Civic Art Special Projects

Download free video conference backgrounds and wallpapers featuring artworks from the LA County Civic Art Collection.

The Creative Graffiti Abatement Project was implemented by the Department of Arts and Culture from 2013 to 2017 in four neighborhoods in south LA County. Civic artworks at two parks and two libraries in these neighborhoods were intended to increase community pride and ownership of public assets and ultimately lead to the reduction of graffiti vandalism at county properties.

The Civic Art Division (Civic Art) of the Department of Arts and Culture works with established and emerging artists to commission new artworks, community engagement activities, temporary art installations, and event-based programming for new and renovated County facilities. Completed projects and artworks are accessioned into the Civic Art Collection (Collection). Since 2004, the Collection has accessioned over 500 historic and contemporary artworks from over 300 artists, which include new civic art commissions, donations, and art purchases.

Illuminate LA is a new initiative of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture to shed light on the collective and complex history and memory of Los Angeles County by exploring the County’s Civic Art Collection and public artworks across the region.

The Collective Memory Installation is a digital exhibition of artworks reflecting on the collective history of Los Angeles County, presented by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with Grand Park and The Music Center.

Unify by Amy Smith

Los Angeles County celebrates 100 years since the ratification and adoption of the 19th Amendment in August 1920. Despite its passage, many women of color were barred from voting for decades through racial discrimination and intimidation. To honor this centennial and the ongoing work toward achieving equity, the Department of Arts and Culture collaborated with the LA County Women and Girls Initiative to commission six artists to create commemorative artworks.

In July 2020, the Department of Arts and Culture put out a call for for artists, in collaboration with the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, to create a temporary artwork or program in response to the November 2018 removal of the Columbus Statue at Grand Park, downtown Los Angeles. Two projects were selected: a virtual engagement program by the Puvungna Collective and temporary art installation by Mercedes Dorame.

Part of the Solution: YES to ADU stems from the Department of Arts and Culture's Civic Art Program’s work in partnership with the Homeless Initiative on the Second Dwelling Units Pilot Program to support the development of granny flats, also called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as one of the solutions for affordable housing.

As directed by the Civic Art Policy, the Department of Arts and Culture maintains a Prequalified Civic Artists List. In 2014, the juried list was refreshed with 49 established and emerging Los Angeles County civic artists representing permanent art, temporary art, and social practice.

Public Artists in Development (PAiD) is a new program funded by the Andrew W.

Restorative Care Villages

Arts and Culture's Civic Art program announces an Artist Roster of artists who are pre-approved for the upcoming RCV projects.

The Department of Arts and Culture is pleased to mark a significant cultural milestone with the installation of its first permanent sound artworks at Atlantic Avenue Park and Athens Park.

The Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial is the largest bas relief military monument in the United States that is located at the actual site it commemorates.

The Public Art in Private Development (PAPD) ordinance allocates a 1% requirement of the building valuation of eligible private development projects in unincorporated areas of the County to fund public arts, cultural facilities, conservation, and artistic and cultural services and programs within the project’s site area or a five-mile radius of the project site.