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This report summarizes the work of our network of school districts, nonprofit partners, County service providers, and arts advocates from the 2023-24 fiscal year.
The first-ever Annual Report for the LA County Department of Arts an Culture highlights activities and impacts from 2023-24.
The Department of Arts and Culture has awarded nearly $5M in additional American Rescue Plan Act funding to the arts sector, focused on support for the Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing category of its Creative Recovery LA grant program.
Every year, the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission selects three community members to recognize Native American Heritage Month. As we close November, we recognize this year’s honorees: Kenny Ramos—Spirit of Creativity, Cynthia Ruiz—Spirit of Community, and Chief Anthony Morales—Spirit of Tradition. We're proud to be the home of the LANAIC and congratulate the honorees on their contributions to culture and community.
This October, in a first-of-its-kind partnership with the County’s Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative (ARDI) and the LA City/County Native American Indian Commission, we honored Indigenous People’s Day by supporting two cultural events with The Music Center and Indigenous-led arts organization Chapter House that provided artmaking, cultural activities, music, food, and more to foster awareness, respect, and understanding of the ongoing cultural contributions of Indigenous people. Thank you to all the partners, artists, and community.
First, for September, we recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, as declared in this motion by Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Janice Hahn. We celebrated by uplifting some incredible artists with work on display in Whittier’s Los Nietos Community Senior Center, and collaborating with LA Plaza de Cultural y Artes, Michelin starred Chef Gilberto Cetina, City of Paris, and Food Temple to highlight food as culture as part of our LA/Paris Cultural Olympiad artistic collaboration projects.
It’s summer, of course, but it’s also Grants Season! Our flagship Organizational Grant Program (OGP) and the innovative Community Impact Arts Grant opened this week, and the Arts Internship Grant opens September 10.
In 2023, 228 positions were initially awarded to 157 organizations and of those, 224 positions at 155 organizations were successfully launched. An estimated 4,180 applications were received for these positions.
What a month! As we take in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, we were pleased to announce the 2024 Cultural Olympiad Poster Competition in a special Board of Supervisors presentation honoring the dazzling creativity of LA and Paris student artists and their art schools.
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With excitement from the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and in anticipation of Los Angeles’ role as host of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, students from three LA County art and design schools in the 2024 Cultural Olympiad Poster Competition were honored today with a celebration at the Board of Supervisors meeting and a presentation by Board Chair Lindsey Horvath.
LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AWARDS OVER $6.4M TO ARTS, CULTURAL, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
Funding Grows for Arts Nonprofits, as Flagship Organizational Grant Program Receives First Increase in LA County Budget in Over 15 Years
This month, we convened researchers, funders, and practitioners for LA County Arts and Health Week, rolled out a new Arts and Culture department logo, launched more Arts Internship positions, released a program evaluation of the Creative Wellbeing initiative, and have an opportunity for organizations with creative career programs to add your listing to Creative Careers Online—you can explore these updates below.
In its second evaluation of the Creative Wellbeing approach, Harder+Company Community Research found that young people who participated experienced positive social-emotional benefits while also exploring their interests, building technical art skills, and increasing their access to the arts. Adults who participated in the program are experiencing and embodying Creative Wellbeing values and healing themselves through this work. They further found that
Today, in a motion authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously declared the week of June 10, 2024 as Arts and Health Week. There is growing research that demonstrates the arts have a positive impact across physical, mental, and public health.
I want to first acknowledge the close of May, which marked both Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month and Mental Health Month! I am grateful to our many incredible grantees, artists, Creative Strategists, and partners who serve our AANHPI communities, and I am of course also very proud of our collaborators with whom we work at the intersection of arts, health, and recovery—including our growing Creative Wellbeing programs and resources…
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on May 2, 2024.
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What an Arts Month it has been! It began with a motion by Chair Lindsey Horvath and Supervisor Solis declaring April as Arts Month in LA County, praising the artists, creatives, educators, organizations, and advocates vital to arts and culture, and highlighting our decades of continued work to ensure the people of Los Angeles County have access to arts. This motion, and other motions before it, also called for support in expanding our flagship Organizational Grant Program (OGP), which supports over 650 cultural and arts organizations of all sizes.
This third study by SMU DataArts analyzing the demographic makeup of the arts and cultural workforce in LA County finds a significant shift toward greater racial and ethnic diversity since 2019, particularly at the leadership level.
The LA County Arts Internship Program (AIP) will provide 228 university and community college students with paid on-the-job experience in the arts at over 160 nonprofit organizations across the LA region starting this summer. Applications for interested students are open now.
The Board of Supervisors has declared April 2024 as Arts Month—a time to celebrate, and advocate for, the power of the arts!
To celebrate Arts Month, we have made a few artworks available to download below as desktop wallpapers or video conference backgrounds (for programs such as Teams and Zoom). The artworks on this page represent only a small portion of the full Los Angeles County Civic Art Collection. We also invite you to:
As we close out March, Women’s History Month, on behalf of the Department I acknowledge the vital and vibrant contributions of all the female-identifying artists, arts leaders, culture bearers, creative workers, and community advocates throughout LA County! Just above this note, for instance, is artist Rebecca Méndez with the artwork she created for our Civic Art Collection at the Greater Whittier Regional Aquatic Center, and below, we highlight news about the film of our Arts Commissioner, Pamela Bright-Moon.
PATRISSE CULLORS SELECTED FOR LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE CREATIVE STRATEGIST ARTIST RESIDENCY TO Deepen UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
This February we recognized Black History Month and its national theme of African Americans and the Arts. We celebrate all artists, organizations, artworks, and individuals that uplift African American and Black arts, culture, and history here in Los Angeles County. This year, I had the additional honor of being the keynote speaker for the Los Angeles County African American Employees Association gala, following a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by youth from Arts and Culture grantee Amazing Grace Conservatory!
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on February 14, 2024.
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I am grateful that LA County recognizes that arts and culture strengthen the quality of life and the social and economic development of our people and communities. The Countywide Cultural Policy, adopted by the Board in 2020, serves as a roadmap for how the County and its departments can ensure that every resident has meaningful access to arts and culture…
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Civic Art Division annual report for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
In our final newsletter of 2023, I wanted to celebrate our many accomplishments, which this year, I believe, share a connective thread—we provided resources, tools, and professional development so that individuals and organizations could build equity through the arts in their own lives and work...
This past year, the Arts Ed Collective celebrated 20 years of service to the young people of LA County and acknowledged the hundreds of new and longstanding partners who came together to accomplish what none of us could have achieved alone
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on December 6, 2023.
