Big art openings on the Westside with "prominent collectors" and old ladies in Chanel suits freak me out. I love the artwork, the colors and the textures, but environments that stale feel as wrong as watching a punk show at my gynecologist's office.

So while the Westside is being whipped into a frenzy of activity this week, it's good to know the some of the events remain a little more, uh…exciting. The yearly, much-hyped Los Angeles Art Show at Barker Hangar draws thousands and sells millions of dollars in international art over its four-day run, so if you're up for a stroll or some hobnobbing, head west and keep your cameraphone ready for encounters with Brad and Angelina. Better yet, whittle your four degrees of separation down to one by chatting with Kevin Bacon over a cheese platter.

However, if you already get enough celebrities via Netflix, we recommend steering yourself to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the more underdog Art L.A. fair, curated by a relative youngster, 31-year-old Tim Fleming. Though it's a little less glitzy, you can check out work that's more Los Angeles–centric from emerging artists and newly sprung local galleries.

And to kick off Art L.A., a few casual soirées are springing up around the city's art hubs. Instead of just hanging at the Civic Auditorium over the three-day fair, you can hop over to Chinatown's art district on Friday night for the neighborhood galleries' extended hours, then meet up at the Mountain Bar to chill out with Art L.A.'s curators and artists amid a no-old-ladies-in-Chanel vibe. The following night, the Art L.A. peeps will be prowling the Culver City scene and stopping into the Mandrake for cocktails later in the night. We like an affair that'll expose the city's artsy underbelly and kick back a few beers to boot.

Alie Ward is Events editor at Metromix Los Angeles.

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