iam8bit

Fun, unique venue that has its hands in many cool things. In fact, when you enter, the door informs you that they sell ‘very cool things.’ They do.
I went because, aside from selling artwork, t-​shirts, cards, books and games with a decidedly hip and tech and comic bent, iam8bit is also in the music business. They’ve been producing well-​received vinyl records of re-​mixed gaming music.
They sell out quickly and for gamers and fans of the music, it’s a rare treat.
I’ve never been here for any event, just to pick up some merch. Indeed, way hip and fun place for the nerd, the gamer, the music fan in your life.

I love this place. It’s a great layout with the couches in the middle, so you can chat & look at the artwork for a while even. The store in the front has some great local art & fun items. People are super cool & friendly there too.

Went to pick up my preorder of Hotline Miami 2 and the clerk was extremely friendly, when asked questions he answered them with ease (unlike certain shops *cough*gamestop*cough*) I left with a the preorder and I decided to buy some HM2 pins. I enjoyed the store, If I’m ever in that area again, I’ll make sure to go there again.

If you’re a video game enthusiast, I highly recommend a visit to this art gallery. It’s small, but I enjoyed my quick walk through checking out the art.

Cool gallery with lots of pop culture-​based art. Even though I haven’t watched TMNT since I was a kid, my girlfriend and I couldn’t resist grabbing a cute print of the four turtles. Not something I can say I bought or wanted to buy at any other store.

Having experience in starting a gallery from scratch (and failing) I am always impressed with the fluidity of 8bit’s operations. Noting everything… The layout of the couches, the floor plan, the ease of transaction, the curating, the music, and oh yeah, the MIND BLOWING ART and EVENTS. If nobody get’s around to doing it, it will not exist. Thank you 8bit for existing, and for doing it incredibly well. Take note that viewing hours only feature the front of the gallery. During opening receptions, their giant back room is opened, and it’s a low pressure atmosphere with a great crowd.

Kings of nostalgia and masters of pop culture references, this fun art gallery has you covered! Also… the people working there are pretty freaking awesome! Some places might be cool, but the people working make it an unenjoyable experience. This is NOT the case here. Definitely make it a point to check this place out. I’m glad I did.
Can’t wait for the Sequel art show!

I am quirky. And I also love art. This place is a lovely marriage between the two. I stopped in to view the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles installation tonight (Saturday night). It was pretty slow with just a few folks, but the staff was great and the art was awesome. I ended up purchasing a piece and can’t wait to get it in my home.

This is a gallery that not only loves and appreciates the art they’re displaying, but they also find a fun way to present everything. Every show is wildly different from the last, their events feel like movie premier parties and they always have some free booze!
I’ve discovered tons of new artists here and will go to any opening they have because it’s guaranteed to be a good time.

I love this gallery! It is run by friendly people, showcases a lot of neat artists, occasionally has DJs playing music, sells affordable pieces of original art, stays open pretty late, and had the Scrooge McDuck Money pit! (until 6÷30÷13)
The ONLY fault I found is that it can get CRAZY HOT inside this place on a hot day.

Wandered in here ready to see the Jim Rugg «Supernerd» show and found a cool little gallery I’m sure I’ll be back to.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that little; the front part wasn’t very big, had a suspended shelf in the middle with a bunch of colorful handmade undies for sale (?) that took a fair amount of space, and I could see that at an art opening, the room would probably be incredibly crowded. However, there’s a very large room in back, which had art on the walls and a bunch of comfy chairs and couches for relaxing, with scattered clipboards to sign up for the gallery’s emailing list.
There’s also a flight of stairs leading outside onto a little patio/​parking area. This weekend it was serving as space for the Sketchbook Project (
), which did require some waiting in line and whatnot to check one of thousands of sketchbooks out of the mobile art library; I didn’t want to make my friend wait, but I participated in the postcard project, which was a picnic bench with a pile of blank postcards and a bunch of markers and colored pencils; you got to take a card someone else had drawn and left in a bin on the table in exchange for making your own, which you did by drawing whatever you wanted, maybe filling out the About Me and contact info on the back, and leaving it. There were some in there from around the country (I took a card with an illustrated ranking of fruits, best to worst, according to someone named Chris, who must REALLY hate apples, since they’re at the bottom, two fruits below kiwi, to which Chris is allergic. Mine [self portrait of having eaten too much delicious pizza at Mohawk Bend] was picked up the same day and I was contacted via Instagram by the chooser. Neat!!!).
Now that this review has become a tangent on a project iam8bit was hosting for three days, I’ll bring it back in by saying that only a community-​oriented, interactive gallery would host something like that. The other art inside was video game themed, and it seems like the exhibits rotate about every three weeks? Definitely got a positive vibe here, and I signed up for the email list because I’m really curious about what’s coming next. Unilocalers: GO LOOK AT ART FOR FREE. It’s good for you.

I’ve been getting emails of this place from a third party and I’ve always wanted to go but I’ve been forgetful. Luckily, something finally caught my eye, Duck Tales.
Disney and Capcom is recreating Duck Tales into a video game and guess who has Scrooge’s money vault? That’s right come into the bright colored looking place (not literally bright looking nor shiny). Yes, iam8bit gives you the chance to feel what Scrooge felt all those times he jumped into his money vault. Well you can’t dive or jump for safety precautions but you can feel almost like a billionaire.
If you’re not a Duck Tales fan then you should still check it out because this viewing had a ll sorts of retro games artwork. It’s totally amazing and see what people can do.
Great gallery. FREE for all. Very intriguing. Good for the inner geeks.
Front of store looks small but offers plenty more in the back and few affordable art work for sale.
Every month they have something going on or special 1 day viewing of a particular theme. If you’d like to catch Mr. Scrooge’s money vault you have till June 30^th.

