Paris/Los Angeles Cultural Olympiad Leadership Exchange

The LA County Department of Arts and Culture has participated in the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF) since 2013, representing the Los Angeles region alongside the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) at the City of LA. In 2017, WCCF launched a new Leadership Exchange Program and subsequent report, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Today, the Department of Arts and Culture, DCA, the City of Paris, and Seine Saint Denis are committed to engage in dialogue, learning, and sharing best practices, ideas, and models for arts and culture in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024 and 2028.

This work included a visit from a Parisian delegation to Los Angeles in March 2023, followed by the LA delegation's visit to Paris in June 2023, which explored the role of arts and culture strategies in neighborhoods; cultural equity and diversity; artistic infrastructure and cultural facilities and arts-based redevelopment; and social inclusion.

Memorandum of Understanding

Explore the historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Cultural Olympic Cooperation among the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, the City of Paris, and Seine Saint Denis Department of Culture.  

2024 CULTURAL OLYMPIAD ​ARTISTIC COLLABORATION PROJECTS

A new legacy of Cultural Olympiad collaborations celebrate the LA/Paris connection during 2024 Games. The projects provide an opportunity to engage artists in the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, and test events and concepts to inform the development of cultural programs for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The projects include:  

• Nuit Blanche: Nuit Blanche, which means "White Night," began in 2002 in Paris. The June 1-2 all-night art festival showcased contemporary art in public spaces throughout the city and featured LA-based artist Edgar Arceneaux.
• FAMA (French American Mural Art) Mural Project: Led by the City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs and the City of Paris, in the context of the Paris 2024 and LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the ninth edition of the FAMA Mural Project featured LA artist Katbing who was paired with French artist Kekli to create this artwork. 
• World Music Day (Fête de la Musique) Celebration: Celebrate Make Music Day was held in Leimert Park on June 21, 2024. The City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with LA Commons and Make Music LA, presented Pulsations LA, a free outdoor concert event and global livestream featuring performances by Cultural Treasures Kinnara Taiko, Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Jazz Ensemble with vocalist Dwight Trible, tap dance by the Nicholas Dance Studio, poetry by artivist S. Pearl Sharp, and a drum workshop by Project Knucklehead, and Amazing Grace Conservatory's Wendy Raquel Robinson as emcee. 
• Playin’ Paris: Presented by La Place hip hop cultural center, this event brings together sport, music and dance in a unique event. This second edition features 3x3 basketball, DJing and hip-hop dance. LA-based DJs Beat Junkies are participating, and LA graffiti artist DEEFER was commissioned to create art.
• Poetic Games and Poetry Relay: As part of the Cultural Olympiad, from May to September 2024, Paris is set to host a first-of-its-kind program: the Jeux Poétiques de Paris (the Paris Poetic Games). The Poetic Relay project, the culmination of the Poetic Games on September 7, is a collaboration between the Paris University Club and Beyond Baroque Literary Center, sponsored by the City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs through the business incubation enterprises of Community Partners.
• Youth Arts Education Programs. To extend impact and reach to youth, the Department of Arts and Culture engaged its contracted community-based organizations to offer youth arts programs aligned with themes of the Paris/Los Angeles collaboration—Olympic and Paralympic Games, arts and sports, Olympic values, cultural diversity and inclusion, and connections between U.S. and France. Programs will include breakdance, poetry, drum, writing, and mural workshops, in LA County parks (through the OUR Spot and Parks After Dark programs) and juvenile detention centers as part of the Department of Arts and Culture's Arts Education and Youth Development Division.
• Food Temple Culinary Festival: The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is partnering with the City of Paris, Le Carreau du Temple, and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes to present Michelin award winning chef Gilberto Cetina representing Los Angeles  at the Food Temple culinary festival in Paris, September 20-22, 2024. An event highlighting food as culture in Los Angeles is also being planned. 

LA County Board Motions

• Supervisors Mitchell and Solis ensure readiness for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games with a motion directing an economic impact and opportunity analysis of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the LA regional economy.
• Supervisors Horvath and Solis author a motion outlining the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Olympic Cooperation Between the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, City of Paris, and Département de Seine-Saint-Denis to collaborate, share, and learn through artistic and cultural cooperation surrounding the 2024 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Supervisor Horvath’s motion directs cultural sector convenings in preparation for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Supervisors Solis and Hahn’s motion directs County departments to uplift arts, culture, and recreation during the 2023, 2026, and 2027 World Cups and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.