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Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and the Board of Supervisors declared April 2026 as Arts Month—a time to remember the celebrate the power of the arts! Check out the resources and activities below! All of the artwork that’s featured is a part of the LA County Civic Collection, cared for by our Civic Art Division.
We are pleased to share the second LA County Department of Arts and Culture's annual report, highlighting our creative and cultural impacts during Fiscal Year 2024–25. This report captures our core programs and accomplishments, including the continued implementation of the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative, as well as the ways we stepped up in response to the January 2025 fires. What emerges in these pages is the power that the arts hold in helping communities heal and reimagine, and in building a more resilient and connected LA County.
As we close a year with unprecedented hardships, I believe more than ever that the arts have the power to help communities heal, rebuild, and reimagine. Your artistry, cultural services, and positive impact made all the difference in 2025. At the Department of Arts and Culture, we remain steadfast in our commitment to you and our mission to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. The past year’s core programs and recovery-focused efforts are chronicled in a 2024-25 annual report we’ll share in the new year. For now, we highlight a few extraordinary accomplishments.
Earlier this month, our Board of Supervisors unanimously approved updated language for LA County's Land Acknowledgement. Since adopting the Countywide Land Acknowledgement in 2022, we've worked to embed this protocol into County practice and share thoughtful resources developed with local Tribes and partners such as the Land Acknowledgement Toolkit.
The November professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on November 24, 2025.
Even in challenging times, I find myself energized and inspired by the meaningful work happening across our arts community—and I'm excited to share some updates with you.
September brings us to Hispanic Heritage Month, observed nationally from September 15 to October 15—a time to honor the heritage, culture, and artistic contributions of Latino communities, which represent nearly half of Los Angeles County residents and shape our region’s creative identity.
The September professional development newsletter contains opportunities for grantees and individuals. It was sent out on September 30, 2025.
Dear colleagues,
In times of challenge and change, I am always reminded of the restorative power of the arts to heal. The work you and our cultural community do exemplifies this truth. Below, we share achievements and opportunities that reflect on arts in healing, recovery, and community connection.
All County Departments have been directed to prepare for budget cuts to take effect in FY2025-26, which will be ongoing until further notice. For the Department of Arts and Culture, this cut is equal to $1,726,000 which will result in reductions to the Organizational Grant Program, Community Impact Arts Grants Program, and Arts Internship Program. Details are below.
The LA County Arts Internship Program (AIP) will invest over $1.6 million to fund 228 university and community college internships, providing students with paid on-the-job experience in the arts and creative sector at over 170 nonprofit organizations starting this summer. Applications for interested students are open now.
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.
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.
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
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…
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.
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:
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.
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
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...
The 2022-23 County Wide Cultural Policy Report collectes updates on how the Department of Arts and Culture is implementing the Countywide Cultural Policy.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Civic Art Division annual report for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
From January 3 – 31, 2022, we are seeking public comment on the draft set of Cultural Policy Strategy Proposals.
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.
Dr. Jackson’s Cultural Leadership Roles Include the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative’s Advisory Committee,/P.
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 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.
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
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
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.
One-time program to support longtime and emerging community organizations located in LA County's Second Supervisorial District.
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.
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!
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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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Arts Commission Announces $500,000 in Grants to LA County Organizations Providing Services Outside Arts
Two LA County Civic Art Projects recognized by American for the 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.
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
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.
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
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
KCRW
Segment on Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Los Angeles Daily News
By Sandra Barrera
LA Weekly
By Matt Stromberg
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.
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
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.
89.3 KPCC
By Priska Neely
LA Times, The Burbank Leader
By David Laurell
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.
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).