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The 2022-23 County Wide Cultural Policy Report collectes updates on how the Department of Arts and Culture is implementing the Countywide Cultural Policy.
This November, as the home of the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (LANAIC), the LA County Department of Arts and Culture is proud to acknowledge Native American Heritage Month, a time to highlight and lift up the cultural contributions of the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) community
October is national Arts and Humanities Month! At the Department of Arts and Culture, we envision LA County as a region where arts, culture, and creativity are integral to every aspect of civic life for all people and communities.
The Civic Art Demographics Study, a collaboration between Arts and Culture’s Research and Evaluation and Civic Art divisions, is a comprehensive analysis of artworks and artists in the Collection. It is one part of a broader initiative to review Civic Art policies, procedures, commissions, and support for artists. Research consultant Special Service for Groups, Inc. (SSG) conducted the study on behalf of Arts and Culture and prepared the report.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This month, the Department of Arts and Culture uplifts LA County’s Hispanic and Latino/a/x artists, nonprofits, educators, and culture bearers with celebratory social media and a digital art kit from artist Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia. September is also Deaf Awareness Month, and we're pleased to also feature a beautiful site-specific mural at ICA LA...
New Public Artists in Development (PAiD) program to provide professional development, mentorship, training, public art project opportunities, and advisory roles for artists, made possible with support from The Mellon Foundation.
With this activity kit, create a version of "Con Mucho Amor" by Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia with household items like a few sheets of paper and some pens.
This study explores the role that young adult advisory councils (YAACs) can play in helping arts and culture nonprofits address emerging issues, better understand the communities they serve, and achieve their missions. Through interviews with 25 YAAC managers and participants at arts nonprofits across the US, five key themes emerged:
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture [today] has announced 40 awards to performing arts organizations, individual artists, and producers—totaling $1.2 million—from its LA County Performing Arts Recovery Grant.
As summer comes to a close, I am happy to share that #LACountyArts Grants Season is here...
The Department of Arts and Culture wants to support applications from the region for NEA Our Town funding. However, an appropriate amount of time is necessary to review and discuss proposed projects, partnerships, and collaboration, and allow sufficient notice and time to route correspondence to elected officials. Please plan accordingly.
Inspired by nature’s power to inspire and heal, artist Renée Fox’s mural Sunrise over the San Gabriels, created in 2021, invites visitors to the Olive View Restorative Care Village in Sylmar to contemplate the splendor of the local landscape and native flora and fauna. Throughout Fox’s coloring book are illustrations, which capture the native birds, plants, and butterflies of the San Gabriel foothills. The artist hopes that her mural and this coloring book will inspire curiosity and exploration of the natural world
LA General Medical Center has a long and storied history of providing health and medical services for greater Los Angeles. LA General Child Care Center is located directly west of the iconic General Hospital in Boyle Heights. This Community Coloring Zine is an extension of the mural, "On The Same Team," created by artist Andrew Hem for the exterior wall of the Child Care Center.
The LA County Department of Arts and Culture’s grant programs have been a standard-bearer of support for the Los Angeles region's arts and creative ecosystem for decades, but never as much as now...
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture announces over $31 million dollars will be awarded to over 750 arts, cultural, and equity-building organizations, a historic County investment in the nonprofit creative sector.
This month I am delighted to share the Arts Education Collective’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Book, which highlights two decades of advancing equity in arts education...
ARTS AND HEALTH WEEK MOTION BY HILDA L. SOLIS ENCOURAGES INCORPORATION OF THE ARTS IN COUNTY’S HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND RECOVERY SERVICES
June 9 ‘Arts and Health Week Summit’ Partners LA Opera Connects, Department of Arts and Culture, Healing Arts (An Initiative of The Jameel Arts & Health Lab), and the World Health Organization to Build Cross-Sector Practices
For May, we want to first recognize the contributions of our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, artists, cultural organizations, and partners for AAPI Heritage Month…
As always, we are proud to support LA County’s dynamic arts field and have lots of news to share.
As part of its ongoing relief and recovery initiatives, the LA County Department of Arts and Culture launches the LA County Performing Arts Recovery Grant this week, designed to support the region’s performing arts sector. With it, the department will deliver $1.2 million in one-time funding to artists,
April is Arts Month! Los Angeles County’s creative ecosystem is one of the most vibrant in the world—with arts nonprofits, businesses, artists, and creative workers collaborating in performing arts, design, film and screen industries, and literary arts.
This week, the Board of Supervisors passed a motion that declares April 2023 as Arts Month in Los Angeles County, and praises the contributions of artists, arts administrators, arts organizations, culture bearers, and arts educators throughout the County.
This Spring is filled with renewal and regeneration! Our programs are in full swing: the Arts Internship Program launches soon, and we are busy planning the return of the Arts Datathon.
The March, 2023 Professional Development Newsletter.
I want to first acknowledge February is Black History Month and celebrate Los Angeles County’s Black-identifying artists, creators, and organizations making cultural contributions to our collective history, our present, and our future...
I wish all of you a Happy New Year! We are happy to share that Creative Recovery LA, our grant initiative that directs over $26 million in American Rescue Plan funds to local arts nonprofits, is well underway. There are a few remaining workshops designed to assist applicants, opportunities for office hours, and lots of resources on our website. The application is open now, and closes February 15.
As part of Los Angeles County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief and recovery programs, the LA County Department of Arts and Culture launches the innovative Creative Recovery LA initiative this week.
The final newsletter of the year is an opportunity both to reflect and to look forward to the new year. Perhaps most urgently for the field, we are getting ready to open applications to Creative Recovery LA in January. In this unprecedented funding investment, we will award over $26 million in American Rescue Plan funds to deliver financial relief and recovery to the LA County nonprofit arts and culture sector. It is an incredible opportunity for local nonprofits, with an equity lens, and I am proud of our team working to deliver public funding for the arts where it's needed most. Help us spread the word.
The Department of Arts and Culture uses data and analysis to engage with some of the most important questions in the field of arts, culture, and creativity. Visit the Research Lab to get the highlights. For published reports, please see the Publications page. Or stop by LA County’s Open Data Portal to explore where the arts and creativity connect.
Civic Art Division annual report for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
To kick off our anniversary celebration, Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell authored a motion to commemorate 75 years of arts and culture in LA County, which the Board unanimously passed. And to continue the celebration, we've created a special 75 Years of Arts and Culture report.
