An art squat is a name used to describe the action of artists to occupy (or squat in) an abandoned building, thereby creating studio space to create art. Art squats often have a semi-legal or illegal status. Tacheles, in Berlin, Germany, was one of many buildings occupied by artists in the years after World War II and continued to operate as a studio space and gallery until 2012, when the authorities closed it for redevelopment. In the 1990s a group of painters and sculptors gathered in an abandoned building in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles, United States.