SPECIMEN.lab
Creative Mischief in Art & Tech
The Event
Examining the
evidence
Every creative practice leaves a trail. SPECIMEN.lab is where it gets pinned to the table instead of cleaned up.
“Sketches abandoned mid-thought, prompts that went sideways, tools bent into shapes they weren’t built for.”
A curated gathering of artists, creatives, technologists, designers, and enablers — brought together by futurePIXEL, Anima Initiative, and Daphni. Most evidence of creative process gets filed away, deleted, or dressed up before it’s shared. SPECIMEN.lab is where it stays raw.
Come with something in hand: a WIP that isn’t finished, an experiment you can’t explain yet, or the one thing you’re quietly proud of. Not to pitch it. Not to compare it. Just to put it under the light and see who else is working in the same strange territory.
Date
July 18, 2026Saturday
Time
7:00 – 11:00 PM Doors open at 7pm
Venue
VENIA Studio Arts District, Los Angeles
Admission
Curated Donation suggested · DM for access
Event Supporters
Event Schedule
Four phases
one lab
The evening moves through four distinct states: arrival, observation, participation, and open exploration. Each phase builds on the last. Stay for all of it.
Intake
Arrive. Get oriented. Meet your fellow subjects. The lab opens its doors and the space comes alive. Find your bearings, make introductions, and settle in before the work begins
Field Notes
Creative practitioners open their process. Live demos, honest observations, no cleanup. Our featured speakers across music & tech, fashion, design, and art share what they're actually working on, not the polished version.
Petri
One Prompt. See what grows. Bring your recent WIP or one thing you're proud of to the table, to share, not to compare. Open mic sharing from the floor: quick demos, little devices, unfinished things, unexpected results. Submit images and WIP ahead of the event to be part of Petri Share.
Open Lab
The lab is yours. Wander, cross-contaminate, compare notes. The space opens for free exploration: follow the conversations, find the collaborations, stay as long as the night holds. DJ set by Alex Parker and live visuals by 480 Production (Daniel Clayton).
What to Expect
One night. No cleanup required.
Live Process Demos
Speakers across five creative disciplines open their actual process — not the highlight reel. Demos, digressions, and honest observations about the work.
WIP
Sharing
Bring something unfinished. The Petri phase invites anyone to put their work on the table - one shared prompt, whatever grows from it. No comparison. Just curiosity.
DJ & VJ Set
Alex Parker on the decks and 480 Production (Daniel Clayton) on live visuals for the Open Lab portion of the evening. The lab stays alive until 11pm.
Curated Community
This is a gathering by application: artists, technologists, designers, founders, and enablers who are actively building. The room is the program.
Field Notes Speakers
Opening their process
The Venue
VENIA Studio
300 S Santa Fe Ave, Suite U
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Located in the heart of the Arts District, VENIA Studio is an intimate creative space that becomes the stage for this immersive world. The industrial architecture of the building — raw, spatial, and atmospheric — provides the ideal canvas for projection mapping, installation art, and the kind of concert experience that only works in a room this size.
Venia Studio - Los Angeles, CA