LA is a vast and sprawling city with an art scene that is growing at a rapid speed. As exciting as it is, it’s almost impossible to keep up with what is happening when and where! Thanks to Shelley Holcomb and Alex Benzer we now have Curate LA to look to!

Curate LA is a new digital platform and iPhone app that categorizes the LA art scene by date and location. In 2014 Ideal Woman Shelley was inspired by a website made by Alex Benzer called Represent LA, which is a map of the Los Angeles tech scene. At that time, Shelley felt that the artists work she really enjoyed seeing were not being well-represented in the media or well-circulated in art publications. Shelley wanted to create a platform that fundamentally supported the artists and artist-run spaces through out  LA. Together they created Curate LA.

On any given week, Shelley can be spotted at 5-10 art events around LA. "I wasn’t exposed to much art growing up in Mississippi and I think I’ve been trying to make up for lost time." She says,"I enjoy the full experience:  the art, the variety of spaces, the slew of different people, their dogs, the cheap beer/wine. Curate LA is a way for me to share these experiences with everyone else."

As a fellow LA art screener, this app is a lifesaver! You don’t have to shift through all your emails to make calendar reminders; you can open the app on any given day and know everything that’s going on art related and where. Not to mention the icon is supper cute!

Shelley is an artist, a curator, and a co creator. She fell in love with art and found a way to make it more accessible and easier to navigate. "I know what it’s like to be a newcomer to this city and trying to navigate the scene which can be very intimidating. My hope is that Curate LA makes it easier for people to explore," Shelley states. 

Shelley is a beautiful Ideal Woman who is warm, friendly, and a woman making a big technological difference in the art world.

Shelley has a crush on Delia Derbyshire

Delia Derbyshire was a badass who was way ahead of her time. In the early 1960s, she broadcasted other-worldly sounds across the BBC airwaves anonymously under the umbrella credit 'special sound by BBC Radiophonic Workshop'. 

She was interested in the perception of sound and the communication of emotions using purely electronic sources like tape recorders and microphones. If you’ve ever heard the  instantly recognizable Doctor Who theme, then you’ve heard Delia Derbyshire’s work.

I admire her because she was an artist and pioneer in the early era of experimental electronic music in an industry and culture that was predominantly male-driven. She’s the kind of lady I’d like to vibe out with.