Meanwhile, over the past decade or so, a concentration of cutting-edge galleries - featuring everything from SoCal's native lowbrow street and graffiti artists to Japanese pop-art imports - has reclaimed an industrial area on Culver's eastern edge, creating an arts district to rival New York's Chelsea neighbourhood.

BBC: Culver City, ready for its close-up

Many of the surrounding walls, which are brightly decorated with graffiti art, are the product of locally-organised painting sessions known as the Wall Project, which get people together with spray cans and paintbrushes to beautify their surroundings.

BBC: Mumbai��s hip and happening suburb

Yarn bombing, also known as guerrilla knitting, is a type of street art or graffiti using items made from yarn - whether knitted, crocheted, or made into pom-poms.

BBC: Left Lion in Nottingham is 'yarn bombed'

That first effort was self-consciously hip, a place to hang, chat and read about graffiti "art" and South African street styles.

FORBES: Digital denim