This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

$2 Shows Mixes Art, Philanthropy

$2 Shows, a nonprofit created by Spencer Ludwig, showcases musical and artistic talent at Culver City's art space Royal/T.

A stern artist paints a masterpiece in one corner of Royal/T's art space, while in another, a young man performs his newest musical creation using only his computer. Although this may seem out of the ordinary for any other performance, for $2 Shows, it is just a normal evening celebrating great art and bringing awareness to various Los Angeles-based organizations. 

Created by Spencer Ludwig, the nonprofit $2 Shows aims to combine art and charity in one venue, bringing high-quality art and entertainment to the public for a fraction of the cost. An added goal: Ludwig, a senior at CalArts, also seeks to remove people's dependency on Facebook and other social networking sites for discovering and promoting new music. 

"A successful artist today will need human interaction," explains Ludwig. "There's no more benefit from the Internet." 

Find out what's happening in Culver Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

True to his cause, Ludwig minimizes the role of technology in his nonprofit, preferring to advertise his shows via word-of-mouth with minimal Facebook use. And with a monthly show at Culver City's Royal/T, his show is sure to attract the locals.

Kimia Poosti, a member of the audience, said she enjoys attending $2 Shows events because they "combine different things" and "a cause is always involved."

Find out what's happening in Culver Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For his latest event July 28, Ludwig showcased electronic musicians in an eclectic combination called "Electric Bath." "Electric Bath” featured local performers such as Beowulf, Wednesday, Day After Discovery, Sahy Uhns, Newman Wolf, Incan Abraham and Flammenwerfer. 

Wednesday, aka Shahrod Khalkhali, takes pride in his participation in $2 Shows. Having joined the very first $2 Shows event three years ago, Khalkhali loves the idea behind the nonprofit: "It showcases local community talent and it uses that power to give back to the community." 

Giving back to the community is the second part of $2 Shows' mission. For June and July's events, $2 Shows put the spotlight on Harmony Project, a nonprofit geared to helping inner city youth develop their musical talents. Sarah Wess, spokesperson for the nonprofit, admires the creative energy of everyone involved with the project. 

"It's so exciting to see so many young people here," Wess said. 

James Patrick, a friend of soloist Day After Discovery, says that even though he came to support his friend, he enjoyed all of the performers. "It's just the diversity,"  he said. "It's the creativity here. It's just amazing." 

For Ludwig, a $2 Shows event and Culver City are a perfect match. His goal? To contribute to Culver City's "growing artist culture."

"I see $2 Shows sequential with Culver's artistic development," Ludwig said. "I can see both growing up hand in hand."

$2 Shows will be having another event on Aug. 31 at Royal/T. For a sneak peek of Ludwig's brainchild, click on the video from the Austin, Texas, series. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?