Institute for Art and Olfaction

On our list of the best activities in Los Angeles.

Perfume-making classes are the main way into this Chinatown nonprofit, which keeps a lab, a gallery of scent-based art and a library of books, perfumes and raw materials on Chung King Road, the pedestrian-only lane of galleries and studios. Evening workshops start beginners on blending a fragrance of their own, and there are lectures and smelling sessions drawn from the collection. On Friday afternoons anyone can walk in to browse the library, smell what's in the gallery and buy materials. Saskia Wilson-Brown founded it in 2012, and it gives out the yearly Art and Olfaction Awards for independent perfumers.