Favorite place to eat in SoCal: Au Lac. It was one of the first vegan restaurants I went to in LA, way back in high school. They had the best vegan shrimp I'd ever had. They still do. And it was easy to get to because I don’t drive, so I would take the Blue Line straight there. And I’ve been going ever since.

Favorite artwork in SoCal: Watts Towers. I learned about it in elementary school and we went on a field trip there. So I got to know the history behind it, the story of how it was preserved, and the impact it had on the community. And also because Watts Towers is pretty close to Compton, where I grew up…it has always stuck with me.

Best kept SoCal secret: Vintage Treasures and Repairs in Little Ethiopia. They have some of the most beautiful, unique jewelry that I've seen in any thrift shop in LA. And I love how they also repair stuff, they’ll upcycle and refurbish pieces. So it’s where I go when I want to buy really unique statement pieces.

The La Brea Tar Pits, a National Natural Landmark and host to the PST ART exhibition Mark Dion: Excavations, are a compelling LA site, dating back to prehistoric days, and the only active urban fossil dig site in the U.S. Excavations provides a behind-the-scenes peek of the work going on at the tar pits. During a residency there, Dion participated in digs, cleaned fossils, shadowed a taxidermist, and more and now shares what he learned via drawings, sculptures and other artwork.

Whenever she’s in the general region, Vance often stops by Little Ethiopia where there are a couple of restaurants she likes. “The one I always go to is Messob. It’s really great Ethiopian food.” Right across the street, the original owner of Messob, Rahel Woldmedhin, opened Rahel Ethiopian Vegan Cuisine—the first-ever restaurant to serve 100 percent vegan Ethiopian food. “They have a vegetarian platter with all their dishes on one big plate. I always get that,” says Vance.

A half hour bus ride away is the art space formerly known as LAXART, now The Brick. Here, visitors will find PST ART’s Life on Earth: Art and Ecofeminism. This exhibit looks at the past and future of ecofeminist art and explores its environmental themes among others. The subject resonates with Vance’s own environmental work and she remembers learning about ecofeminism in college. “It was such an eye opener,” she says, “and honestly, I should know a lot more. I can't wait to go see this.”

Catch a concert at or just stroll through the beautiful Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall. “I’m trying to get more into live instrumental concerts. I used to go to see a lot of artists when they’d come to Staples Center, but I’ve been trying to get more into less mainstream music venues. I can't wait to get a ticket to Noon to Midnight.” Noon to Midnight is the PST ART public program from LA Phil and the Los Angeles Master Chorale—a 12-hour festival of new music.

Catch Angels Flight (a 118-year old funicular, known as the world's shortest railway from Hill Street to the entrance of Grand Central Market. A huge public market that’s been around since 1917, the Market today hosts 40 stalls with food and treats from around the world. “I love the vegan ramen spot Ramen Hood,” recommends Vance.

You may know of agriculturist George Washington Carver for his work involving peanuts. But did you know that he was one of the earliest conservationists? At the California African American Museum, discover more about Carver’s fascinating career and impact in PST ART exhibition World Without End: The George Washington Carver Project. “I learned about him in college," says Vance, "but I didn't know how much he actually did. Conservation and environmentalism…he did so much!”

There are a handful of other spots in the area that Vance says are worth checking out. “I’ll go with my mom and my nephew to the Natural History Museum (home of PST ART exhibition Reframing Dioramas: The Art of Preserving Wilderness), the Science Center, the [Exposition Park] Rose Garden. And then usually when I’m on that Expo line, I'm going down to Santa Monica.”