Kisha Smith
As part of its ongoing relief and recovery initiatives, the LA County Department of Arts and Culture has launched the LA County Performing Arts Recovery Grant, delivering $1.2 million in one-time funding to artists, independent producers, and organizations that have a demonstrated history of developing, producing, and/or presenting work in the performing arts disciplines, including dance, music, theater, folk, and traditional arts.
Grants of up to $30,000 will be awarded through a competitive application process to applicants who have a supportive regional audience, play a meaningful role in the local arts ecosystem, reflect the cultural and geographic diversity of LA County, and propose project activities that meet the goals of the initiative. Funded projects will support the creation, documentation, and presentation of new or existing artistic work.
Eligibility for the grants extends to individual artists and producers based in LA County as well as small and mid-size performing arts organizations—including nonprofits, for-profits, fiscally sponsored organizations, and producing collectives that perform regularly throughout the region at various indoor and outdoor venues or as part of a festival.
“The LA County Performing Arts Recovery Grant will strengthen the ongoing recovery and creative capacity of the performing arts field through flexible funding support that centers the artistic and creative process,” said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture. “Dance, theater, and music makers engage our humanity through the performing arts. These artists, and the creative collaborators and arts organizations that partner with and present them, play a vital role in our arts ecology, yet they’ve been hard hit by the pandemic and other losses.”
The performing arts sector was hard hit by the shutdowns, with revenue and audiences still lagging significantly from pre-pandemic levels, even as other sectors of the LA County creative economy are recovering. The pandemic also disproportionately negatively impacted communities of color and those already facing barriers, historic disinvestment, and systemic inequity. Artists and other creative workers in the performing arts identifying as female and BIPOC, among others, have also seen disproportionate impacts on employment, opportunities, and wages.
“This grant will address key needs in the field—providing funding that can be used to create, document, and present artistic work, access venues and rehearsal spaces, pay artist fees and living wages, utilize media and technology, amplify underrepresented voices, and engage audiences. As a former dancer and performing artist myself, I am especially pleased to carry on the County’s longstanding support for performing arts.”
For more information, visit lacountyarts.org.