Blasting across America at three in the morning on a Delta flight to Cincinnati and then onwards to Hartford. I hate red-eyes because being thrown across a continent at 30,000 feet in pitch darkness unnerves me for some reason. Despite my irrational fear of sudden oblivion, I am glad to be on this flight. Behind us L.A. is burning, like Rome before it, and the “moderate” air-quality was getting to me (along with a lot of other things). My official motive for being on this commuter rocket is to officiate one of my best friend’s weddings as an ordained Reverend. But my ulterior-motive is to get the hell out of Dodge for a few days and breath some fresh air and let my brain cool off and my soul heal.

Drew Hancock is an LA-based photographer, director, animator and illustrator. He shares with us three beautiful shorts with music by The One AM Radio. Using a combination of cinematography, animation and photography, “Pipes”, “Highway” and “Clay Flowers” are sure to amaze and inspire.

Past a crawling maze of neon, sun-like patterns and a swarm of people- I gently muscled my way through the Standard Downtown’s lobby and walked straight up to the man I was looking for: Dennis Hernandez, the hotel’s director of marketing. Surprised that I found him so easily on my first attempt, Dennis smiled back, kindly, and welcomed me, warmly.

Although Petula Clark is right about the noise and the hurry, forgetting your troubles isn’t really what downtown is for, or at least downtown LA. Just because Skid Row is slowly edging away from the loft spaces and bars that have sprung up like mushrooms after a heavy rain does not mean anything has been forgotten here. The downtown art scene isn’t one of escapism; its craggy roots firmly cling to the foundation of the city, every canvas a mirror of one of the 4 million Angelenos reflected there.

Join the voila! Gallery-art for the modern eye- on its opening night and meet the artists.