Image courtesy of Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Take an active role in helping shape the future of arts and culture in Los Angeles County on Monday, when a town hall meeting will take place at the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA) at 7:00PM.
The Arts Council for Long Beach has partnered with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission to hold the meeting as part of the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative, an arts diversity motion unanimously approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in November 2015, according to the release.
The motion directed the Arts Commission to create an advisory committee of diverse leaders in the arts and community within the county in an effort to ultimately enhance participation and leadership from underrepresented communities within the arts.
“The startling fact is that between in the U.S. from 1993 to 2010, non-white board membership only grew two percent,” said Griselda Suarez, executive director of the Arts Council for Long Beach in a statement. “So the issue goes beyond diversifying governing bodies; we need to have a cultural workforce that represents all of Long Beach.”
Guided by the Advisory Committee, the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative seeks to increase diversity in five areas: staff, boards, audience, programming and creators/artists, according to the release, with additional support from the Weingart Foundation and the Durfee Foundation.
“As one of the most diverse cities in the country, we already have great models we can share and we also need to remain open to new ideas and strategies in order to increase the participation of underrepresented members in our arts community,” Suarez continued. “We want to hear from everyone.”
As a part of the process, a series of free town halls have been held throughout Los Angeles County since early May, where members of the public have attended to share their comments, ideas and recommendations. The town halls will culminate with a report back to the Board of Supervisors with actionable recommendations for the county and the field-at-large, according to the release.
“My hope is that this will lead to new initiatives that the Arts Council can bring to Long Beach,” Suarez said.
Town halls are free, with food provided. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP via the website here. To read the motion and learn more about the Los Angeles County Arts and Culture Initiative, click here. You can also visit the Facebook event page here.
The Museum of Latin American Art is located at 628 Alamitos Avenue.
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