Studio DDLA

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Studio DDLA

Located in Los Angeles’ Historic Chinatown, Studio DDLA is one of the first physical spaces dedicated to death work in the United States.

Studio DDLA provides a community, gallery, and event space to explore death, grief, life, and loss in collaboration w

21/07/2025

A support group for people who lost their favorite person in the whole wide world. Whoever they are, we’d love to hear about them. Every last Thursday of the month 7-9pm. Donation based. Link in bio for RSVP . Tea and bites provided.

16/07/2025

We are honored to share The Ash Rose Project, a powerful initiative of The Ash Rose Foundation, at our upcoming gallery event Friday, August 1st 5-9pm

The Ash Rose Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming grief into beauty and connection through art. At the heart of our work is The Ash Rose Project, which creates memorial portraits using a small portion of cremation ashes from a loved one. Each piece is created in collaboration with the family accompanied by a 30 day program of journaling and grief counseling process, drawing from stories, memories, and symbolic imagery to reflect the life and legacy of the person being honored. These portraits serve as both sacred tribute and healing expression - helping individuals and families navigate grief while creating something deeply meaningful and lasting.

The August gallery exhibit will feature a curated selection of these ash-infused artworks, offering a rare and moving experience of remembrance, love, and legacy through visual storytelling. Guests will have the opportunity to engage with the art, speak with previous project participants, connect with leading industry professionals, and reflect on the ways we honor those who have passed.

Founder and artist Ian McCartor, hospice nurse and grief counselor, will be present to share more about the project and the stories behind the portraits. His unique background in end-of-life care has deeply informed the compassionate, personalized nature of this work.

We are so grateful to be part of this event and look forward to sharing in this meaningful gathering.

06/07/2025

Every second Monday of the month. You can rsvp via our eventbrite page.

06/07/2025

An offering we are so happy to have every Sunday. It’s a great release and reset for your week. We work thru the body head to toe, breathing with intention. All are welcome. Please rsvp thru our eventbrite page. Link in bio.

03/07/2025

Brie B-G is a q***r Viet-Am artist and organizer hailing from Long Beach. Their professional life and body of poetic work often explores the parallels and contrast between the natural world and human temporality. Brie’s day-to-day ranges from empowering individuals in their homes to supporting local organizations with their programming. They move with a belief in equity- that we each possess gifts of value if we can nestle into places ready to receive us. Brie’s educational background is in communication studies and community care.

Description
The objective of this workshop is for the individual to spend time moving through the concept of their current experience of grief. We will be sorting through words and imagery from magazines and using them to construct pieces that reflect our own relationship with grief. This is fairly open ended, and can take the form of blackout poetry, individual words laid over imagery, or illustrative collages accompanied by ekphrastic poetry or descriptive analysis. $25 per person, all materials included, no one turned away for lack of funds.

What to expect
•a three hour container to transmute grief’s nebulous nature into a concrete artifact that deepens our self understanding
•nervous system support tea blend + light refreshments
•guided breathwork and grounding reflection led by Sprout
•grief prompt and time for quiet introspection
•communal time to collage (materials provided)
•gallery walk and (optional) share time
•doors will close at 1:45 for the remainder of the workshop, to facilitate an environment of vulnerability. thank you for being on time!

18/06/2025

✨ Closing Night Watch Party ✨
Q***ring Dreams comes to a close with a special screening of The Ultimatum: Q***r Love

📅 Tuesday, June 25
🕖 Doors at 7:00 PM | Screening at 7:30 PM
📍 Studio DDLA
💸 $8 suggested donation
🍷 Venmo bar + snacks available
🏳️‍🌈 All are welcome

Join us for one last chance to experience Q***ring Dreams before we gather to scream, cry, and analyze sapphic drama together during The Ultimatum: Q***r Love.

✨ RSVP required — space is limited!
Come comfy. Come q***r. Come ready to process in real time.

17/06/2025

We’re excited to announce our next Chinatown First
Fridays event, happening Friday, July 4th from 6-10 PM
on historic Chung King Road!
We’re currently accepting vendor applications and would love for you to be part of this vibrant, community-driven evening full of art, music, food, and culture.

Event Details:
CHUNG KING RD, CHINATOWN, LOS ANGELES
JUL 4 / AUG 1 / SEPT 5 | 6-10pm
Booth Fee: $40/event
Community Support: 20% of all vendor fees will be donated to the Chung King Road Association to help preserve and beautify the plaza.
We ask that vendors book three months in advance, so we are currently accepting sign-ups for July, August, and September. If you’re interested, check out the application link in bio.

16/06/2025

The Summer Solstice marks a turning point. The height of the light before we descend into darkness. Facing the fire and burning what no longer serves is a radical act of resistance. It makes us less susceptible to becoming cogs in the machine of capitalism, which thrives on us denying our inevitable death.

A Living Funeral Ceremony is an immersive meditative experience that encourages participants to face their own mortality. Through engaging in ritual and guidance through a death visualization–contemplating your own memorial as you imagine letting go of your earthly self–participants are invited to “die before you die, to live while you’re alive.”

