Arts for LA (AfLA) is seeking a full-time Executive Director (ED) to lead all aspects of the organization. The Executive Director is responsible for leading broad scale advocacy efforts for the arts in Los Angeles and beyond. The ED will effectively engage the political, funder, and arts communities to unite around this cause as well as encourage arts supporters to advocate for building a strong arts and cultural infrastructure in Los Angeles. To accomplish this the Executive Director will continue to implement and update the strategic plan with the Board; supervise a staff; provide annual and long-range financial and operational management; fundraise; and build external visibility within the wider local, state and national community of artists, arts organizations, supporters and government leaders.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our broad network of over 50,000 advocates, thank you for your continuing support of Arts for LA.  The last few years have been transformative for arts, culture, and arts education in Los Angeles County.  Creativity has become a major part of our civic dialogue. Ensuring there is equity and inclusion in the arts regionally is a top governmental priority.  Arts policies are being adopted and funding is being increased by local, regional and state authorities.   Private citizens are giving more to the arts than ever before.  And here at Arts for LA, we find ourselves on the precipice of a transformation.

My greatest honor has been to serve as Arts for LA's Executive Director for the last 3+ years, and at the end of September, I will be stepping down to make space for the next leader to continue this work. I remain deeply and passionately dedicated to Arts for LA's mission, the family of community leaders we have strengthened and mobilized, and what we can continue to achieve by working together.

Democracy is more than an ideal. It is a practice. And there are perhaps no better places to practice than in school and in the United States Senate. Below, Amy Shimshon-Santo (Head of the Arts Management MA program in Los Angeles) reflects on her recent field study trip to Washington D.C. with students.

ARTS ADVOCATES! Do you have feedback for us about ArtsDay LA 2018? Let us know what you thought so we can make sure the event gets better with each passing year! We take your feedback seriously, and make adjustments to account for what can be done better!

Take our survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/artsdayla_2018

We started off ArtsMonth with a groundbreaking policy change!

On Tuesday, April 4th the LA County Board of Supervisors became the FIRST EVER to adopt a Student Bill of Rights, ensuringequitable arts access for all students in the region! High School students Yaya Gomez and Bethlehem Seifu gave public comment at the meeting, and their words were inspiring and emotional. Arts for LA staff was proud to train these two young leaders through the CTG Student Ambassadors Program. 

Watch the Adoption below!

With 200+ advocates in attendance, unanimous council support, and productive delegates visits, this was our most successful ArtsDay LA to date! Thank you to all of the dedicated arts advocates, volunteers, and speakers who attended!

Check out our photos HERE!

On Tuesday, April 10, the City of Santa Monica hosted ArtsDay Santa Monica! The theme of the event was an Ode to Arts & Culture in Santa Monica, and featured performances by Santa Monica based artists Luis Alfaro, Dan Kwong, and singer/songwriter Julia Paymer of Downbeat 720. We particularly loved the beautiful ArtsDay Proclamation, written by poet Luis Alfaro!

Read the Proclamation below:

Are you a regular on our Job Listings page? Now you can get updates on new job listings as soon as they're posted by following @arts4la on Instagram!

We post new listings in our insta story daily -- it's a quick and easy way to stay updated on the go! No more hitting refresh and waiting around!

From the Americans for the Arts Arts Action Center:

On February 12th, President Trump released his FY 2019 budget request. His request unfortunately repeats many of the same, misguided ideas of his last budget proposal--ideas that were met with a resounding rejection from Congress last year.

His request includes the termination of our nation's cultural grant-making agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The proposed budget ignores the fact that Congress soundly rejected this same attempt last year to terminate the nation's cultural agencies. 

To recap, Congress is still working to finish FY 2018 funding, even while FY 2019 is underway.

• On November 20, 2017, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee fully restored the funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at $150 million each for FY 2018.
• In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the appropriations bill that included $145 million for the NEA and NEH.
• Final FY 2018 funding is anticipated by March 23rd, the date current funding is set to expire, as part of the short-term funding patches Congress is passing while working to write final funding bills.

Now is a critical moment in the process. Ask your congressional delegation for support of the NEA at least $150 million for FY 2018, and $155 million for FY 2019.

Now more than ever is the time to tell our story and make our case again and again at the federal, state, and local levels that the arts matter. Take two minutes now to#SAVEtheNEA by joining Americans for the Arts and Arts Action Fund members in sending a unified message to Congress to restore full funding to the NEA and NEH.

Check out the video from our Artists Committee members Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kal Penn, Ben Folds, Josh Groban, and Julie Andrews, which has been viewed over 1 million times, and then take two minutes to send your message below. Thank you!