NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AT DCA:

Guadalajara International Book Fair

The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is accepting grant applications from non-profit organizations for projects in the performing arts (dance, music, multidisciplinary, performative literary arts, site-specific performances, theater, and traditional/folk art or presenters of these forms) and the visual arts (folk art/craft, gallery exhibitions of media arts - except for film series, multidisciplinary, site specific temporary works of art, and visual/design exhibitions) to present work at the 2009 Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalaljara- FIL (Guadalajara International Book Fair), where Los Angeles has been selected as the 2009 Guest of Honor. 

Funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will enable DCA to provide grants ranging from $15,000 to $150,000 for approximately eight to 15 visual and performing arts projects as described above.  Works will showcase the best of our city's artistic and cultural product to an international audience, while reflecting the dynamic and multicultural nature of Los Angeles.

The grant guidelines will be released on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 and a Grants Orientation meeting is scheduled at DCA, 201 North Figueroa Street, Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90012, on Monday, October 6 from 10 a.m. to noon.  To access the guidelines and fact sheet, please click here.  The submission deadline is November 7, 2008.

Annual Individual Artists Grant Categories

Additionally, DCA is accepting grant applications from eligible artists who are interested in the Artists in Residence (AIR) program and the City of Los Angeles Individual Artists Fellowship Program (COLA), two of our most popular programs that support individual artists.  COLA grants of $10,000 are available per artist/project.  DCA seeks to support 40 to 45 artists who will produce new works between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010.

Proposals for AIR should be for participatory, community-based programs that will take place at non-arts venues.  AIR programs should gather participants at least 8 times and culminate in at least one public presentation of group work.  Proposals for COLA should be for studio-based, solo work by master artists who can demonstrate 15 years of work on their resumes.  COLA fellowship projects should be available to showcase in May, 2010.

For a list of instructional workshops as well the grant guideline instructions/forms, please click here.

Cultural Exchange International (CEI)

DCA will be uploading the new CEI grant guidelines and instructions to http://www.culturela.org for this special pilot program on Friday, October 10, 2008.  Working in partnership with the Durfee Foundation, Los Angeles, and a growing number of international partners, DCA will offer grants to arts professionals (artists, arts managers, arts/cultural educators and scholars, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural experts) who wish to exhibit, present, perform, conduct research, and enter into collaborative relationships with arts organizations and artists abroad. As a program committed to reciprocity, CEI will also support international arts professionals wishing to undertake similar activities in LA.

A minimum of 10 LA arts professionals and 10 international arts professionals will receive support in the $5,000-$20,000 range to conduct artist-to-artist cultural exchanges, as well as to undertake projects with arts and cultural organizations of varying sizes.  The intent is to help arts professionals extend previously planned, or newly planned travels to allow for deeper exchange over three weeks or several months, depending upon specific projects and goals.

CULTURAL MASTER PLAN UPDATE:

As you may know, DCA is in the process of creating a new Cultural Master Plan for the City of Los Angeles that will develop a shared vision for the role that arts and culture should play in our community, and provide recommendations to further the development of Los Angeles as a national and international artistic center.

Our goal is to communicate our progress to you as we move forward on the plan.  Below is our current status:

To date we have received 2,500 responses from a public survey distributed throughout the City.  Thank you to all who have completed the survey.  If you have not completed this survey, you may do so here:

English Survey - Click Here

Spanish Survey - Click Here

The Mayor's Cultural Master Plan Advisory Committee (bios can be seen here) has met twice, and three additional meetings will be held in the upcoming months. The committee, with its extensive experience in the arts and diverse make up, has provided critical insight during this process.

In addition, the consultant team has conducted 32 Key Person Interviews with leaders in the arts and cultural, education, and economic development fields as well as with elected officials, individual artists, and neighborhood community leaders.

Two task forces are being convened to examine Cultural Tourism and Youth Arts.

An Innovations Research Study compares Los Angeles with top National and International cities.  This study examines funding streams and cultural operations for large and innovative cities worldwide.

A Public Arts Foundation study examines the potential role and mechanism of a DCA Foundation to further support the arts in Los Angeles.

A second survey for DCA Grantees/Applicants/Prospective Applicants will be sent in the upcoming weeks to examine DCA's Cultural Grants Program.  This survey will ask for feedback from those who receive, or hope to receive funding from DCA.

A third survey will be completed in the upcoming weeks to examine DCA Neighborhood Arts and Cultural Centers, Theaters, Art Galleries, and Historical Sites to analyze demographics, programming, and facility usage.

A series of 12 Public Forums will be held throughout the City from October 21 through November 24.  Specific dates and locations are being finalized and will be available shortly.  These forums will ask for public feedback to our initial findings and recommendations.  Based on responses from these meetings, the final recommendations will be determined, and the completed Cultural Master Plan will be presented in early 2009.

For more information on the Cultural Master Plan, please visit: www.culturalplan.lacity.org
or call Andrew Kasdin, DCA Arts Manager, at 213.202.5542.