The New York Times tries to answer the question about LA’s newfound role in the art ecosystem: Can it last? Will it continue to grow?

The fact that the art world has become more diffuse has contributed to the ascendancy of Los Angeles as a cultural destination, Mr. Poe added.

“The world is shifting,” he said. “It’s not just one place having all the energy, like New York or Paris or London. There’s no hot spot anymore; it’s all lukewarm, and I think Los Angeles is one of the warmest of those spots.”

As strong as institutions have become in the city, Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer, finds it more useful to view developments from an alternative vantage point: bottom up. “What makes a city culturally exciting is not how many collectors, galleries or institutions there are,” she said. “It’s how many artists are working there. Artists create and energize an art scene. That has happened in this city over the last decade and a half.”

Since she took over in 1999, the Hammer has developed a reputation for showcasing the work of Los Angeles artists. Its “Made in L.A. 2016” exhibition opens June 12.

One reason that there are so many artists in Los Angeles is that its cultural infrastructure sets the city up to produce more than its fair share of them, including highly regarded programs at the two main universities, U.C.L.A. and the University of Southern California, and at specialty schools like California Institute of the Arts.

Los Angeles Art Scene Comes Into Its Own  (NYTimes.com)