{"id":27287,"date":"2020-08-04T12:50:38","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T19:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=27287"},"modified":"2020-08-04T12:50:38","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T19:50:38","slug":"coronavirus-recession-inspires-unprecedented-commitment-to-la-county-arts-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=27287","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Recession Inspires Unprecedented Commitment to LA County Arts Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles, CA (August 04, 2020) –\u00a0As the coronavirus continued to curtail the regional economy, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced\u00a0a motion<\/a>\u00a0to provide an additional $3.6-million for arts organizations.\u00a0 On the heels of a\u00a0historic antiracism motion<\/a>, this motion addresses systemic inequities in the arts. Co-authored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and approved by the Board of Supervisors with 66 written comments sent in support, the motion will expand the Organizational Grant Program through additional funding for arts organizations during one of the most challenging economic environments of the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Organizational Grants Program has been a key part of the County\u2019s efforts to provide underserved communities more equitable access to the rich and diverse arts opportunities that Los Angeles County has to offer,\u201d Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said. \u201cThis critical investment will boost the recovery of the region\u2019s creative economy and help ensure that all of Los Angeles County\u2019s residents share in the invaluable benefits of the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have deeply affected arts organizations in many of the same ways as other commercial businesses,\u201d said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. \u201cWith this motion, we are finding ways to continue to provide support to our local arts nonprofits and making sure that the healing power of the arts continues to be available to County residents in these troubled and stressful times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite several years of strong growth, the pandemic and resulting economic downturn has negatively impacted many arts organizations. A survey by Americans for the Arts finds that 29 percent of the County\u2019s non-profit arts organizations are \u201cextremely likely\u201d to make temporary or permanent reductions in staff; and 33 percent expect the financial impact of the pandemic to be \u201cextremely severe.\u201d A substantial percentage of the County\u2019s arts organizations are in danger of permanently closing, leaving the long-term health of this sector in doubt and setting back hard-earned progress in making arts opportunities more accessible to disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Los Angeles region’s arts and culture sector is facing an unprecedented set of challenges right now. At the same time, the sustainability of our arts organizations is critical to the recovery, health, and wellbeing of the diverse communities that we reflect and serve,\u201d said Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture Director Kristin Sakoda, who recently announced the department had been recognized with\u00a0four Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties<\/a>. \u201cIf funded, this motion will be\u00a0the first major grants increase to the incredible array of LA County arts organizations in over a decade, and\u00a0it advances another recommendation of the\u00a0Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative<\/a>, a significant achievement. I am grateful for the leadership and vision of the Board of Supervisors in recognizing the vital role of our County’s arts and culture organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lula Washington Dance Theatre strongly supports the motion by County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl to increase funding for the County Department of Arts and Culture\u2019s Organizational Grant Program,\u201d said Lula Washington Dance Theatre Executive Director Erwin Washington. \u201cThe added funding will give arts organizations more support to rehire laid off workers and to bring great arts programming back to the County.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Korean American Music Foundation, the Organizational Grants Program has helped our youth orchestra meet its financial obligations the past few years, serving the local community through the two to three concerts that we put on annually.\u00a0 We strongly recommend that the Organizational Grant Program continues to grow and sustain the local youth and arts community, and as we’ve seen through the recent COVID-19 and civil rights unrest, we can truly see and appreciate that music does heal. Music can unite and get us through all the tough times,\u201d said Korean American Music Foundation General Manager Gene Kam.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a longtime grantee of the County, we\u2019re excited to hear of the Board of Supervisors\u2019 continued support for artists and a more equitable and just distribution of this support across the county,\u201d said Contra-Tiempo Founding Artistic Director Ana Mar\u00eda Alvarez. \u201cIn a time of much uncertainty there is one thing that is clear\u2014artists and arts organizations are actively envisioning and creating a future filled with more love, equity, justice and hope. It\u2019s inspiring to know that the board is committed to supporting this future for Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the motion, the County cannot afford the cultural and economic consequences of allowing community arts organizations to close their doors. As a critical part of the region\u2019s economy, demonstrated by several years of substantial growth of the creative sector, and as a provider of arts and culture programs to underserved communities, these organizations are a key part of the solution to the current crises facing residents of the County.<\/p>\n

The\u00a02020 Otis Report<\/a>\u00a0on the Creative Economy finds that nearly 1 out of 5 jobs in Los Angeles County supported by the arts and creative economy with $67 billion in labor income and $203 billion in total creative economy output.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe importance of the Arts and the Creative Economy as a source of job creation cannot be understated\u2014it represents one of our greatest opportunities for the future,\u201d said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. \u201cSo this is not only an investment in the individuals working at arts organizations, this is a prudent investment in the future of our creative economy and the regional economic forecast at large.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles, CA (August 04, 2020)...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,6,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts","category-ca-local","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27288,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27287\/revisions\/27288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}