In 2018, Arts for LA will hold the second annual ArtsMonth, a month-long series of events and opportunities for dialogue between the arts community and local representatives.
History of ArtsMonth
The first annual ArtsDay held on April 11, 2012 brought together more than 75 arts supporters and city council office representatives inside City Hall in celebration of the City’s nonprofit arts and cultural sector and its role in building a vibrant, economic, social and civic Los Angeles.
ArtsDay 2012 pioneered a dialogue between arts advocates and city council representatives with the goal of advancing access to arts throughout Los Angeles. Specifically, advocates urged council members and staff to retain the full 1% of the Transient & Occupancy Tax, the sole revenue stream for the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Launched in 2017, ArtsMonth expands ArtsDay into four weeks of events and opportunities across Los Angeles County. 2017 included a Town Hall meeting on how the arts are part of and impact other social justice movements, a presentation before the LA County Board of Supervisors, a presentation on the economic impact of arts and culture to the region’s mayors, a discussion of our Policy Framework, a “hack the arts” datathon, and events focusing on the power of youth leadership and arts education.
April 3: County Supervisors Declare ArtsMonth
On Tuesday, April 3, 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors declared April to be ArtsMonth, continuing our tradition of collaboration with our representatives throughout ArtsMonth
WATCH THE DECLARATION BELOW!
April 6: ACTIVATE 2018-19 Application Launch
Applications for the 2018-19 ACTIVATE Cohort are open NOW!
ACTIVATE is a FREE 9-month arts leadership program for Angelenos to build skills working with policymakers and communities to advocate for equitable arts! The program recognizes the importance of local leaders and seeks to empower these individuals with the skills, knowledge, and an expanded network to effect change in communities across Greater Los Angeles. Deadline to apply is Sunday, June 17.
Click here to learn more and apply!
WEBINAR
Arts for LA will be hosting a webinar on the ACTIVATE Program and application process for prospective ACTIVATE Fellows. Arts for LA staff will review the benefits and goals of ACTIVATE, the program guidelines and expectations, differences between the Arts Education and Cultural Policy program tracks, and detailed information about the 2018-19 ACTIVATE Program Application. The webinar will also feature ACTIVATE Alumni, who will discuss their journey as ACTIVATE Fellows as well as their work on their Action Projects during the program and beyond.
Click here to RSVP for the Webinar!
April 10: ArtsDay Santa Monica 2018
An ode to the Arts and Creativity in Santa Monica
Location: Santa Monica City Hall, City Council Chambers, 1685 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Time: Approximately between 6:30 – 7:30pm
Description: The City of Santa Monica is participating with an ode to the role that the arts and creativity play in the City as part of the April 10 City Council meeting. Performances include a reading of an original poem and proclamation created especially for ArtsMonth by Annenberg Community Beach House Artist-in-Residence Luis Alfaro, and Santa Monica Artist Fellow Dan Kwong performing with singer/songwriter Julia Paymer, a member of Downbeat 720, an open-mic program for high school students that the City has been offering for over sixteen years.
April 16: Now Art LA's "Resilient Cities" Screening & Interactive Discussion
Location: RVCC Intersect in the Arts District! 2406 East 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
"Now Art LA and Link TV host an evening of Global Connection through Art and Activism. Following the screening of “Resilient Cities – Kiev: Art as Protest”, Now Art LA will moderate a live interactive dialogue between artists featured in the episode and local artists."
April 19: Arts Advocacy Tweet-Out
JOIN US TODAY - TAKE OVER TWITTER IN THE NAME OF THE ARTS!
On Thursday, April 19th, Arts for LA hosts its annual Tweet-out. Thank your elected officials for their continued support of equitable arts in LA, and remind them that their constituents include artists and arts advocates. We have made it incredibly easy to connect directly to your representatives to advocate. Together we can amplify the digital voice of the arts in LA!
CLICK HERE TO TWEET YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
April 20: ArtsDay LA 2018
ArtsDay LA 2018 was a success! With unanimous support from the LA City Council, the day incapsulated the energy, enthusiasm, and urgency of the arts in LA. From a morning Flash Mob led by blue13 dance company, to a powerful presentation at the City Council Meeting, to productive and collaborative Arts Delegates meetings, this year's ArtsDay showed what is possible when we as Arts Advocates show up and use our collective voice and passion!
