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A round of applause at the 2024 State of the Arts Summit. | Photo courtesy of Arts for LA
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Around 400 members of the Los Angeles County art community gathered this week to address recurring economic and social barriers that artists currently face.
Arts for LA, which self-describes as “the leading voice for arts advocacy in Greater Los Angeles,” hosted its annual State of the Arts Summit on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Ebell in Los Angeles’ Mid-Wilshire district.
The summit’s theme “Legacy” recognized leaders of arts and culture in the region and challenged participants to reflect on the legacy that each individual wants to leave behind.
“This year’s State of the Arts Summit honored all the artivists that paved the way for artists to have the careers they have today, but there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done to make LA a more just and thriving creative economy for all artists,” Gustavo Herrera, Arts for LA CEO said in a statement. “This summit banded together LA’s coalition of bold and powerful artists, art organizations, and art advocates, leaving them more equipped to build a more equitable Los Angeles through the arts.”
The summit was a series of panels, discussions and networking opportunities, with LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath providing the day’s keynote address that urged collaborative work “to build a cultural legacy truly reflective of LA,” according to an Arts LA statement.
Other summit speakers included Hope Tschopik Schneider, former associate director of the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival; Kristin Sakoda, director of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture; Larry Laboe, co-founder and executive director of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles; and David Valdez, executive engagement manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for NBCUniversal, among many other leaders in the arts.
The event also featured live performances from Versa-Style, a nonprofit dance ensemble, and other artists from the LA area.
In the opening panel, Herrera discussed artists’ most pressing needs, which Arts for LA listed in a statement: more unrestricted multiyear funding; streamlined grant applications and timely payouts; increased access to public spaces; more transparency around the implementation Proposition 28, a 2022 voter initiative that funds art and music instruction in schools; “more affordable and accessible credential pathways”; living wages; and protections from artificial intelligence.
Schneider moderated the summit’s main panel “Legacy of LA” that featured a conversation with Nora Halpern, a cultural Olympiad adviser; Kristin Sakoda, director of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture; and Daniel Tarica, general manager, city of LA’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
“The panel emphasized how vital it is for the community to participate in these discussions that will impact the future of the creative economy,” according to the Arts LA statement. “Halpern added that for the Olympics 2028, they are looking to reach a consensus through grassroots up and top-down approach to inform these important decisions regarding the upcoming Olympic Games.”
Panels and breakout segments included “Legacy of AI,” “Legacy of our Youth,” “Legacy of Creative Jobs” and “Legacy of Nonprofit Philanthropy.”
During the panel on youth, Lindsay Tomiko Kunisaki, Arts for LA policy and research fellow, spoke about her newly released report on Prop 28. Her discussion with Samantha Theisen, senior program administrator for the San Gabriel Unified School District, noted the importance of advisory councils, collaboration and more flexibility in Prop 28 restrictions.
More information on Arts for LA is available at artforla.org/about-us/.
