Los Angeles, Calif. – The Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today The Arts Activation Fund, which will award $200,000 in grants to support the creation and installation of art and cultural projects throughout Los Angeles.
Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the launch of a $200,000 grant program that will support the work of local artists and bring new vibrancy to public spaces across L.A.
The Arts Activation Fund, a partnership between Mayor Garcetti’s Great Streets Initiative and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), will provide funding to artists with inspiring ideas for public art projects and cultural events in their neighborhoods.
“Art has the power to transform our perception, attitude and behavior — and is especially impactful when it lives in places that are accessible to everyone,” said Mayor Garcetti. “The Arts Activation Fund will support the creative genius that thrives in our city, and give Angelenos an opportunity to reimagine public spaces in their neighborhoods as vibrant, exciting, and creative places.”
The $200,000 fund, established with the support of the L.A. City Council, will be allocated to between eight and 15 projects, with each project eligible to receive as much as $15,000. The program is designed to fund a range of projects across the City that complement the unique character of their neighborhoods. In this spirit, the fund will prioritize artists with proposals for their own neighborhoods, and whose projects have strong support from their local communities.
The projects can take the form of temporary objects, installations, or experiences that are free to the community and situated in public places or within public view anywhere in the City. They will be conceived, developed, and presented within a two- to three-month timeline. Individual artists, collectives, limited partnerships, nonprofit organizations, and commercial businesses across the City are all eligible to apply.
“Through the work in my committee, we reactivated the Mural Ordinance, revived the Arts Development Fee resulting in millions of dollars for new public art, and guided the new Arts Activation Fund, which will contribute to Los Angeles as a city that values its arts and culture,” said Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, Chair of the City’s Arts, Parks, and Los Angeles River Committee. “I want to thank DCA General Manager Danielle Brazell and her staff for their work to identify even more opportunities for artists to shine in the City of Los Angeles.”
The Arts Activation Fund propels Mayor Garcetti’s effort to improve public spaces across the City through community place-making and public art. Last year, the City launched a $200,000 Great Streets Challenge Grant Program that funded eight community projects to reimagine their Great Streets as public spaces.
“Public spaces in our neighborhoods and along our City’s Great Streets provide an open canvas for us to use our creative strength to animate and activate our communities through arts and culture,” said Danielle Brazell, General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. “The Arts Activation Fund connects local artists to these spaces and the people indigenous to them to reinforce neighborhood identities and celebrate L.A.’s diversity.”
For more information, and to submit a proposal for funding through the Arts Activation Fund, visitdcaredesign.org/artsactivate. To find out more about Mayor Garcetti’s Great Streets initiative, visitwww.lamayor.org/greatstreets.
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