About ArtCard.LA
ArtCard.LA is the new home of the ArtCard archive, formerly LA-Artist.com. The original site ran at LA-Artist.com from 2009; the project and its archive now live at ArtCard.LA.
LA-Artist.com was started in October 2009 by Oliver I. Shipley and Kristen Sheline. Since 2009 the project has engaged hundreds of artists in a mail art project called ArtCard.
ArtCards are blank pre-addressed postcards that are distributed across Los Angeles County (in coffee shops, art galleries, community centers, schools, etc.) by volunteers and are mailed via the United States Postal Service.
People are encouraged to use each ArtCard as a free 4” x 6” canvas on which to create and mail in their own works of art to be published at LA-Artist.com – the resulting collection of sketches, collages, photographs, and words help to document L.A. County’s varied creative framework and influence.
Completed ArtCards are archived and mapped online at LA-Artist.com by artist name, L.A. neighborhood and Zip code. The collection is also exhibited in museums and galleries, printed in books, made into pins and stickers, and shared by people online.
The Team
- Oliver I. Shipley (Founder, Organizer & Curator)
- Kristen Sheline (Co-founder)
- Alejandra Hernandez (Outreach and Curator)
- David Mesina (Outreach and Curator)
- Larry Swanson (Outreach)
- Michael Ray De Los Angeles (Outreach and Curator)
- Michelle Cohen (Curator)
About this archive
ArtCard.LA is a static archive of the 1372 ArtCards published on LA-Artist.com between October 29, 2009 and March 2, 2015. Each card is listed under the artist name and ZIP code written on it, as recorded on the original site. Cards without a usable ZIP code are grouped under Outside LA / California, U.S. States, International and Unknown. Images are shown at the size they were originally published.
All artworks remain © their artists.
Map data
ZIP code boundaries: County of Los Angeles Enterprise GIS, “Zipcodes” layer (Administrative Boundaries), accessed November 2026 and simplified for the web, used under the LA County GIS Data Portal Terms of Use. This use does not imply endorsement by the County of Los Angeles. Base map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Map built with Leaflet.