtown Long Beach, where creativity, culture, and community collide.
More info here. LA Design Festival