Sandra Hahn grew up in East LA and in Whittier, artistically inclined from the start. She had challenges to navigate—including not speaking English when she first started school, needing glasses, and dealing with then-undiagnosed dyslexia. But she always drew, and won many art contests at school and at fairs. As she got a little older, Sandra became interested in photography, film, and murals through after-school programs. She also got into trouble a lot, and because her parents didn’t see or understand the vast opportunities in the field of arts for a young girl, they pushed her toward beauty college.
Jacqueline Pimentel was a shy kid from Covina, but at home, she loved to sing and perform. Her mom always nudged her towards their community’s musical theater scene—Jackie was a Lost Kid in Peter Pan first, and then appeared in Beauty and the Beast and Oliver! "I needed a creative outlet," she said. "My mom always encouraged me to get out of my shell." Jackie joined the chamber choir during high school, where she became a classically trained vocalist, grew to love music in various languages and genres, and had the opportunity to be a member in a successful ensemble that traveled to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall and Seattle for their annual Performing Arts Heritage Festival.
This year, the Department of Arts and Culture celebrates its 75th anniversary. We started as the Music Commission created by the Board of Supervisors back in 1947, and over 75 years we've grown alongside—and often in response to the needs of—Los Angeles County’s dynamic arts and culture landscape. I thank Chair Holly Mitchell and Board of Supervisors for recognizing this milestone and five honorees.
There are exciting changes at the LA County Department of Arts and Culture! In the County, the budget process has several phases. This fall, the Board of Supervisors passed the Supplemental Budget with great news for arts and culture—we are thrilled to receive our budget request in full, and then some, including six new staff positions in our Research and Evaluation, Civic Art, Communications, and Grants divisions, as well as a new Arts Commission Manager role. Each of these new roles will advance equity in the arts in the Department and help us get more programs, opportunities, announcements, and data to you our cultural community. I am thankful this Board wants to invest in arts, culture, and creativity, and I am also very grateful for our wonderful Arts Commissioners and their tireless advocacy during the budget process.
Constance Jolcuvar’s life is full of layers. She’s proud of her background—she’s a half-Hispanic and half-Greek first-generation California native with roots in both San Marino and Frogtown. She acknowledges the privilege in the life she has built, but she’s also often been on the receiving end of nasty, hurtful prejudice. “Most would never guess that to look at me,” she said, “so I’ve always been about striving for fairness and equal opportunity for all, and I’m a constant and strong supporter of public schools.”
October, 2022 Professional Development newsletter.
It was not surprising when Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell nominated artist, writer, and community organizer Patrisse Cullors to the Arts Commission last year. They have known each other for more than a decade, back to when Mitchell was in the California State Assembly. “Holly Mitchell has been of service to my South Los Angeles community for a long time,” Patrisse said, “and I think she has seen me to be both a staunch advocate of criminal justice as well as the arts.”
It is a busy time of year for all of our divisions, as you can see in the updates below. Our Civic Art Division’s Illuminate LA initiative launched this month, with a first panel, "Current State of Monuments." Three of our grant programs are open, and we have been thrilled to get queries from organizations that have never applied before. We are also getting ready to for the I.D.E.A. WAVE workshops for education practitioners next month.
Irina Contreras (pronouns: they/them) was 14 years old during the 1992 LA uprising, and Rodney King was beaten just down the street from where they grew up in Pacoima. The area was known amongst locals for the many police abuses it had historically endured. “I was young, but I definitely had feelings about it,” they said.
I write with huge pride and excitement with the news that the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl to adopt the Cultural Policy Strategic Plan! As you may have read in earlier dispatches, this is an important next step in our ongoing work to expand cultural equity and access across LA County. Once again, thank you for you for input and advocacy. Please check out our press release in the body of this newsletter.
As it continues to expand access to the arts for all residents, the Board of Supervisors today [unanimously] approved a motion by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl to adopt the LA County Cultural Policy Strategic Plan.
Phung Huynh is a Los Angeles-based artist and educator whose work explores cultural perception and representation. Known for exploring the complexities of Southeast Asian refugee communities through drawings that include the iconic pink donut box, Huynh applied her artistic practice and her own experience as a refugee and immigrant to her work with Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) on strategies to build trust and increase participation in LA County support services.
Alexis Camins moved to the Bay Area from the Philippines when he was 9 years old. When a friend dragged him to audition for a musical in high school—42nd Street—his fate was sealed. "I just fell in love with theater. I fell in with being on stage, with being around friends that wanted to express themselves. I felt like I had met my people," he says.
Helen Hernandez is a community advocate at heart. Born in Azusa, she was the oldest daughter of 12 children—inheriting a passion for service from her family, and a fierce sense of determination. “We didn’t have much. My dad was a plumber, and he struggled to give us all a good Catholic school education. So, I always took every opportunity because I never felt like I had anything to lose.”
In this month's newsletter, we are thrilled to share the Countywide Cultural Policy Strategic Plan for Los Angeles County. I am grateful to Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, who directed us to develop a plan to implement the Cultural Policy, and to our community for your input, advocacy, and participation. We will share updates soon…
The Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) announced today $750,000 for 75 Community Impact Arts Grants (CIAG), one-year grants for arts programming at nonprofit social justice and social service organizations, and municipal departments throughout LA County.
To support local arts nonprofits and the communities they serve, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced $4,518,000 million in grant awards through its Organizational Grant Program (OGP). The awards provide two-year grants for 227 organizations.
The drawings for this book were created by artist Olalekan Jeyifous and are inspired by his aluminum mural installation "Canyon Dreamscape," a commission by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture for the Olive View Restorative Care Village in Sylmar, California.
The drawings for this book were created by artist Cheryl Molnar and inspired her glass mosaic mural, "Birds in Flight," a commission by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture for the High Desert Restorative Care Village in Lancaster, California.
This coloring book was created by artist Christine Nguyen and is inspired by her three artworks the artist created for the Sheila Kuel Family Health and wellness Center in San Fernando California.
This coloring book has been created by artist Anne-Elizabeth Sobieski, and is inspired by the artworks she created for Fire Station #104.
This Weeklong Celebration Includes Offsite Events Throughout LA County, Featuring the June 15 Arts and Health Summit from LA Opera and the Department of Arts and Culture.
Rosalyn "Ros" Escobar grew up in Koreatown with the arts all around her. Her mom sang, her dad played guitar and piano, and her sister was very dramatic. Her mom found the girls a performing arts magnet, the Bancroft Middle School. "I met kids from all over the city there. It’s where my love of diversity started. My best friends were from South LA, Russia, India. It was such rich experience," says Ros.