This ceremonial experience provides a safe and supportive space to confront fears around death and impermanence, while also fostering a deeper connection to life’s fragility and beauty. Often compared to the experience of ego death, this ritual leaves many with a renewed sense of purpose and a profound appreciation for the present moment.

TIMING
Please arrive on time by 7pm, as the doors will close once the ceremony begins to honor the sacred environment we are co-creating. The ritual portion takes up to 90 minutes. After the ceremony is complete, Kaitlyn will hold space for participants to reflect alone or in community, sip tea, and gently reintegrate until 9pm.

WHAT TO BRING/WEAR
A yoga mat, or something to lay on Comfortable, breathable clothing is recommended

This ceremony will be led by Kaitlyn Pietras (she/her), a q***r Jewish grief worker, herbalist, and visual artist. Kaitlyn is passionate about tending to personal and communal grief, connecting with her ancestors, and serving the LGBTQIA+ community. She has a deep love for plant magic + Jewish mysticism. Kaitlyn trained directly with Emily Cross of Steady Waves Center who originally created this ceremony inspired by living funerals first conducted in South Korea in an effort to prevent suicides by helping people to see the value of their lives.

image: “صمود (Sumud)” by Karuna Karmarkar .i.ty

11/06/2025

Father’s Day can bring up complicated feelings.
Some folks carry grief. Some carry absence. Some carry memory, estrangement, silence, or questions with no answers.
Whether you’re mourning a father, grieving as one, navigating complicated paternal relationships, or holding generational pain—this day is for you too.

🕯️ Sunday, June 16 – Supportive Programming for Father’s Day led by Jill Schock:
1–4PM — Outdoor Vigil & Mandalas A drop-in space for reflection, floral offerings, and mandala-making.
4–5PM — Father’s Day Grief Circle A community space for sharing, witnessing, and being held in your experience.
6–7:30PM — Grief Yoga A gentle, yin-yoga inspired practice to support your nervous system and move grief through the body.

Open to all identities, all experiences, and all forms of father-loss. All offerings are donation based. NOTAFLOF. Come as you are.

10/06/2025

Please join us for:
HOT GLUE HOMO
A q***r community craft day, now with more homo & more glue
Presented by Studio DDLA & Open Space Therapy Collective

🗓️ Saturday 6/14 | 1–3 PM

📍 Studio DDLA
944 Chung King Rd 90012

We’ve organized Hot Glue Homo into THREE fabulous craft stations to spark your creativity and meet you wherever you’re at—whether you’re a seasoned maker or just here to have fun with glitter and good company.

🎨 Station 1: Mixed Media Collage
Get expressive with magazines, fabric scraps, decorative paper, and embellishments. Make a collage that tells your story, sets a mood, or just looks really damn good.

🪨 Station 2: Rock/Stone Painting
Smooth stones + vibrant acrylics = a pocket-sized piece of joy. Paint affirmations, patterns, or tiny scenes—and seal it with love (and spray coating).

🎭 Station 3: Open Craft Playground
Think pipe cleaners, pom poms, foam sheets, and construction paper. This station is all about exploration, play, and creating from whatever calls to you.

🧶 Bring Your Own Project!
Already working on something? Bring it along! Whether it’s embroidery, zine-making, sketching, knitting, or something totally unique, we love a good BYO situation. Set up at any table and create alongside community.

✨ Each table will have a supportive guide to offer help, inspiration, or just witness your brilliance. Plus, we’ll have example projects at every station to get those creative sparks flying.

💅 Come solo, bring your bestie, or meet new folks while you glue, paint, and craft your q***r little heart out. All are welcome—no experience needed.

Together we create, together we celebrate, together we thrive.

05/06/2025

✨ Join us for Opening Night of Q***ring Dreams — a celebration of q***r imagination, resilience, and creativity! ✨

Studio DDLA x Open Space Therapy Collective Friday 6/6 | 5–10 PM Part of

Studio DDLA x Open Space Therapy Collective are proud to present “Q***ring Dreams,” a Pride Month art show celebrating the vibrant, imaginative, and diverse dreams of the LGBTQ+ community. The exhibition centers on a collective exploration of q***r identity, hopes, and aspirations, featuring artworks that symbolize the power of dreams as a form of self-expression and liberation.

We have 15 fantastic market vendors who will be offering handmade goods, tattoos, esoteric readings, & q***r related services on Chung King Rd right in front of the gallery.

Market Vendors:
Abeja Rise, DTLA Proud, Eve’s Enchanted Elixirs, Medizen.cabinet, No Whammy, Inc., Sacred Timing, serving:studio, Soft Shock Ice Cream, So Stoned Jewelry, Stardust LA, Vague Intellectual Pleasure, Visions of Lavender, and You Joy Life

Featured Artists: Jillian Adel, Rick Betancourt, Nite Davies, Mathilde Huron, Renae Johnson, Casey Kringlen, Ernesto Martinez, Che Ochtli, Kaitlyn Pietras, and Torii Wolf

Featuring live music & a DJ set by OSTC’s own DJ

***ringDreams ***rArtShow ***rArtists ***rJoy

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+16617142904

Website

https://deathdoulala.com/studio-death-doula-la

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