| View in Browser |
 |
A Message from Our director
Self Portrait of a City by 3B Collective at the Hilda L. Solis Care First Village. LA County Civic Art Collection |
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Even in challenging times, I find myself energized and inspired by the meaningful work happening across our arts community—and I'm excited to share some updates with you.
I'm thrilled to announce that LA County will launch the Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) program in 2026 as part of our Creative Career Pathways for Youth initiative. This program will open doors for rising public high school seniors, giving them professional development and real-world experience at local arts and cultural organizations.
We've also been selected again for the World Cities Culture Forum's Leadership Exchange Programme—an honor that reflects the strength of our arts ecosystem. Building on our previous work exploring the role of arts and culture during the 2024 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we'll now join partners from London, New York, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver (alongside the City of LA) for a virtual dialogue on "How to Grow a Successful Film City."
To celebrate and preserve LA County's public art heritage, we're inviting community members to share personal and family photographs of interactions with the beloved artworks at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. These visual stories matter, and we want to collect them! We're also looking for passionate community members to serve as panelists for our Grants and Civic Art review panels—please consider getting involved.
Finally, we urgently remind and support school districts, families, and arts education advocates about the need to spend the first-year funds from California’s Prop 28 Arts & Music in Schools Act. Creativity can’t wait! We’re championing the cause via our Arts Education work. Information about our upcoming webinar is below.
Thank you for everything you do to nurture the arts and strengthen communities throughout LA County. Your dedication makes all the difference.
Onward!
Kristin Sakoda
|
|
|
New Opportunity for Arts and Culture Organizations
Photo courtesy of Homeboy Art Academy. |
Bloomberg Arts Internship Program Applications Are Now Open
The Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) program, started in 2012, offers paid summer internships to rising public high school seniors at arts and cultural organizations in seven cities. The Department of Arts and Culture is partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch Los Angeles County BAI, as part of the Creative Career Pathways for Youth initiative. Los Angeles County BAI provides an 8-week paid summer internship, along with professional development, college preparation support, dedicated mentorship, and educational and cultural field trips.
Interested and eligible organizations should submit an application detailing their proposed internship projects, work plan, and an organizational budget. See below for more information on guidelines, timeline, application workshops, and more.
Deadline to apply: November 19, 2025, 11:59PM (PST)
|
|
|
|
Community Call for Photos for Digital Archive
Images courtesy of Bertha Ruiz-Hoffman (left) and Josh White Photography/JWPictures (right). |
Call for Artists:
Vermont Corridor, Site 2
The Department of Arts and Culture is creating a digital archive of Benjamin Dominguez’s sculptures at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area and invites community members to share their personal and family photographs interacting with the artwork over the years!
For nearly 65 years, Mexican artist Benjamin Dominguez’s (1894-1974) artworks Starfish, Octopus, Fish, Tripod, Mother Dragon, and Two-Headed Dragon (1961) have served as joyful icons of cultural expression, community identity, and creative play in LA County for all to enjoy. These historic playground sculptures will be conserved this fall, and as part of this effort, we aim to gather archival and historic photos sourced from the community to celebrate and archive the history of one of the most treasured and interactive series of public artworks in Los Angeles County.
Together, let’s celebrate these beloved public artworks storied history in South El Monte by creating a collaborative photo collection for all to enjoy! |
|
| Submission Deadline: December 12, 2025 | 11:59PM (PST) |
|
| A program of the Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. Whittier Narrows Recreational Area is a park owned or operated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. |
|
|
World Cities Culture Forum
A delegation of Paris and LA arts leaders at World Stage, 2023, part of the World Cities Culture Forum exchange. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
| The Department of Arts and Culture was part of a joint multi-city application for the third round of the World Cities Culture Forum’s (WCCF) Leadership Exchange Programme—and we’re proud to be selected! In prior rounds, we were awarded an exchange for the 2024/2028 Olympic Games and Cultural Olympiad with City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), City of Paris, and Seine Saint Denis. This round, we’ll represent Los Angeles (along with DCA) and join London, New York, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver in a virtual leadership exchange on "How to Grow a Successful Film City." It will explore strategies that foster collaboration and resilience between major film cities and regions, and we’re excited to share, and learn, ways to retain and grow our film and creative economy ecosystems here in LA County. Read more in the World Cities Culture Forum announcement. |
|
|
|
Call for Panelists
Interns attend the 2025 Arts Internship Summit. Photo by Yoko Morimoto. |
ORGANIZATIONAL GRANT PROGRAM
COMMUNITY IMPACT ARTS GRANT PROGRAM
ADVANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
CIVIC ART PROGRAM
Every year, the Department of Arts and Culture looks for prospective panelists to serve on review panels for our Grants and Civic Art programs. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis and honorariums are provided for panelists who participate in a grant review panel or artist selection committee.
Individuals can nominate up to four panelists for one or more programs by providing their information in the application form. If you would like to nominate more than four individuals at a time, you may use the same link to provide additional nominations.
Please submit your nominations by November 21, 2025 | 5PM (PST)
|
|
| To further promote equity, panelists selected to serve on a grant panel are provided implicit bias training with a particular focus on the grantmaking process. Individuals who have pending grant applications with the Department of Arts and Culture are prohibited from serving on panels that review those applications. |
|
|
You're Invited
|
Creativity Can’t Wait:
Maximizing Arts & Music in Schools Act funds
November 13, 2025
11AM - 12PM (PST)
(Virtual)
California’s Arts & Music in Schools Act (i.e., Prop 28) is making historic investments in arts education—but districts must spend their first-year funds before the upcoming deadline or risk having them clawed back by the California Department of Education.
Join Create CA, CA PTA, CA County Sups - Arts Initiative, and the VAPA Curriculum Specialist from Mt. Diablo USD for a practical briefing on ensuring funds are spent effectively and equitably. This webinar will include:
- A clear overview of Prop 28 deadlines and spending requirements
- Insights from parents, advocates, and district leaders on local strategies
- A case study of a district that is planning to use a waiver and what their process is like
- Concrete action steps for districts, families, and community advocates
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to maximize Prop 28 funds for students.
This webinar is produced by Create CA with support from LA County Department of Arts & Culture, the Los Angeles County Arts Ed Collective, Arts for LA, Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area, and Friends of Sacramento Arts. |
|
 |
|
|
| |
IN BRIEF
- The nonprofit Theatre Commons L.A. has launched a user-friendly website with local theater listings, which can be filtered by date, neighborhood, genre.
- Our friends at the City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs released their 2028 Cultural Program for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this month. It includes strategies and potential themes for arts and culture during the 2028 Games.
- The Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums, in collaboration with SMU DataArts, has launched the 2025 Art Museum Trustee Survey to examine how trustee influence and museum governance have shifted in recent years. All U.S art museum trustees are invited to participate.
|
|
| |
|
