On October 1st, Arts for LA gathered 200 arts, civic and education leaders at the Skirball Cultural Center to review a policy platform that will focus collective advocacy efforts over the next two budget cycles.

The platform, rooted in a value statement, contains eleven goals centered around five issue areas: Arts Education, Funding & Revenue Streams, Cultural Infrastructure, Cultural Tourism and Integration with Every Aspect of Civic Life.

Click here to read the platform goals.

Arts for LA Executive Director Danielle Brazell presented the platform along with the help of several key leaders who are directly working on each area, including:

• Richard Burrows - Director of Arts Education, LAUSD
• Jessica Cusick - Manager, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs
• Cynthia Campoy Brophy- Execuitve Director, The HeArt Project
• Charmaine Jefferson - Executive Director, California African American Museum
• Laurie Schell - Executive Director, California Alliance for Arts Education
• Laura Zucker - Executive Director, Los Angeles County Arts Commission

The goal of the Platform is to help focus our collective advocacy efforts, and to provide tangible ways in which stakeholders can effectively participate in our regional advocacy strategy. Most importantly the platform informs elected officials of the needs of our community with clear and achievable goal.

With the Platform articulated, attendees were asked to choose an afternoon working group. Each group corresponded to one or more of the eleven goals. Each group was asked to answer a series of questions relating to additional research, key partners, strategies and benchmarks.

Ninety minutes, seven questions and a couple hundred leaders put their best thinking on and came up with some great strategies to achieve the eleven policy goals. We are now reviewing the materials from each group. Stay tuned as this portion of the story is currently being written.

The Platform is currently now up on our site and we'd love for you to share your thoughts about it. If you prefer, it is also available via download at the end of this page.

Background:
Arts for LA Board of Directors crafted a policy framework centered around seven issues. These issues, identified as the foundation of a vibrant arts ecology, are directly related to public policy. The Board appointed a planning committee and charged them with developing tangible, actionable and achievable goals that our field can get behind over the next two budget cycles.

The Arts for LA Board and Convening Planning Committee presented the preliminary platform to a select group of leaders on June 30th. After receiving feedback from that group, Arts for LA presented the platform to 200 arts, civic and education leaders on October 1, 2008 as part of the 2008 Arts Leadership Convergence which took place at the Skirball Cultural Center.

The 2008 Arts Leadership Convergence was made possible in part with support from Americans for the Arts, Arts for All, the Boeing Company, the California Community Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, KUSC 91.5 FM, the James Irvine Foundation, The Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Skirball Cultural Center.