The extraordinary Watts Towers is located in Los Angeles. It was created by an Italian immigrant worker by the name of Simon Rodia. It was probably the first visionary environment found in North America. In 1992, "the Los Angeles County Museum of Art presented a groundbreaking exhibition titled 'Parallel Visions', which traced the connections between modern artists and their self-taught colleagues. This exhibition played a major role in establishing the field of 'Outsider' art as it exists today". This is a quote from the: Parallel Visions article

Los Angeles also has other institutions dedicated to non-mainstream arts such as:

The International House of Blues Foundation (IHOBF) is dedicated to bringing the arts to schools and communities
through programs that increase public awareness of African American contributions to American culture. It brings together people of diverse backgrounds in an atmosphere that encourages mutual respect and understanding.

The Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum is one of the few museums in the country whose mission is dedicated to the preservation and presentation of contemporary craft & design and folk & traditional arts.

Los Angeles is also well known for its Low brow art scene. This is similar to raw art in many ways. Lowbrow art describes an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s. Lowbrow is a widespread populist art movement with origins in the underground co-mix world, punk music, hot-rod street culture, and other California subcultures. It is also often known by the name pop surrealism.