Watch the full ArtsDay city council presentation HERE! Speakers include Betty Avila of Self Help Graphics, Amir Whitaker of the ACLU, and Yaya Gomez of the CTG Student Ambassadors! Thank you to ArtsDay Sponsor Council Member Mitch O'Farrell and the entire CD 13 Office for making the day possible!
Watch the video of the flash mob HERE! HUGE thanks to both groups of incredible performers from the morning, YOLA @ HOLA and blue13 dance company!
For more photos from ArtsDay LA 2018, check out our Facebook album here! Photos by Gennia Cui/The Future Collective.
April 21: Santa Clarita Arts Run!
On April 21st, Arts for Santa Clarita collaborated with New Global Adventures to host the first ever arts run! Our Deputy Director Karen Louis completed the 5K, and reported that the route was full of exciting and energizing musicians, actors, and performers to motivate the runners!
Check out photos from the Arts Run HERE!
April 24: AFTA Webinar - Why Mentorship?
On Tuesday, April 24, Arts for LA's Director of Programs Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones co-presented the webinar "Why Mentorship - Developing a Meaningful Program" with Quanice Floyd of the Arts Administrators of Color DMV Network. The webinar was an opportunity for us to share about our ACTIVATE Program on a national level, and explain how the program is structured for success and meaningful outcomes! We would like to thank AFTA for making access to this webinar free throughout April as part of ArtsMonth.
Applications for ACTIVATE 18-19 are open now! CLICK HERE to learn more!
April 16 - 24: Santa Clarita ArtsWeek
This year, Santa Clarita expanded their ArtsDay into a full week! The week culminated with the city council ArtsWeek proclamation. Speakers included Sara Brown and Diana Kado of Forge Ahead Arts. The events focused on the value of supporting small local arts organizations, and the collaborative effort of the county and the City of Santa Clarita in promoting the arts.
April 27: Arts Datathon 2.0: Collections
This Friday, the Arts Access Datathon is a one-day event exploring how data can be used to improve access to the arts for everyone. This year's Datathon will focus on collections data, offering participants several different tracks to work on projects related to civic art, street art, veterans memorabilia, music, and much more.
The Arts Access Datathon is sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
April 28: Center for Cultural Innovation's Arts Convening
DATE: Saturday, April 28, 2018
TIME: 9:30am - 1:30pm
LOCATION: Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (Garden Level) - 244 S. San Pedro St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
DESCRIPTION: What are the necessary conditions for a sustainable arts ecosystem in Los Angeles 10 years from now? How can artists be agents for change to take the necessary actions NOW? A panel of local arts leaders from across the sector will provide provocations, stimulating participant-led conversations on urgent topics facing Angelenos today (and tomorrow), and resources will be shared to stimulate action.
April 26 - 28: Get Lit Classic Slam
DATE: Thursday, April 26 - Saturday, April 28, 2018
TIME: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
LOCATION: The Theatre at the Ace Hotel - 929 S. Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90015
DESCRIPTION: 300 Poets. 50 Schools. 1 Champion. Join the revolution at the largest youth classic poetry festival in the world, where high school students from all over Southern California face off to “slam” iconic poems & their original responses. Every April (National Poetry Month) students complete Get Lit’s in-school program with this festival, judged by artistic thought leaders, for school spirit & cash scholarships. This year’s judges include Duckwrth, Neil Hilborn, Demi Adejuyigbe, Danielle Brazell, Gina Belfafonte, & Rhiannon McGavin!
WEBSITE: https://getlit.org/events/classic-slam/
Online Advocacy
As we near the end of ArtsMonth, make sure your #artsadvocate voice is heard online! Be sure to follow and include Arts for LA in your social media for regular updates on ArtsMonth!
Instagram: @arts4la
Twitter: @Arts4LA
Facebook: Arts for LA
Use these hashtags to keep our network connected to what you are doing!
#artsforla #artsvote #artsdayla #artsmonth #artsadvocacy
Become a Member of Arts for LA
Our Spring Membership Drive is in full swing! Now through May 15th, the Herb Alpert Foundation is generously matching all donations to Arts for LA up to $10,000. Contributions of all sizes qualify you to be a member. Join today and become a voice for the arts in Los Angeles!