Alis Clausen Odenthal has been devoted to voice and music her entire life. She has forged a long career teaching, managing, and supporting the arts by following two rules: diversify your arts skillset, and say "yes" as much as possible.
We first acknowledge last month's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month which we celebrated by uplifting a few of the many remarkable artists and organizations of the AAPI community. We also acknowledge May as Jewish American Heritage Month, as well as June as Pride Month, and recognize all of the rich cultural diversity we have the honor of engaging through the arts here in Los Angeles County—year round. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue to expand our work catalyzing cross-sector arts collaboration to advance equity across civic life.
In June, 2022 Randi Tahara joined the Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors' longstanding advisory body for the arts. The Commission seats 15 members, diverse arts community leaders choasen by the Board to represent each of the five districts in the County. Tahara was appointed by BOard of Supervisors Chair, Holly J. Mitchell.
Eric Eisenberg was born in Los Angeles and raised by his actress mom. He saw a lot of community theater, with his brothers in tow, and took part in countless fundraisers and telethons—most notably, the Variety Club. Eisenberg was an actor early on, then transitioned into the visual arts as an artist and gallery owner in Venice, California, becoming part of its 1980s-era street art scene. He’s an avid horseback rider and dirt biker, but his main passion and focus is as a martial artist, practicing and teaching every week at a dojo in Little Tokyo.
So far we’ve walked you through two of the six key strategies that guide our collective impact work: School-Based Arts Education and Community-Based Arts Education. This month, we’ll dive into our next strategy for expanding arts education across the region: Creative Career Pathways for Youth, which helps prepare young people ages 14-24 to contribute to LA County’s robust economy. The arts teach us how to communicate, collaborate, problem solve, re-imagine, and innovate—all skills needed for success in the 21st century workforce…
Thank you for celebrating April as Arts Month! This year, it was launched by a Board of Supervisors motion, authored by Chair Holly J. Mitchell and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, to designate Arts Month, recognize the role of arts in the work of healing and recovery from COVID-19, and continue the County’s work of ensuring that all the benefits of, and opportunities provided by, the arts are accessible to everyone.
The Department of Arts and Culture has announced that artist and entrepreneur Jacob Pratt has been selected for a one-year residency as part of its Creative Strategist Program. Pratt will work with staff at the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission to develop a project that could include performing art presentations, community engagement, cultural asset mapping, and other programming.
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on April 22, 2022. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
The Department of Arts and Culture has announced media executive Anita Ortiz has joined its Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors’ longstanding advisory body for the arts.
Since 2015, the Department of Arts and Culture has collected consistent data about the demographic makeup of people who attend our professional development and technical assistance (PD/TA) programs. This report summarizes our analysis of six years of PD/TA programs offered by the department, from 2015-16 through 2020-21.
LA County’s long-running creative workforce development program, the LA County Arts Internship Program (AIP), will provide 228 university and community college students with paid on-the-job experience in the arts at over 140 nonprofit organizations starting this summer.
April is Arts Month! Los Angeles County’s creative ecosystem is one of the most vibrant in the world—with arts nonprofits, businesses, artists, and creative workers collaborating in performing arts, design, film and screen industries, and literary arts.
Madeline Di Nonno’s career trajectory brought her from intern to CEO, from East Coast to West Coast, and from for-profit to non-profit. She has marketed both consumer products and content, and developed business in media—using a blend of Brooklyn tenacity, networking, and leadership skills she modeled from the exemplary executives she’s studied her whole life.
While schools play an important role in providing young people with regular access to the arts, community-based arts learning has the power to cultivate creativity beyond the classroom. Thanks to the work of many of our partners in the field, local programs in neighborhoods across LA County are helping young people develop a deep sense of belonging, and an appreciation for their own community.…
Project Manager Pat Gomez’s occasional nickname in the Civic Arts Division is the “Kevin Bacon of the LA Arts World” because similar to Bacon, she’s worked with a lot of people—and if she hasn’t worked directly with a particular artist or an arts administrator, she’s only a few degrees away from working with someone who has.
As we advance arts, culture, and creativity under the leadership of the historic all-female Board of Supervisors, I want to wish you a happy close to Women’s History Month! We have spotlights of two incredible women below that we’re proud to have in the Department of Arts and Culture family, Arts Commissioner Madeline Di Nonno, the President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and Pat Gomez, an artist and Project Manager whose career has brought incredible opportunity and support to the LA public art world…
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced that Carol Zou has been selected for a two-year residency as part of its Creative Strategist-Artist in Residence program. Zou will work with staff in the Community Centers division of the Department of Workforce Development, Aging, and Community Services (WDACS) to develop new, multicultural, and intergenerational programming for County-operated community centers in the First Supervisorial District.
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on Friday, March 18. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
To support nonprofits in South and Central Los Angeles as they recover from COVID-19 losses, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has awarded grants to 80 nonprofit organizations in the $1M Second Supervisorial District Recovery Grant.
Schools and school districts play an essential role in ensuring that young people grow up with the arts. But changing public education so that ALL schools provide arts instruction for ALL students is a tall order. With this goal, the LA County Board of Supervisors launched the Arts Education Collective in 2002 with just five school district partners. Today, the Arts Ed Collective includes 74 of LA County’s 81 school districts, plus five charter school networks, each working to expand arts learning for students in all of their schools. Yet, the work is not done…
I want to first acknowledge February's Black History Month and all our Black-identifying colleagues, communities, artists, and grantees who bring their experience, change agency, and cultural contributions to the LA County field I am so proud to work in.…
Pamela Bright-Moon’s journey in the arts may have started behind the scenes in television but she now finds herself centered in something much broader—the intersection of arts, community, government, and advocacy.
Arts Education Research Associate Matt Agustin grew up in Lakewood, California, which is nestled against Long Beach and other gateway cities to Orange County—he is proud of and will never give up his "562" area code. He says that Filipinx-American families love pop music, basketball, church, and food—and his was no different.
Longtime arts advocate Leticia Rhi Buckley has been named the new CEO of downtown Los Angeles’ LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Buckley brings nearly 30 years of experience at arts, communications, and entertainment organizations to the Latina/Latino museum and cultural center. She succeeds the retiring CEO John Echeveste, and moves into the new post as LA Plaza celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) has announced artist, business owner, and community organizer Sandra Hahn has joined its Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors’ longstanding advisory body for the arts. The Commission seats 15 members, diverse arts community leaders chosen by the Board of Supervisors to represent each of the five districts in the County. Hahn was appointed by Supervisor to the Fourth District, Janice Hahn (no relation).
