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Home: Executive
of Office: Arts
Commission 
Arts Commission
This office provides staff support to the Arts Commission which was founded in 1947 to provide excellence, diversity,
vitality, understanding and accessibility of the arts in the County of Los Angeles. The Commission provides leadership in cultural services for the
County, including information and resources for the community, artists, educators, arts organizations and municipalities.
1997 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Commission, the second oldest local arts agency in the State. In order to reflect service to the entire
arts community, the Commission's name was changed from "Music and Performing Arts" to simply "Arts Commission."
The Commission administers grant programs for small (budgets under $100,000), mid-size 1 (budgets $100,000-$500,000), mid-size 2
(budgets $500,000-$1,500,000),and large budget organizations (budgets over -$1,500,000). More than 300 organizations are funded and tracked annually.
Since 1960, the Commission and staff have produced the annual free Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center.
The show is broadcast live on KCET. Community and professional choirs, orchestras, and dance companies perform for thousands of patrons in the hall
in addition to the television audience.
The Commission produces a summer and winter seasons at the Ford Theatres. The summer season in the 1200-seat outdoor
Ford Amphitheatre, started in 1993, runs May through October and includes music, dance, theatre, film and family events, The winter season of plays
in the 87-seat indoor theatre, [Inside] the Ford], was launched in 2008-09. The Commission provides essential production support, including technical
and marketing assistance to enable County-based arts organizations to have access to this facility, a County Regional Park. Commission staff also
oversees capital projects at the facility.
The Commission also produces, in cooperation with Board of Supervisors offices, a year-round music program that funds more than 70 free concerts
each year in public sites. The program pays musicians to present free concerts each year in County parks, libraries, probation camps, senior centers
and other community sites. Artists who perform at these concerts are chosen from the Commission’s online Musicians Roster
, a public resource for those looking for quality musicians.
The Commission also provides leadership and staffing to support Arts for All; the regional collaboration to
restore arts to the school curriculum for all public school students in the County; oversees the County’s Civic Art Program for capital projects;
funds the largest arts internship program in the country in conjunction with the Getty Foundation; and supports the Los Angeles County Cultural
Calendar on ExperienceLA.com and SpaceFinderLA, a Web site for the arts community to
find spaces they need and rent spaces they own.
For more information please consult the Arts Commission online press kit: http://lacountyarts.org/page/pubnewspress
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