Craft & Folk Art Museum

I have always been drawn to visit CAFAM by the intriguing spillover of art onto Wilshire Blvd. I remember driving by their yarn-​bombed trees thinking, «That place looks so cool.» Just looking through the Unilocal photos, I see how many great exhibits I missed over the years due to procrastination. I was finally able to stop in. It was a blustery Sunday and I decided to go check out some art. I am so glad I did. There was a brilliant exhibit by local artist, Keiko Fukazawa, based on her experiences in China. While CAFAM is small, the exhibits are interesting and unique. Plus, they have an awesome gift shop where you can purchase fine arts and crafts made by the artists in the exhibits!

Came here right at 11 and waited 10 minutes today but they still weren’t open. It doesn’t say it’s closed Wednesdays anywhere. Extremely disappointed :(

Pretty small but fairly cheap so can’t complain too much. I went on a Sunday and it was «pay what you can». So that’s nice of them. What’s there is cool, just wish there were more galleries. I piggybacked in some tour and got more out of it, I recommend you do the same…

I paid 5 bucks because I’m a student, and good thing because I can’t imagine paying a penny more for this. It was very cool, just very small. It didn’t offer much, when I was there it had a shoe exhibit. Pretty neat

I really do love this museum.
The Chris Francis in-​house show residency is amazing. Chris, a stylish gentleman, is hyper-​creative, and has beautiful designs currently on display. Select pieces are for sale, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to take a selfie with him.
The shop has an amazing «for sale» section with awesome artistic pieces– anywhere from pop can top purses to sculptured heart rocks to handmade jewelry to dinnerware and beyond.
Additionally, they constantly have craft projects, and are changing out the window displays with projects and installations, so it’s always evolving and changing.
Make it a point to stop in, and give yourself time to look around!

A small museum made better by free Sunday entrance. Paid $ 7.50 for a camouflage workshop art project that was mildly amusing that had no real goal, but was a way to shoot the breeze on a lazy weekend afternoon. At the time, there was an avant garde shoe collection, as well as an exhibit dedicated to recent American veteran artists, the latter of which was interesting but could have been expanded substantially in fascinating directions. Minimal staff. Overall, a good place to take a break inbetween the LACMA and the La Brea tar pits.

The museum is free/​donation suggested on Sundays. The third floor is the veterans museum which was my favorite part of the museum. They lady at the counter was really rude until we told her we drove from Orange County and our friends drove from Ventura county to meet in the middle and see the museum. The veterans museum was awesome though I learned a lot and had a meaningful experience reading about what each art piece symbolized.

5 stars
But what is this «Free to reserve but must pay 8 $»?! I’ve never heard any establishment have this rule!

A cute, cozy museum filled with interesting crafts.

I went here on free museum day a few weeks ago. The museum was okay; cute, a bit small. I was expecting more exhibits then what they had but what was there was cool. The outside of the building is very unique, you can’t miss this place! I enjoyed the ‘Focus Iran’ photography display.

I came here on the January Free For All day so the museum admission was free. And it’s a good thing it was because I can’t imagine paying $ 7 to come here. It’s a very small museum. There is a large exhibit room on the third floor, and a tiny gallery on the second, and one large installation on the first where the entrance is.
The exhibits themselves were engaging enough, but nothing exceptionally riveting. When I came there was a quilt exhibit on the third floor, and a photography exhibit on the second (which is less craft, and more just standard art in my opinion). The quilting exhibit was interesting in that the techniques of the artists were all very different, but after a few quilts I became a little bored.
I’m not sure that I’ll return, but I’d say it is worth one visit, especially if it’s a free one. I may go back for one of the classes they offer though since those seem fun, and much more craft-​oriented than the museum itself.

Very interesting place. Free every Sunday!
The lady who seemed to be in charge was a little rude when ushering people in and out, but overall I had a good experience.

Finally after 14 years, I made into this museum during operation hours.
Today, they featured an exhibition of male quilting artists, Persian photographers, and a mountainous arrangement of felt stuffed toys.
The outside museum regularly features «yarn bomb» art (which is the art of embellishing common communal items like fences, bike stands, and benches etc in yarn art). Today’s yarn bomb feature is a sign featuring the message, «Black Lives Matter».
I really enjoyed the museum despite the multitude of male family members protesting their time spent in this museum of fiber art wonderment.
This museum is a must see on Miracle Mile.