As we enter the new year and face its promise and its challenges, we continue to lean in to key themes of recovery, sustainability, and equity. To that end, I invite you to engage in our latest work…
President Joseph R. Biden has appointed Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis to the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center, the living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, is this country’s national cultural center—as a presenter, it hosts world-class performing arts that are made available to the broadest possible constituencies, and as an agency, it delivers powerful arts education opportunities nationwide.
The January professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on Thursday, January 27. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
A staff spotlight on Arts and Culture's Human Resources Manager, Alex Hinojosa.
A spotlight on Arts Commissioners Tim Dang.
Civic Art Division annual report for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Creative Strategist Clement Hanami has been in residence with the Department of Public Health’s PLACE Division since 2018 working on the Vision Zero Initiative, a County initiative to reduce traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all.
From January 3 – 31, 2022, we are seeking public comment on the draft set of Cultural Policy Strategy Proposals.
This December, we are reminded these are challenging times, to be sure. Yet I look back on 2021 with a sense of pride and accomplishment about the work at the Department of Arts and Culture, and the resiliency of the LA County arts and culture community. It was a year that required delays and pivots, but also revealed unique moments of opportunity. We stepped up. We acted quickly to support the arts sector, we secured record levels of funding for recovery initiatives, we adopted landmark arts policies, and we continued to advance equity as LA County's artists and cultural organizations delivered healing, engagement, art, and opportunities for reflection and joy…
An evaluation of the first six residencies of the Creative Strategist program finds that a significant amount of art-as-process occurred across the residencies, with many of the creative strategists doing work engaging communities, especially those historically underserved by local government.
Earlier this month, a motion authored by Chair Hilda L. Solis proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month. In keeping with Los Angeles County’s priority of cultural and racial equity, and in recognition of our American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities, this month I feature our ongoing collaboration with the LA City/County Native American Indian Commission (NAIC)…
Our Department advances arts, culture, and creativity in and throughout Los Angeles County. As a local arts agency we strive to be reflective of and responsive to the communities in the jurisdiction we serve. Yet, as you will see below, we are also incredibly proud to have LA County's local arts and cultural innovations represented on the national and international stage…
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs join international cities chosen for the World Cities Culture Forum’s Global Leadership Exchange, a program to tackle global issues including culture as an expression of democratic participation; providing access to creative space; addressing risk at cultural institutions; and funding that supports diverse art forms.
The October professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on October 12, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
Dr. Jackson’s Cultural Leadership Roles Include the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative’s Advisory Committee,/P.
As we work together toward recovery in the creative sector, it is important to celebrate the wins. I am thrilled to share the news that this month the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the new Public Art in Private Development ordinance. More than two decades in the making, the new ordinance authored by Chair Hilda L. Solis allocates 1% of private commercial, industrial, and residential development project to fund four categories of public art, cultural facilities, conservation, and arts and cultural programs…
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AWARDS GRANTS TO 41 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ADVANCE ARTS EDUCATION
Funded by Philanthropy, Grants Total $867,700 and Support Projects Ranging from Professional Development to Social Emotional Learning in the Arts
The LA County Board of Supervisors voted today to adopt the Public Art in Private Development (PAPD) ordinance to expand arts and cultural resources for County residents. The ordinance allocates a 1% fee from the building valuation of eligible private sector commercial, industrial, and residential development projects, excluding affordable housing, in unincorporated areas of the County to fund public art, cultural facilities, conservation, and artistic and cultural services and programs within the project’s site area.
Artist, best-selling author, and community organizer Patrisse Cullors has joined its Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors’ longstanding advisory body for the arts.
The August professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on August 5, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has allocated over $22 million for arts and creative recovery from its American Rescue Act (ARP) Phase One spending plan. These one-time funds will address six crucial needs in the arts and culture sector.
As we all continue to navigate the shifting COVID-19 terrain and our road to recovery, I want to take a moment to acknowledge my gratitude to all of you for your resilience as we protect and uplift and arts and creative sector. One of our critical roles in that work is investing in LA County’s cultural life through our grantees and program partners, and there are several points of light on that front recently…
Leticia Rhi Buckley has joined its Arts Commission, LA County’s longstanding advisory body for the arts. The Commission seats 15 members, who are diverse arts community leaders chosen by the Board of Supervisors to represent each of the five districts in the County. Buckley was appointed by Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE ANNOUNCES ‘COMMUNITY IMPACT ARTS GRANT’ AWARDS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) has announced $750,000 in grant awards for 63 nonprofit social justice and social service organizations and city departments, as a part of its Community Impact Arts Grant (CIAG) program.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AWARDS MORE THAN $4.5M FOR LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH ‘ORGANIZATIONAL GRANT PROGRAM’
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced $4,518,000 million in grant awards through its Organizational Grant Program (OGP). The awards will provide two-year grants for 231 nonprofit arts organizations.
Department of Arts and Culture Begins Implementation of Countywide Cultural Policy
First Step Is a Needs Assessment, Documenting Where LA County Currently Invests in Arts and Culture, and Where Increased Equity is Necessary
The June Arts and Culture Newsletter was sent out on June 25, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another update from the Department of Arts and Culture, sign up for our Newsletter.
View June Newsletter
In 2020, the Department celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Arts Internship Program, while simultaneously adjusting the program to ensure viability and flexibility in the face of challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Department, the arts sector, and students in the County.
The June professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on June 4, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
Like you, we are very eager to engage again in local arts and culture—to return to live performance, participate in community events, and experience art alongside one another. The Department of Arts and Culture’s programs have served the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now as we emerge from it, we continue to work collectively to expand equity, reimagine economic inclusion, celebrate our cultural community, and promote arts, culture, and creativity for all…
New Report, "Make or Break: Race and Ethnicity in Entry-Level Compensation for Arts Administrators in Los Angeles County," Finds Differences in Income Between BIPOC and White Employees at LA County Arts Organizations
Make or Break: Race and Ethnicity in Entry-Level Compensation for Arts Administrators in Los Angeles County is a study of compensation for entry-level arts administrators in Los Angeles County and reveals troubling disparities between those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and their White counterparts.
This zine is designed to help artists, arts organizations, and arts funders use data as you plan for reopening. It includes findings from Audience Outlook Monitor surveys and interviews with arts audiences and visitors in LA County. It also offers suggestions for other data to consider as you plan to reopen.
