August 7, 2019—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 Department of Arts and Culture has 15 Commissioners. They are diverse community leaders, appointed by the Board of Supervisors to represent each of the five districts in the County.

Though the LA County Arts Commission was established in in 1947 to support local music performances, its role has grown to support diverse art forms and to function as the County’s full-service local arts agency. Now, the newly-established department will further elevate the role of arts and culture in Los Angeles by investing in cultural activities and organizations; increasing access to career pathways in the creative economy; building new cross-sector collaborations with County departments (such as the Creative Strategist Artist in Residence program); and implementing the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative, known as CEII, a cultural plan with a progressive suite of recommendations to strengthen diverse, equitable, and inclusive access to arts and culture for everyone in the County.

We are dedicated to advancing arts, culture, and creativity throughout the County, the Commissioners’ advocacy and support is invaluable as we strive to reach more people, more deeply, in more diverse ways, said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture.

Tim Dang was appointed to the Arts Commission by County Supervisor Hilda Solis and is a co-chair of CEII. He is a theater director and producer, arts administrator, organizational strategic planning consultant, cultural diversity and equity advocate, writer, and script development consultant whose career has spanned over three decades. He is currently an adjunct lecturer teaching directing and dramaturgy at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and a producing artistic director emeritus of East West Players (EWP). Dang led EWP, the longest-running professional theater of color in the United States, for 23 years through 2016. He has produced and directed over 100 plays and musicals at EWP, LA Theatre Works, PanAsian Repertory, Geva Theater Center, Perseverance Theatre, Lewis Family Playhouse, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and Singapore Repertory Theatre.

It is an honor to help shape the landscape of the largest County in the country, Dang said. The Department of Arts and Culture strives to bring cultural policy and arts initiatives to every single Angeleno, on every single mile, creating healthy and vibrant communities.

Appointed by County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Madeline Di Nonno is the Chief Executive Officer of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the leading research-based nonprofit working within the entertainment and media sector to achieve gender equity in children's entertainment. She leads the Institute's strategic direction, advocacy, programs, research, financial, and operational activities. Di Nonno has extensive experience in entertainment, digital media, and business development. She has held numerous executive leadership positions with companies such as Universal Home Entertainment, the Hallmark Channel, and Nielsen Entertainment. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Television Academy Foundation, and serves on boards for Promundo U.S. and the Population Media Center.

Achieving equity and access for inter-sectional children in the arts and entertainment media is critical in order to stay relevant and reflect our ever-changing culture. And, seeing an abundance of diverse cultural arts will inspire our children to consider arts as a career path,’ Di Nonno said. Our motto at the Institute is ‘if they can see it, they can be it.’ The Department of Arts and Culture also prioritizes inclusiveness and access for all children. It’s an honor to join the Commission, which is trying to ensure everyone in LA County can engage in arts and cultural services.