Cultural Policy
City of Los Angeles, Council District 2
Judy Leventhal, a Cultural Policy Fellow, represents North Hollywood, Council District 2. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Teaching Artist, Registered Art Therapist, and Contemporary Mask Maker, Leventhal is the creator of the Mask Making Adventures in Creativity Visual Arts Trauma Intervention Program. She partners with New Directions for Youth, Inc., a well established North Hollywood based nonprofit who specializes in working with at-risk youth in underserved communities throughout the San Fernando Valley. Judy Leventhal has received the 2018 "Bruce Ackerman" Partners with Youth Award from New Directions for Youth for creating and running the Mask Making Adventures in Creativity art program that gives youth the opportunity to connect with their heritage and inner selves.
With support from the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles Artist-in-Residence Program, and the California Arts Council, Artists in Schools Extension Program, the New Directions for Youth After School Mask Making Adventures Program provides young people, residing in the Los Angeles City Mayor's San Fernando Valley Gang Reduction and Youth Development Zone, with opportunities to create sculptural masks and prepare journals to build identity and multicultural understanding through creative ability in art.
Leventhal has advocated for a public art Mask Wall to celebrate the creativity of children and youth served by New Directions for Youth. She has received support for the Mask Wall public arts project from City Council Member Paul Krekorian and from New Directions for Youth Executive Director Monica Austin Jackson. Leventhal plans to establish ties with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts to develop long-term support for her artistry, the Mask Making Adventures in Creativity program, and the Mask Wall. She envisions establishing an apprenticeship legacy to reach future generations.