The Department of Arts and Culture contracted with WolfBrown to provide our grantees with an opportunity to participate in the Audience Outlook Monitor (AOM), a national study to measure and track audience readiness and attitudes towards returning to live arts and cultural events. The AOM survey was deployed three times between August 2020 and January 2021.
The April professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on April 27, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
The Los Angeles County Arts Education Collective, coordinated by the Department of Arts and Culture, and KCET have joined forces to create a new documentary that explores the value of arts education for the youth, communities, and creative economy of LA County.
The LA County Arts Internship Program (AIP) will provide 228 university and community college students with paid on-the-job experience in the arts at over 140 nonprofit organizations starting this summer. Applications for interested students are now open.
2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the LA County Arts Internship Program. The 2020 program was a year unlike any other, and to mark the occasion, we are pleased to share the following program materials with you.
The March professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on March 19, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
One-time program to support longtime and emerging community organizations located in LA County's Second Supervisorial District.
The February professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on February 10, 2021. To make sure that you never miss another PD opportunity from the Department of Arts and Culture (as well as our partner organizations), sign up for our Professional Development Newsletter.
The LA County Arts Commission celebrates the Golden State Mutual Collection—one of the largest African American art collections in the United States and an important piece of Los Angeles history.
An annual report chronicling the activity of the Department of Arts and Culture's Civic Art Division from January July, 2019 - July, 2020.
The Department of Arts and Culture in collaboration with Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Business and Management of the Arts today released a new paper titled Accessibility and the Arts: Reconsidering the Role of the Artist.
Based on interviews with disabled and non-disabled artists and art professionals, this research study, Accessibility and the Arts: Reconsidering the Role of the Artist, investigates the role of artists and the museums that exhibit their work in making artwork accessible to people with disabilities.
The 2019-20 End of Year Report provides an overview of how the Arts Ed Collective has adapted our work to support partners, youth, and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This summative report on activities between January and June 2020 addresses the ways in which County agencies, school districts, and community-based organizations are pivoting to remote programs and services to ensure that youth across the region engage in quality arts education.
What began as a health crisis has become an economic crisis and a moment of reckoning for racial justice. Since mid-March, systemic and structural inequities across LA County have become more visible than ever before.
Outgoing Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has allocated $1M for a grant program that will support the arts in the Second District.
Photo Courtesy of DIAVOLO Dance Theater.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AWARDS $12M IN CARES ACT CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDS TO 337 LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
View our November, 2020 Newsletter, which includes info on reopening Arts and Culture—safely, the New Blueprint for Arts Education, the CEII Advisory Committee, and more!
Learn More
The New Regional Blueprint for Arts Education contains strategies for increasing arts education in school, after school, and in communities, including juvenile justice, foster youth, and workforce development systems.
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced that grants totaling $811,600 will be awarded to 40 Los Angeles County school districts.
The LA county Department of Arts and Culture announces more than $4.8 million in grant awards for the Organizational Grant Program and the Community Impact Arts Grant Program.
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture Receives $10 Million for Cares Act Arts Relief Fund.
The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has been recognized with four Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo).
On August 4, 2020, the Board of Supervisors will consider a motion that would direct the Chief Executive Officer to identify funding in the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Supplemental Budget to increase the Organizational Grant Program by $3.6M over three years.
Creating Connections: An Arts and Culture Framework and Toolkit establishes standards for arts and culture as core programming across all County parks, and was developed by Creative Strategist Sandra de la Loza.
Five years ago, Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced a motion, unanimously adopted by the Board of Supervisors, that set the then Arts Commission on a journey to create a framework for advancing cultural equity among the region's arts and culture sector.
View our July, 2020 Newsletter!
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture announced today the opening of the 2020 Arts Internship Program, the 20th anniversary of the nation’s largest paid arts internship program.
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture announces the adoption of the Countywide Cultural Policy by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the first policy of its kind in the nation.
View our June, 2020 Newsletter, which includes info on our Creative Strategist Program, a collaborative event for parents, statements on racial injustice, anti-racism resources, and more!
View Newsletter
The rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) have necessitated a shift in the timeline and parameters of the 2020 Arts Internship Program.
Healing Through Story: A Toolkit on Grassroots Approaches is a resource developed with and for Department of Mental Health staff by artist and LA County Creative Strategist Anu Yadav focusing on the power of story as an arts-based healing process.
This page contains resources for students, parents, and educators who are looking to create at home and explore digital learning resources from local and national arts education hubs.
On Tuesday (March 31, 2020), the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ motion to proclaim April as Arts Month! In these unprecedented times in which we find ourselves, Arts Month serves as the perfect reminder of just how vital arts, culture, and creativity are to civic life.
LA County Department of Arts and Culture plan advances Board commitment to create more rehabilitative, less punitive, justice system.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports Arts and Culture's new Civic Artist Initiative with professional development, fellowships, and project opportunities for artists
During the 2018-19 fiscal year, Arts and Culture's Civic Art Program managed a total of 74 civic art projects, with 21 new projects initiated and 17 completed.
Arts and Culture's Research and Evaluation Division releases three reports, free and accessible, on three different aspects of arts in LA County.
An Update on Arts and Cultures efforts further diversity, equity, and inclusion through out our work.
A statement on the Ford Theatres.
A report on the 2019 Arts Internship Program, which included 203 College students interning at 125 organizations.
A study using qualitative methods to understand arts audiences in LA County.
This is the second study conducted by SMU DataArts for Arts and Culture, analyzing the demographics of the arts and cultural workforce in LA County.
Nonprofit arts organizations in Los Angeles County interested in working with college interns during the summer may now apply to participate in the Los Angeles County Arts Internship Grant Program.
Department of Arts and Culture Announces $750,000 in Awards for Community Impact Arts Grant Program
Grantees Include Organizations Working with System-Involved Youth, Veterans, and Programs Serving the Disability, Homeless, and Immigrant Communities
A report about the implementation of a new eligibility requirement for the Organizational Grant Program that requires all grantees to submit a statement, policy, or plan outlining their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and access as part of their applications.
Image caption: Department of Arts and Culture grantee Heidi Ducker Dance’s Duck Truck Residency Program.
Department of Arts and Culture's First Announcement—
Nearly $5.5 Million in Grants For Diverse Range of Nonprofit Arts Organizations and School Districts Throughout LA County
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has appointed and sworn in Kristin Sakoda as the first director of the newly-established Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
The newly-established Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has announced Tim Dang and Madeline Di Nonno have joined the agency’s Arts Commission, the department’s longstanding advisory body.
