The Los Angeles Post

Supervisor Hilda L. Solis Appointed to Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Board of Trustees by President Biden

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Appointment recognizes Supervisor Solis’ longstanding commitment to building diversity, equity, and inclusion into arts sector infrastructure, and ensuring access to arts resources in historically underserved communities

Los Angeles, January 31, 2022 – President Joseph R. Biden has appointed Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis to the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center, the living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, is this country’s national cultural center—as a presenter, it hosts world-class performing arts that are made available to the broadest possible constituencies, and as an agency, it delivers powerful arts education opportunities nationwide.

Supervisor Solis is President Biden’s first Kennedy Center appointment – a recognition of her longstanding advocacy for underserved communities and people of color. Solis has fought for equitable resources for these groups in many sectors, including environmental justice, community building, public safety, housing, workforce development, and arts and culture. She co-authored the resolution that directed the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture to release its 2017 Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative (CEII), which set out strategies for ensuring people in LA County have equitable access to arts and culture, and improve inclusion in the wider arts ecology for all residents, in every community. CEII directs these outcomes so that everyone can participate in the benefits the arts provide—personal and community resiliency, positive education outcomes, and career opportunities in the creative economy. The Kennedy Center, likewise, is steeped in this work on a national level. It works to foster anti-racism across the performing arts field and through its social impact initiatives, leverages arts for non-arts outcomes.

“I am deeply honored to be President Biden’s first appointment to the Kennedy Center at a critical time where arts education is essential to building vibrant and thriving communities,” said Supervisor Solis. “The Kennedy Center enriches the lives of Americans across the nation and I am humbled to join in the mission of the Board of Trustees to inspire and enrich communities through art. My work to develop and advance Los Angeles County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative (CEII) over the years is a testament to my commitment to ensuring all Angelenos, regardless of where they live, have access to the arts. I look forward to uplifting this work at the national level so that Americans across our country can benefit from increased equity and access.”

“We are delighted to welcome Supervisor Solis to the Kennedy Center family. Her time spent in Washington D.C. and her leadership in Los Angeles County supporting arts communities and arts education are important assets as we expand our reach and advance our work in the Washington, D.C. area and across the country. Supervisor Solis’ commitment to Anti-Racism and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are in perfect alignment with the Kennedy Center’s mission and we look forward to working with her in the years to come,” said Deborah Rutter, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

 “I have known Supervisor Solis for decades. I have the great privilege of representing her First Supervisorial District on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which advises the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on arts policies and programs, and I serve as Co-Chair on the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative Advisory Committee. So, it is with much lived experience and first-hand knowledge that I express my confidence in Supervisor Solis as a true advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts. These are not just popular or topical soundbites, these are her core values, which she has fought for and advanced throughout her career. I am thrilled to see her bring that expertise to the national arts stage at the Kennedy Center,” said Helen Hernandez, CEII Advisory Committee Co-Chair.

“I am thrilled that President Biden has appointed Supervisor Solis, a long-standing advocate for arts and culture, to the Kennedy Center board,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO, The Music Center. “Supervisor Solis’ tireless commitment to inclusion across all sectors of civic life in Los Angeles is an inspiration, and the Supervisor’s partnership with our team to ensure access and equity at The Music Center has been invaluable. Her dedication to those values and the implementation of best practices will be immensely important to the Kennedy Center as it continues its important work to heal, empower and uplift communities.”