Tiny little video game art gallery with some cool pop culture art. I have to admit, my five stars are for the exhibit I specifically went there for: a recreation of Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin, which you can jump (no diving!) into and surround yourself with gold, gems, and of course giant money bags.
Caveat: there’s no central air and it’s about a hundred thousand degrees inside, so don’t plan to stay long. It’s also pretty difficult to find from the outside, as there’s no main sign or anything, but it’s right on Sunset between Alvarado and Mohawk.

Geek Art at its best.
Those words I think are the epitome of what iam8bit is all about. This place has all kinds of art exhibits going on year round, whether it is a Street Fighter exhibit or a Time Traveling exhibit. They always have something fun and amazing on their walls.
Drop by and you’ll see! Video Game themed art to Back to the Future art — this place is a treasure trove of awesome for your inner geek.
Just to warn you though. On opening nights of a new exhibit — be warned. The line will wrap down a couple blocks and it will take A LONG TIME to get in. So plan accordingly. But don’t let that scare you off — opening night exhibits usually have something really cool going on and you got to take the risk and venture out and stand a bit outside to have a great time.
This place kicks ass.

Sweet, sweet gallery space. My first time coming here yesterday to check out the Combo Attack– StreetFighter 25^th Anniversary and wasn’t expecting such a big gallery.
Not sure if their A/​C was broken though cause they only had fans running in the 110degree weather so it wasn’t preettttyyy damn uncomfortable in there even with all the awesome artwork.
I’m glad I didn’t go to the opening night show for this, since one of the girls that worked there said 2K people showed up = mega lines. :P
Regardless, awesome show! It’s running until ⁸⁄₁₉ so go, check it out, and pick up a print to take home too! :)

I went to an opening for Catherine Kaleel’s show and wow — it was my first time at this gallery and I was VERY impressed.
The staff were very professional, they had delicious aqua frescas for FREE at the opening, the artwork /​artist was amazing, and the layout of the gallery promotes good viewing.
Only downside, can be hard to find parking but that is a known issue with that part of town, not the gallery’s fault.
Great gallery, hope to go back for the Street Fighter 25^th anniversary. How cool!

Once I found parking up on a side street, I passed the bouncer (free to get in, I needed to show my ID to get a stamp for the free booze inside), and entered the world of iam8bit. A wooden table hangs in the middle of the front room. At the time, this is where Jim Rugg had his show Notebook Nerd. His amazingly intricate drawings on notebook paper fit perfectly with the show in the back of iam8bit. The back of the gallery opens up into a huge warehouse type space where The Sketchbook Project had taken over. People were chilling on the floors and leaning against walls enjoying their notebooks. There was a drawing table and free booze (they just had PBR at 11 when I got there). Everyone was friendly and happy to share the cool notebooks they were looking through.
There’s one bathroom for ladies, one for gentlemen. The lady’s bathroom has a trippy mirror set up on the ceiling. It spooked me out for a moment. There might be a smoking area up the stairs, but I never ventured up.

I was more interested in the space itself than the actual artwork at the time of my visit, but I can see a lot of potential for any artist looking for a place to display their work. The front room is long and slender, with clever tables hanging on ropes in the middle that I imagine could be removed quite easily so more folks can crowd in to mix and mingle.
What really impressed me was the backroom, a super spacious bright space that would be perfect for large events or more intimate gatherings.
Parking seems to be a bit of a challenge, so if you’re coming to see a show give yourself some time to cruise the surrounding streets.

Gnarly Awesomeness…
So cool, I came twice in the same week. sadly I missed the signing the second time I came and wished I came opening week since there where so many items I would had like to purchase.
I was really surprised how big this actual show was, I really expected all these things to be cramped into one rooms and done in 5 minutes, but no, not at all. It wasn’t overcrowded so you had the time to freely enjoy and reminisce on your favorite 80’s video games. I love that they had Galaza video game set up to a wall screen monitor so others can see you play.
I love the different artist views of some of my favorite video games… I feel in love with Pinky from Pac-​Man and the Mario bros painting of a more distress looking princess.
Every art piece spoke for itself and needed no explanation since it was fun and bright and made you laugh and made you think dayum I would have never envisioned a video game beautifully showcased that way…
I love 8bits…

It’s back! Now in its 6^th year, I AM 8 BIT is back showcasing classic video game art re-​imagined in a very wide variety of styles and art pieces. Many strange, many not so strange. Hell, there’s even floating weapons in power-​up boxes.
This art show will take you back to the time when you blew to your hearts content into a cartridge in hopes that it would work. If you’ve ever played Super Mario brothers, Metroid, Zelda, Street Fighter, Mega Man or anything else that would be considered old school gaming, this art exhibit is up your alley.
Celebrating Galaga’s 30^th Anniversary they have a huge video game cabinet that you can play. Okay, so it’s really just a regular game cabinet but they project it against the wall to make it look like you’re playing a huge arcade game.
In true fashion, the opening night open bar had PBR… Oh Echo Park, I would say never change but we all know that the reason you are serving PBR at an art opening is cause you have changed over the years — Thanks Gentrification!
The one thing that I loved the most about this exhibit was the fact that there was Mario Brothers villains walking the floor. You had red and green shells zooming by your feet as well as a Goomba scooting by you. It’s amazing what a stuffed colored turtle and Goomba pillow on a roomba can be considered art. But hey, it is.
Hmm, now that I think about it, why didn’t I think about that first? A Roomba being converted to a Goomba. Get that man a prize cause he must have been stoned as fuck when he mixed up those two at his buddy’s studio loft and came up with the idea.
Over all, I loved this exhibit of nostalgic and yet re-​invented 8 bit video game art pieces and it’s well worth checking out.
Exhibit goes on from August 11 through September 10^th, 2011