The re-dedication ceremony for the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial took place in downtown Los Angeles on July 3, 2019—the 51st anniversary of the original dedication.
Los Angeles County Arts Commission Transitions to First Official Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
Local Agency Advances Arts, Culture, and Creativity for the People of LA County
On June 28, 2019, LA County opened a "first-of-its-kind Reentry Center" at 3965 South Vermont Avenue. The center aims to reflect a new but proven approach to making justice more restorative and humane while keeping our communities safe, according to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Creative Strategists and County staff bring new thinking to projects that improve services and quality of life.
Arts Commission Grows Innovative Program, Embedding Artists In Los Angeles County Departments
Creative Strategists and County Staff Bring New Thinking to Projects that Improve Services and Quality of Life
Artist Kim Abeles recognized For Collaboration with Female Inmates Who Fight Fire
'Americans for the Arts' Honors Project that Embedded Abeles in Los Angeles County Fire Department's Malibu Conservation Camp #13
LA County Releases Open Source Design Resource to Spur New Affordable Housing
Free Publication on Accessory Dwelling Units to Inspire New Housing Typology in the Effort to Combat and Prevent Homelessness
Building Creative Career Pathways for Youth analyzes opportunities for youth in 70 creative occupations in the creative industries as well as programs designed to help youth access those jobs. This field scan found that Arts Education programs are nearly ubiquitous in the County, although not necessarily high quality nor equitably accessible to all residents.
Some Place Chronicles is a series of five creative placemaking projects set in five unincorporated communities in the Second District of Los Angeles County. Numerous and varied engagements with the people who live and work in these communities have culminated in five unique books—each containing explorations, documentations, and pragmatic and poetic testimonies of what has been and dreams of what might be—created by five different artists/collectives. The chronicle of Ladera Heights, View Park, and Windsor Hills—A Place We Call Home: East of La Cienega and South of Stocker—is authored by Sandy Rodriguez and Isabelle Lutterodt, working together as Studio 75.
The resource publication called Part of the Solution: YES to ADU, features concepts for ADUs presented by emerging and established leaders in design and architecture.
Largest Paid Summer Arts Internship Program Opens for Los Angeles County College Students
Expansion Includes Positions for Community College Students
March is Women’s History month and, to celebrate, we’ve gathered together a selection of artworks from the County Collection that have either been created or facilitated by female identifying artists.
The LA County Department of Arts and Culture's Civic Art Program is pleased to present the 2017/18 Annual Report. In FY 2017/18, a total of 68 civic art projects were actively managed, 26 new projects were initiated, and 20 projects were completed.
On January 4, 2019 the Sheila Kuehl Family Wellness Center opened to public. This new facility provides an array of outpatient mental health services for children and their families. It also houses mental health programs that serve the community, including the Child Navigation Team, Psychiatric Mobile Response Teams, and LA Enforcement Teams.
The LA County Arts Commission has received a one-year grant from the Art for Justice Fund to support the launch of the Arts and Youth Development Project, which will utilize a number of collaborative, arts-based strategies to transform the LA County Juvenile Justice System and dismantle the youth-prison pipeline. With this announcement, the Arts Commission joins a national cohort of 32 fall 2018 grantees.
Community Impact Arts Grant (CIAG) Application Window Open Until December 19, 2018
Funding Opportunity for Nonprofit Organizations Using the Arts to Serve Constituents
A summary and evaluation of the Summer 2018 Arts Internship Program from the perspectives of both interns and supervisors.
Following the Board motion in October 2017, the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission began working collaboratively to identify options for addressing the statue of Christopher Columbus (statue) in Grand Park which is a part of the Los Angeles County Civic Art Collection.
Applications are open for two separate grant opportunities, made possible by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The Organizational Grant Program (OGP), and the Arts Internship Program support organizations providing cultural services to LA County residents, communities and neighborhoods.
LA County School Districts Receive $748,400 in matching Grants in Support of Arts Education in Schools
Awards Support Projects Ranging From Culturally-relevant Instruction to Creative Workforce Pathways
Readings Celebrates New Civic Artwork in the Park
The LA County Arts Commission and the LA County Department of Public Works recently uncovered a time capsule buried at the base of the Forte Moor Memorial in Downtown LA.
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission has announced $4,518,000 in two-year grants to 216 nonprofit arts organizations through its Organizational Grant Program (OGP). Since its inception in 1947, the arts commission has provided funding for arts and culture programming.
The Antelope Valley Artist Outpost continues with the release of Yestermorrow: Llano—An Artist's Field Guide to Llano, California.
Two LA County Civic Art Projects recognized by American for the Arts
Arts Commission Announces $500,000 in Grants to LA County Organizations Providing Services Outside Arts
Report and Documentary Highlight Benefits of Artworks for Civic Engagement
Four Projects in South LA Represent Shift Towards “Art As Infrastructure”
On Tuesday, May 15, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to create the first-ever LA County department for arts and culture. The motion, co-authored by Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl, instructs the County to transition the LA County Arts Commission to a stand-alone County department starting July 1, 2018 and complete the transition by fiscal year 2019-20.
This report is an evaluation of a range of outcomes at the four sites in the Creative Graffiti Abatement Project in Los Angeles County. This report evaluates the success of arts-based strategies in shifting perceptions, increasing positive activity, reducing graffiti vandalism, building a sense of community ownership and building capacity for future arts and culture activities at the sites
Building on the success and excitement surrounding LA’s first-ever Arts Datathon in 2017, the LA County Arts Commission presents Arts Datathon: Collections, which aims to explore collections data as a way to increase access to the arts. This event brings together artists, curators, civic hackers, educators and arts administrators from across the region to explore collections data on topics from military memorabilia to street art.
Now in its 18th year, the LA County Arts Internship Program will provide 179 university and community college students with paid on-the-job experience at over 100 arts organizations across LA County this summer.
On February 15, I had the distinct pleasure of joining the County of Los Angeles as Executive Director of the Arts Commission.
Some Place Chronicles is a creative placemaking project that features the people, histories and cultures of East Rancho Dominguez, Florence-Firestone, Lennox and Ladera Heights/View Park/Windsor Hills.
"I like having my art in a public space because you never know who you're going to help."
—Dora De Larios
On February 7 the Rowland Heights Library re-opened featuring a work from the county collection by the late artist Dora De Larios. The work is a plaster veneer bas relief which was originally created in 1978 when the library first opened.
