This year, the Department of Arts and Culture celebrates its 75th anniversary. We started as the Music Commission created by the Board of Supervisors back in 1947, and over 75 years we've grown alongside—and often in response to the needs of—Los Angeles County’s dynamic arts and culture landscape. I thank Chair Holly Mitchell and Board of Supervisors for recognizing this milestone and five honorees.

Sandra Hahn grew up in East LA and in Whittier, artistically inclined from the start. She had challenges to navigate—including not speaking English when she first started school, needing glasses, and dealing with then-undiagnosed dyslexia. But she always drew, and won many art contests at school and at fairs. As she got a little older, Sandra became interested in photography, film, and murals through after-school programs. She also got into trouble a lot, and because her parents didn’t see or understand the vast opportunities in the field of arts for a young girl, they pushed her toward beauty college.

There are exciting changes at the LA County Department of Arts and Culture! In the County, the budget process has several phases. This fall, the Board of Supervisors passed the Supplemental Budget with great news for arts and culture—we are thrilled to receive our budget request in full, and then some, including six new staff positions in our Research and Evaluation, Civic Art, Communications, and Grants divisions, as well as a new Arts Commission Manager role. Each of these new roles will advance equity in the arts in the Department and help us get more programs, opportunities, announcements, and data to you our cultural community. I am thankful this Board wants to invest in arts, culture, and creativity, and I am also very grateful for our wonderful Arts Commissioners and their tireless advocacy during the budget process.

Constance Jolcuvar’s life is full of layers. She’s proud of her background—she’s a half-Hispanic and half-Greek first-generation California native with roots in both San Marino and Frogtown. She acknowledges the privilege in the life she has built, but she’s also often been on the receiving end of nasty, hurtful prejudice. “Most would never guess that to look at me,” she said, “so I’ve always been about striving for fairness and equal opportunity for all, and I’m a constant and strong supporter of public schools.”

October, 2022 Professional Development newsletter.

Irina Contreras (pronouns: they/them) was 14 years old during the 1992 LA uprising, and Rodney King was beaten just down the street from where they grew up in Pacoima. The area was known amongst locals for the many police abuses it had historically endured. “I was young, but I definitely had feelings about it,” they said.

It was not surprising when Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell nominated artist, writer, and community organizer Patrisse Cullors to the Arts Commission last year. They have known each other for more than a decade, back to when Mitchell was in the California State Assembly. “Holly Mitchell has been of service to my South Los Angeles community for a long time,” Patrisse said, “and I think she has seen me to be both a staunch advocate of criminal justice as well as the arts.”

It is a busy time of year for all of our divisions, as you can see in the updates below. Our Civic Art Division’s Illuminate LA initiative launched this month, with a first panel, "Current State of Monuments." Three of our grant programs are open, and we have been thrilled to get queries from organizations that have never applied before. We are also getting ready to for the I.D.E.A. WAVE workshops for education practitioners next month.

I write with huge pride and excitement with the news that the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl to adopt the Cultural Policy Strategic Plan! As you may have read in earlier dispatches, this is an important next step in our ongoing work to expand cultural equity and access across LA County. Once again, thank you for you for input and advocacy. Please check out our press release in the body of this newsletter.

As it continues to expand access to the arts for all residents, the Board of Supervisors today [unanimously] approved a motion by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl to adopt the LA County Cultural Policy Strategic Plan.

Phung Huynh is a Los Angeles-based artist and educator whose work explores cultural perception and representation. Known for exploring the complexities of Southeast Asian refugee communities through drawings that include the iconic pink donut box, Huynh applied her artistic practice and her own experience as a refugee and immigrant to her work with Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) on strategies to build trust and increase participation in LA County support services.

Helen Hernandez is a community advocate at heart. Born in Azusa, she was the oldest daughter of 12 children—inheriting a passion for service from her family, and a fierce sense of determination. “We didn’t have much. My dad was a plumber, and he struggled to give us all a good Catholic school education. So, I always took every opportunity because I never felt like I had anything to lose.”

In this month's newsletter, we are thrilled to share the Countywide Cultural Policy Strategic Plan for Los Angeles County. I am grateful to Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, who directed us to develop a plan to implement the Cultural Policy, and to our community for your input, advocacy, and participation. We will share updates soon…

Alexis Camins moved to the Bay Area from the Philippines when he was 9 years old. When a friend dragged him to audition for a musical in high school—42nd Street—his fate was sealed. "I just fell in love with theater. I fell in with being on stage, with being around friends that wanted to express themselves. I felt like I had met my people," he says.