Unique leads the LA branch of the national nonprofit organization Black Girl Environmentalist. As part of her dedication to a sustainable lifestyle, Vance also knows all the best thrift shops and vegan restaurants in and around LA (and takes public transit to get there). Read ahead for some of her SoCal favorites.
Southern California, California
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.
I love SoCal because...It’s where I was born and raised! I love the weather, the attractions, the sites, the food, the endless possibilities and things to do. Whether I want to go on a thrift crawl, a two-hour walk down the beach, see Joshua trees, check out an amusement park or eat some amazing vegan food, SoCal truly has it all.
Follow Unique on Instagram @uniquelysustainable
Listen to Unique's playlist on Spotify - “I always have my earphones on when I’m riding around on the Metro. I love listening to music and watching the landscape go by.”
Mark Dion: Excavations
START AT THE LA BREA TAR PITS
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. For thousands of years, tar has bubbled up to the surface in this location via several pools or pits. La Brea is the only active urban fossil dig site in the U.S., and daily reveals plant and animal fossils from as long ago as the Ice Age.
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. “I like the tar pits,” says Vance, “and I love the sound of this exhibition. It's amazing.”
1041 South Fairfax Avenue, Little Ethiopia
HEAD TO LITTLE ETHOPIA
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, fulfilling her dream of creating 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.
Little Ethiopia is also where you can find one of Vance’s favorite thrift shops for jewelry: Vintage Treasures and Repairs. “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.”
Life on Earth: Art and Ecofeminism
Brea Tar Pits to The Brick: 33 mins via 217 bus
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. Ecofeminism is a movement that compares the abuses of natural resources to the ways in which women have been subjugated through history. 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.”
111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
CHECK WEBSITE FOR DETAILS
CATCH A CONCERT DOWNTOWN
The Brick to Walt Disney Concert Hall: 29 minutes via 14/37 Bus
Vance’s tour next travels downtown where she used to work and home of her favorite vegan restaurant, Au Lac.
While you’re in the neighborhood, catch a concert at or just stroll through the beautiful Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, “I’ve always thought Disney Hall was cool,” says Vance. “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 in partnership with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. On Nov. 16, the Walt Disney Hall campus will host a 12-hour festival of new music featuring live performances and art installations.
Next door is Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, another impressive building and home base for the LA Opera. “I haven't been to an opera, so that's also on my list,” laughs Vance. “I need to start doing all these things. I'm going to go, I'm going to go….”
[Editor's note: We're going to take Unique to the PST ART public program The Gift on Feb. 8, 2025. The Gift is an immersive experience for all ages that explores what we can learn about ourselves—and each other—all by observing the stars. Participants will gather at reading tables inside The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as well as outdoors on the Pavilion’s atrium with views of the night sky and Downtown LA - Unique is going to love it!]
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.
World Without End: The George Washington Carver Project
GET TO KNOW ONE OF THE OG CONSERVATIONISTS
Downtown to California African American Museum: 39 mins via Metro E Line
You may know of agriculturist George Washington Carver for his work involving peanuts; he was one of the first to realize the potential of the crop and came up with a variety of different products using them. (Though he did not, contrary to popular belief, invent peanut butter, which was in existence a little before Carver’s time.) 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. It’s so cool to find out about it in detail. 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 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.”
200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica
MON-SUN:6AM-10PM
END THE DAY AT THE COAST
CAAM to Santa Monica Pier: 53 minutes via the Expo/E Line
The Santa Monica Pier, with its amusement park and Pacific Ocean views, is postcard-perfect, iconic LA. “I love walking the boardwalk or along the beach,” says Vance. “It’s a really nice way to get outside and just, like, people watch. I love being around all that energy.”
It’s also a good place to do some thrifting. “I like the thrift shop Crossroads in Santa Monica close to where you get off the train.” Vance also has one last vegan restaurant to recommend: Cafe Gratitude in Venice. “It’s a pretty popular vegan spot. I like the [I Am Optimistic] chopped salad with chickpeas. They also make a good veggie burger.”
