Newsroom

ARTS FOR LA’S FEBRUARY ENEWS UPDATES AND EXCITING UPCOMING EVENTS.

As Black History Month comes to an end, we honor the Black artists and activists who have shaped the LA region and continue to fight for every Angeleno’s right to creativity and culture. Arts for LA is grateful for this community of inspiring leaders working tirelessly to build a more just society.

At Arts for LA we are hard at work fighting to make our 2021 Advocacy Agenda a reality. Executive Director Gustavo Herrera represented the LA region at the release of the annual Otis Report on the Creative Economy – watch the event and download the report here. Our statewide advocacy partners at Californians for the Arts shared the results of their survey of nearly 1,000 arts workers and over 600 organizations across California. Read their findings here.

We were excited to read the joint announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon about a package of immediate actions that will direct relief to those experiencing significant economic hardship due to COVID-19 – including $50 million in grants for nonprofit cultural institutions.

There are many ways to get involved over the coming months, including our second monthly meeting of the Community Action Network, the winter Regional Conversation with Californians for the Arts, and more.

Onward!

Arts for LA

COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK

Arts for LA is hosting a monthly meetings of our Community Action Network – open to all arts advocates across LA County. This is a chance to come together and get organized for action in support of artists, arts workers, and cultural organizations. The first meeting was this month on February 10, and we were pleased to welcome over 70 participants.

Join us for our March Community Action Network meeting on Wednesday, March 10 at 6:00 PM.

LA WINTER REGIONAL CONVERSATION

Join us and Californians for the Arts on Thursday, March 4 at 1:00 pm for our Winter Regional Conversations. These conversations will include updates on state and federal advocacy with Californians for the Arts Executive Director, Julie Baker, and also special guests, Danielle Brazell, General Manager of the LA City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Kristin Sakoda, Director of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture.

You will have a chance to share ideas, questions and concerns with the Californians for the Arts team – and most importantly, each other – as the situation continues to evolve.

Join us for this important conversation, and share your own experiences!

ADVOCATING FOR STUDENT HEALTH AND THE ARTS

As students process the trauma of the pandemic, the arts are not a luxury; they are an essential tool for recovery. Arts education not only decreases feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation but also positively impacts all-around academic performance. Now is the time to communicate with your school district leadership about the need to include the arts in your Local Control & Accountability Plan. Join Arts for LA, Create CA and the California Alliance for Arts Education for a webinar that will:

Provide a brief overview of the LCAP process and document
Present the compelling argument for including the arts in the LCAP as a key strategy to support student health
Share the experience of a district administrator who successfully worked to include the arts education in the LCAP to support social emotional learning
Advocates will walk away from this interactive session with concrete tools and next steps to increase arts education offerings in their school district.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Emerging Voices Fellowship is now open for applications!

The Fellowship provides a five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. The program is committed to cultivating the careers of Black writers, and serves writers who identify as Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, writers with disabilities, and those living outside of urban centers.

Through curated one-on-one mentorship and introductions to editors, agents, and publishers, in addition to workshops on editing, marketing, and creating a platform, the five-month fellowship nurtures creative community, provides a professional skill-set, and demystifies the path to publication—with the ultimate goal of diversifying the publishing and media industries.

Applications are due March 17!

Deadline Extended! Submit to the Student Voices Campaign by March 1.

The Student Voices Campaign is an annual statewide creative arts competition for young people to make their voices heard in their school district. Students in grades 7-12 create short original art pieces that show why the arts matter.

Submit to the Student Voices Campaign by March 1 for an opportunity at up to $500 in cash, Adobe software, and change in your community! We’re proud of the continued support of Adobe and we can’t wait to honor outstanding submissions at our event on April 16!
BRIC Foundation Summit

The 2021 BRIC (Break, Reinvent, Impact and Change) Virtual Summit will be happening March 5th and 6th. The Summit’s goal is to bring a community of thought provokers together from different facets of the entertainment, media, and tech industries to collectively solve how we support and nurture up-and-coming talent – as it pertains to women and underrepresented groups who have an interest in being creative leaders.

This free Summit aims to create a space where actionable solutions are created and in turn, can be presented to our respective organizations and can either be implemented – or at the very least shared to spark ideas on how to make long-term effective impactful change.

Arts for LA is funded by:

and the generous support of Organizational and Individual Members like you.