The Department of Arts and Culture's Civic Art Program is pleased to present the 2016/17 Annual Report. In FY 2016/17, a total of 62 civic art projects were actively managed and covered 60 communities reaching over 8,500 community members throughout the County.
Read The Report
Read our report on the 2016-17 Research and Evaluation Plan: what we did and why, and some key lessons we learned along the way.
In December, members of Americans for the Arts elected Clare Haggarty as a member of their advisory council for the Public Art Network Council. Haggarty will advise Americans for the Arts’ staff on developing programs and services that will build a deeper connection to the field and the network membership.
The LA County Arts Commission announces an addition to the County’s Civic Art Collection, a sculpture donated by renowned Mexican artist José Sacal. The artwork, which was originally created in 2012, honors two important women with roots in LA County, civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.
Read the Full Release
Artist Sandy Rodriguez was placed as an artist in residence at the Recuperative Care Center at the Martin Luther King Medical Campus in Willowbrook, CA, in 2016/17. This residency was part of a $1.6 million investment in Civic Art funded through the LA County Percent for Art policy. A final evaluation report on the residency is available now.
LA County Board of Supervisors Appoints Arts Leader Kristin Sakoda as Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission releases findings from a 18-month survey of arts education in K-12 public schools.
The LA County Arts Education Profile survey was administered to all 2,277 public schools in LA County to learn about the quantity, quality and equity of arts education. We found that nearly every school offers at least some arts instruction, and most schools offer at least two disciplines. At the same time, we found troubling inequities that reflect disparities in the wider society.
On Saturday, April 22, 2017, nearly 150 participants, speakers, volunteers, and observers assembled in downtown LA to spend the day exploring how data can be used to improve access to the arts for all ten million residents of Los Angeles County. This report tells the story of what we did, and provides a toolkit for others who want to do their own datathon.
Five recommendations included in the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative (CEII) report released by the Arts Commission in April 2017 have received funding by the LA County Board of Supervisors as part of the approved budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18.
Longtime Arts Innovator and Thought Leader Will Leave Current Role in July
Report includes 13 Actionable Strategies
This report outlines the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative, an 18-month public process that led to the development of 13 recommendations to the LA County Board of Supervisors to ensure that everyone in LA County has equitable access to arts and culture, and to improve inclusion in the wider arts ecology for all residents in every community.
This study analyzes the demographics of the arts and cultural workforce in Los Angeles County—specifically, staff members, board, volunteers, and independent contractors associated with 386 cultural nonprofits, most of which receive funding from Arts and Culture, and/or seven other municipal funders in the County. The findings presented in this report are based on 3,307 unique responses to the DataArts Workforce Demographics survey, conducted from May 2016 - July 2016. Among the key findings:
89.3 KPCC
By Priska Neely
Internships Offer Hands on Experience at Cultural Arts Institutions and Organizations Throughout LA County
Applications Now Open for Interested Organizations
The Civic Art Program Annual Report provides a comprehensive review of projects completed in the 2015/16 fiscal year and their impact on the community.
KCRW
Segment on Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Los Angeles Daily News
By Sandra Barrera
LA Weekly
By LA Weekly
To accompany Matt Stromberg's piece on the Civic Art Baseline Inventory project, a LA Weekly composed a slideshow of 30 civic art pieces in the County's civic art collection.
LA Weekly
By Matt Stromberg
Join hosts Cheryl Burke (Dancing with the Stars) and Brian White (Scandal, Mistresses, Chicago Fire) for the Emmy® Award-winning 57th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration.
Splash Magazines
By Elaine L. Mura
This series of reports analyzes data reported by arts nonprofits in LA County to DataArts (formerly the Cultural Data Project). They explore how much is being paid on salaries and benefits, how many hours of time is volunteered, and they provide recommendations to how arts nonprofits can improve in these areas.
Organizations Based in Los Angeles County Are Encouraged to Apply
Two Distinct Grant Opportunities Available for Arts Organizations and Non-Arts Organizations Providing Services to LA County Residents
The Artwork Titled "Inverted Landscapes" by Elena Manferdini Was Chosen from 260 Submissions Across the Country
Inverted Landscapes, a site-specific artwork at the Zev Yaroslavsky Family Support Center in Van Nuys, California has been named as one of the 38 best public art projects by the 2015 Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review by Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts.
Recent research has found that across the US, arts audiences are declining, while arts participation is on the rise. How can both be true at the same time? This review of the literature on Public Engagement in the Arts explores this question.
89.3 KPCC
By Priska Neely
LA Times, The Burbank Leader
By David Laurell
This literature review provides background information on how others have addressed how to improve diversity, cultural equity, and inclusion in the arts and culture sector, with a particular focus on boards of directors, the arts and culture workforce, audiences and programming, and culturally specific arts organizations.
Volunteer labor is at the heart of what makes nonprofits run. Managing those volunteers is one of a nonprofit's most significant tasks. Data reported by arts nonprofits in LA County to the Cultural Data Project (CDP) suggests this is as true in the arts as in other nonprofit sectors.
In 2012, 35,076 volunteers worked nearly six million hours at 386 nonprofit arts organizations in LA County. This report explores the role of volunteers in arts nonprofits.
In 2015, Arts and Culture analyzed data from 2014 reports written and submitted by grantees of the Organizational Grant Program, to identify trends in the field and to improve the program.
In 2013, 198,110 people in LA County were employed in 79 creative occupations. Half of those jobs did not require a bachelor’s degree. What kinds of careers are available, how well do they pay, and what training is required?
In 2013, the Arts Ed Collective + Arts and Culture administered a survey to arts organizations and teaching artists across the County, to find out who provided arts education services to LA County's 2,198 public schools.
This study found that arts nonprofits in LA County may be more likely than employers in other sectors to provide health benefits to their employees.
What kind of data does the Arts Commission use, and how do we use it? The LA County Arts Commission utilizes data from a variety of sources to evaluate and improve our programs and to understand the status of the local arts ecology.
This study found that bout half of all arts nonprofits in LA County had paid staff in 2011.
Analyzing data from the Cultural Data Project, Arts and Culture found that nonprofit arts organizations in Los Angeles County paid some $266.6 million in salaries to the equivalent of 4,650 full time employees in 2011.
Arts education across all 81 school districts in LA County has held steady since 2005/06, despite the recession and even as the total number of students enrolled in public schools has declined. That’s what Arts and Culture learned when analyzing data on arts courses, enrollment, and teachers that was reported by school districts to the California Department of Education (CDE).