Beautiful little nook filled with art you won’t always see on your normal museum walk.

The front clerk (lady) told me they did not allow any water. So i handed her my water thinking she was going to save it for me at the front desk. As soon as she received she grabbed it and tossed it in the trash. Really? As for the museum it is sooo not worth $ 7. There are 2 floors that are really small took me about 10 mins to see everything.

Very eclectic and abstract craft pieces. Front window has probably a million pieces made from masking tape. Furniture pieces made of pop tops and images made from soda cans. Top floor has the best pieces– interactive cabinets/​armoires that you can open and check out. Also includes a fun shop to include crafts, jewelry, books and the likes. Come check this out after you pass the very interesting tar pit across the street!

This is a great place for seeing art.
Directly across from the Page Museum, and the tar pits, it is fantastic both in the exhibits and the shop.
A $ 7 dollar entrance fee is reasonable. With AAA identification you get in for $ 6.
For a 65+ senior you can get in for $ 5.
This was so well worth that minimal price.
Today we saw an 93 year old artist’s first show in which Shirley Familian had decorated items and created items with postage stamps. This was pretty cool and she found some amazing color combinations and objects on which to apply her designs, such as globes, skateboards and tubes.
There is an exhibit by 2 Iranian artists upstairs which is ok.
The piece de resistance, however, and product of our new favorite artist using found objects, is from Timothy Washington. His creations are so interesting and very thought provoking. He will be speaking at the CAFAM in March.
We love the shop.
They provide products from the Downtown Women’s Center, which supports homeless in the community. They provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community fostering dignity, respect, and personal stability, and to advocate ending homelessness for women. Their bags, soaps and candles are amazing.
I found some amazing gift items here.
The staff at the museum are great.
I look forward to being back here soon for new exhibits and urge you to check out this lovely museum.

A cozy little museum on Museum Row, small enough that I feel it could be easily passed by on accident. Admission is a very reasonable $ 7 (the woman at the desk asked if I had a AAA card, which I did, although it doesn’t reduce the admission fee, so I’m not positive why she asked. However, it resulted in my being offered chocolate gelt, and that’s a sure win). We were there to see the tattoo exhibit.
I was actually surprised at how much they managed to get into the space, and without managing to make it feel crowded. I thought the exhibit itself could have been more comprehensive, but it was still interesting and the video they’d done had a lot of information. The security guard up there was friendly and told us right away to feel free to take photos so long as we didn’t use flash.
Craft nights downstairs that anyone can participate in? That’s really awesome. Most museums aren’t that interactive, especially for adults.
Some cool stuff in the gift shop, neat toys for kids.

TIP: FREE ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAYS OF THE MONTH!!!
Loves:
* The awesome public art they have craftily displayed (excuse the pun!) on street light posts, street sign posts, parking meter posts and even the tree! Crocheted delights beautifully accessorized these otherwise, dreary urban icons.
* The wonderfully warm and friendly ladies working at this museum. No pressure, no hovering, just a warm hospitality. I should have expected this from a «craft museum.»
* MAXIMO GONZALEZ EXHIBIT. What talent, creativity, patience, and commitment to his craft! You guys have to see this exhibit before it leaves town. It’s his first solo exhibit in LA.
Regret:
* A little small, therefore they have limited space to display. Otherwise, I bet they will have tons of stuff they can display. I mean, think of all the crafts there are in this country, just from the native Americans, let alone the rest of the world!

I think that CAFAM is often overlooked on the LA museum circuit, but it is well worth its price in crafting materials.
It’s small, like stand in the middle of the room and spin 360 degrees small, but I think the exhibits they bring in are extremely unique and the artists clearly don’t take themselves seriously, so the projects are really fun and whimsical.
They have a great gift shop that’s perfect for finding a little something something that the receiver would be wowed by and will instantly make you look like the ultimate gift giver.
I’m also a huge fan of their craft nights (usually one Thursday out of the month) and other special events, so although you can’t fathom signing up for one more newsletter to clutter your inbox, this one is not obnoxious and provides an «outside of the box» activity for you to indulge in every once in awhile.