The 2025 Grants Season is Here

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.

With the events over the last few weeks, and many communities targeted for federal immigration raids, we've seen fear, unrest, program cancelations, and disruption. I want to reaffirm our values—all communities deserve access and inclusion in arts and culture, and all deserve respect, dignity, and rights under the law. We invite you to explore and share the County’s Know Your Rights resources.

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.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, two commemorations that speak to the importance of culture, inclusion, and connection. The intersection of the arts and mental health is also present in this month's updates... Explore Newsletter

The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) has announced that Randi Tahara has been installed as President of its Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors’ longstanding advisory body for the arts. The Commission seats 15 members chosen by Supervisors to represent each of the five districts in the County. Tahara was appointed to the Commission by Supervisor to the Second District, Holly J. Mitchell.

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.

The first-ever Annual Report for the LA County Department of Arts an Culture highlights activities and impacts from 2023-24.

Every year, the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission selects three community members to recognize Native American Heritage Month. As we close November, we recognize this year’s honorees: Kenny Ramos—Spirit of Creativity, Cynthia Ruiz—Spirit of Community, and Chief Anthony Morales—Spirit of Tradition. We're proud to be the home of the LANAIC and congratulate the honorees on their contributions to culture and community.