As the sun dipped behind the hills along the Los Angeles River, artists flung open their studio doors, and neighbors dragged lawn chairs to the curb for the 15th annual Frogtown Artwalk. For one night in Elysian Valley, Frogtown belonged to itself again.
Frogtown is a small strip of land nestled between the Golden State Freeway and the Los Angeles River, named for the frogs that once lived on its grassy banks. While it’s home to fewer frogs nowadays, it fosters a thriving community of artists through its biennial artwalk, which takes visitors into studios, workshops and a series of pop-up galleries hosted by businesses in Elysian Valley.
Erica Goedef began painting local scenes in Silver Lake, “that were starting to get redeveloped,” she said. She took her love for painting to Frogtown, hoping to capture its unique, yet fading beauty. From beloved dry cleaners and laundromats to the river itself, “It’s a struggle as we find the compromise to change,” she said.
Through the Frogtown Artwalk, “people have recognized that the L.A. River is a river, and we should treat it as such and try to rehabilitate it into Mother Nature as opposed to concrete,” said Goedef.
Michelle Thomas draws on Frogtown’s natural surroundings at her Silver Lake studio, Cobalt and Clay. “I’ll make mugs inspired by the L.A. River, or jellyfish inspired by the ocean here,” she said, “but there’s a central theme of just being able to escape reality.”
The Frogtown Artwalk provides a unique opportunity for artists to sell and showcase their work. The artwalk charges no booth fees for local artists, Thomas noted — unusual in Los Angeles. “Everyone from all of the neighborhood comes out. Everyone is so kind. I always meet the funnest, quirkiest people. Last time I was here, there was like a guy taking his parakeets on a bike ride.”
Beyond ceramics and painting, the artwalk draws creators of all kinds. This year was Eryn Young’s first at the Frogtown Artwalk. She is a rugmaker who was asked by the event organizers to do a live demonstration of her process. Without a doubt, she chose to work on a frog rug.
“Everything is fast fashion, fast everything. So it’s really awesome to support other people who are, you know, keeping crafts alive,” said Young. The Artwalk isn’t just an event, it’s an example of the way the neighborhood values its community.
Obed Sanchez came to Frogtown after seeing the Artwalk on Instagram. As a florist, Sanchez came searching for inspiration for his floral design studio. Compared to other art crawls he has attended around L.A., Artwalk “ involves the community a lot more,” he said. “I can see people were posted up outside their homes, so it seems like the community’s very in on this, which is cool.
Though Erica Goedef describes herself as a local, she’s excited to see the crowd that the Artwalk draws. “It’s great for people,” she said. “When I start asking people, ‘Where are you from?’ They’re not all local. They didn’t know L.A. even had a river itself.”
To her, the river is the beating heart of Frogtown, and the art that lines its banks is how the neighborhood keeps it alive.
Goedef recalls Louis MacAdams, a poet, former local and one of Los Angeles’ most passionate conservationists, who passed away in 2020. “He said, ‘No, no, I kayaked in here. This is a treasure. We should start trying to rehabilitate it.’”
Art alone may not be enough to save the river or Frogtown from the forces reshaping them both, but on a Saturday night in September, it comes close.
“It is a special place,” says Goedef, “I don’t want it to just turn into another commercial thing.”