An insomniacs’ soiree at LACMA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened its doors and courtyard to a free all-night art party last year, and lines snaked down Wilshire Boulevard for a quarter of a mile. More than 8,000 people braved the long waits for Cabaret LACMA in September.

Organizers hope to repeat that success Thursday with another free, all-night event, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing to 7 a.m. Friday.

Enlisted are such crowd magnets as Shag (the illustrator, billed officially in the press kit as a “hipster”); Robbie Conal, the political poster artist; Gary Baseman, illustrator and creator of “Teacher’s Pet”; Southern California painter Sandow Birk; and author Sven Kirsten, who will be personalizing “The Book of Tiki.”

In addition, there will be a barbecue, a no-host bar, prizes, two special screenings at the Bing Theater, live music by Mezklah and performances by DJ Diabetic and pianist Sydney Wayser.

Oh, and art, of course.

For those who are not too blurry-eyed, there’s an opportunity to see, also free, “Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form, 1940s-1970s” and “Inventing Race: Casta Painting and 18th Century Mexico.”

Visitors to www.lacma.org will find details about the exhibitions as well as performance schedules, and they may register for priority admission to the event. The museum says that should speed up the lines.

-- Louise Roug