The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture has awarded nearly $5M in additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to the arts sector, focused on support for the Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing category of its Creative Recovery LA (CRLA) grant program. While this new funding was awarded before the wildfires, the Department hopes it will better position grantee organizations, and the communities they serve, to recover from the fires and build back stronger in the months and years ahead.

In 2023, the Department created Creative Recovery LA to distribute ARPA funds to an arts sector still suffering from COVID-19 closures, low attendance, and financial hardship. CRLA’s innovative program design included five grant categories, so that arts nonprofits could apply for funds that addressed their particular organizational needs while boosting the recovery of both the arts sector and communities hardest hit by COVID across LA County. The grant categories were Arts Relief and Recovery; Creative Works and Jobs for Artists; Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing; Creative Career Pathways for Youth; and Arts for Justice-Involved Youth. In all, 668 organizations were awarded $26.5M in that first round. Grantees were given three years to spend the funds, with the aim of supporting longer-term sustainability for the sector as it continues to recover from the pandemic.

In 2024, the Department received an additional allocation of $4.9M in ARPA funds, which it distributed to 484 CRLA Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing grantees to support activities that promote their arts programming to diverse communities, bring back audiences and engage new ones, and build infrastructure for marketing and promotional initiatives.

With this additional funding now distributed, the Department has delivered a historic total $31.4M in ARPA federal funds to support the relief and recovery of our local arts community. Our program design applied an equity lens to grant program design, prioritizing organizations located or providing services in or within one mile of a “Highest Need” or “High Need” census tract. Funding priority was also given to organizations with budgets under $15 million, the small and mid-size organizations that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and often had less access to capital while serving the county’s most vulnerable communities.

A new national research report from SMU DataArts highlights our work in receiving and delivering relief funding to the field, and describes how tactics in pandemic-responsive grant design related to advocacy, process, and equity can be utilized for arts agency funding in years to come.

Combined with a previous $12M CARES Act Relief and Recovery Fund, the Department delivered over $43M to support the arts sector and boost the cultural and creative economy of the LA region coming out of the pandemic.

"Arts and culture are vital to the wellbeing of our communities, boosting mental health, economic opportunities, and youth development," said Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. "These grant programs have a tremendous impact, supporting grassroots organizations, mid-sized groups, and major cultural institutions alike. They reach millions of residents and visitors annually, including our most vulnerable populations, while providing stable careers for artists and arts workers. Investing in this kind of broad, inclusive support is essential to rebuilding Los Angeles County’s creative economy and arts infrastructure."

"As a longtime champion of the arts, I’ve worked to develop Los Angeles County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and the Countywide Cultural Policy, which laid the foundation for equitable investment and collaboration in the arts," said Hilda L. Solis, Chair Pro Tem and Supervisor to the First District. "Los Angeles County’s cultural diversity is vital, and through initiatives like Creative Recovery LA, we’re investing in arts organizations and ensuring equitable access to cultural resources, especially for historically underserved communities. These ARPA funds are key in rebuilding our creative infrastructure and driving economic and social growth, and I remain committed to promoting inclusion and access to arts and culture for every Angeleno."

"By bringing critical funding to community organizations that stand in the gap in helping to serve residents the County doesn't always reach, we are helping to realize a Los Angeles County where all our residents can access vital services and the many benefits of the arts," said Holly J. Mitchell, Supervisor to the Second District. "The arts are essential for our humanity. This historic investment strengthens the County's efforts to enhance youth development, affirm diverse cultural identities, improve quality of life, and much more."

"Arts organizations in Los Angeles County are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and, now, facing the devastating impacts of wildfires across our region. Awarding an additional $5 million in ARPA funding to Creative Recovery LA will provide a critical lifeline to these struggling organizations," said Lindsey P. Horvath, Supervisor to the Third District. "By prioritizing equity and directing resources where they're needed most, we are helping the creative economy recover while ensuring arts, culture, and opportunities for expression remain accessible to communities across LA County."

"The pandemic hit some communities harder than others and those same communities are still struggling," said Janice Hahn, Supervisor to the Fourth District. "These ARPA funds that the County earmarked for the creative sector are prioritizing folks who need help the most and are part of a plan to build back our creative sector to full strength."

"Arts and cultural organizations are vital partners in creating a thriving LA County—across human, community, and economic development. Supporting marketing to reach diverse communities and build new and returning audiences strengthens our cultural sector, quality of life, and our creative economy. I am grateful to the Board of Supervisors for this boost to LA County’s cultural sector, and to our department in creating a grant program that has supported hundreds of organizations in the wake of the pandemic. While these additional ‘Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing’ funds were awarded before the devasting wildfires, our hope is they will strengthen arts organizations, and the communities they serve, as we move into recovery ahead. They also lay the groundwork for the art field’s preparation for the Cultural Olympiad during the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics where capacity to reach diverse, multi-lingual, multi-national, and multi-cultural audiences will be key," said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture.

Creative Recovery LA is an initiative of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture, funded by the LA County Board of Supervisors through the American Rescue Plan Act.

For information on all other American Rescue Plan Act programs of LA County, visit https://ceo.lacounty.gov/recovery/arp/