Cultural and creative businesses are the fourth largest business sector in Los Angeles County, generating $115 billion in revenues annually. These businesses—ranging from for-profit creative enterprises to nonprofit arts service organizations—stimulate the regional economy by providing jobs, fueling tax revenue, and enhancing the overall quality of life for Los Angeles County’s ten million residents.
Research & Reports
GENERAL RESEARCH
Otis College Report on the Creative Economy
The Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region, the annual study commissioned by Otis College of Art and Design from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), affirms the monumental impact of the arts, design, and entertainment industries as a combined economic force in Southern California.
National Endowment for the Arts Research Reports
Comprehensive listing of NEA reports, including the Artists in the Workforce report and the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
The James Irvine Foundation Arts Publications
Excellent research selection, including Critical Issues Facing the Arts in California: A Working Paper from The James Irvine Foundation.
LOCAL REPORTS
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
The Commission fosters excellence, diversity, vitality, understanding, and accessibility of the arts in Los Angeles County. The Commission provides leadership in cultural services for the County, including information and resources for the community, artists, educators, arts organizations, and municipalities.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Contact Information
Click on your Supervisor for full contact information.
City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
Municipal arts agency for the City of Los Angeles. The goal of the Department of Cultural Affairs is to enhance the quality of life for Los Angeles’s four million residents and 25 million annual visitors.
City of Los Angeles City Council Contact Information
Full contact information for Los Angeles’s elected City Council members.
City of Long Beach Economic Development & Cultural Affairs Department
Economic Development and Cultural Affairs supports a variety of services, programs an incentives to help businesses and arts and culture grow and prospering Long Beach.
City of Culver City Cultural Affairs
The Cultural Affairs Division of the Community Development Department is responsible for the administration of the Cultural Affairs Commission and city-sponsored performing arts, visual arts, and historic preservation programs.
City of Pasadena Arts & Cultural Affairs:
Information about the Arts & Cultural Affairs Department and the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission.
City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division:
The Cultural Affairs Division is the largest single provider of arts services for the City of Santa Monica. Site also contains information about the Santa Monica Arts Commission and the Santa Monica Arts Foundation.
Contact Information for LA City Council and County Board of Supervisors Arts Deputies (PDF):
Need to talk to your City Councilperson regarding an arts-related issue? Use this list to find the appropriate deputy to speak with first.
ExperienceLA.com:
LA’s official cultural calendar and trip planner.
LA Stage Blog:
Frequently updated information about local performing arts. LAStageBlog.com is the new online incarnation of the long-running LA STAGE Magazine, which suspended printing in March of 2009. LAStageBlog maintains the same mission, goals, and staff as LA STAGEMagazine, but with a much larger amount of content, presented in a more timely fashion than was possible with the bi-monthly print version.
