Los Angeles, CA. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) recently announced its Cultural Grants Program for non-profit organizations in Los Angeles. The grant aims to benefit those organizations planning to hold arts events, activities, and/or projects for the public between July 1, 2022 and June 20, 2023. These events are selected based on whether they uphold the DCA’s community values as they provide to or perform for the LA public.
The application process is rigorous. The DCA has four eligibility criteria for the non-profits, along with the criteria of specific categories. This year, the DCA encourages applicants to enter events for these particular categories: culture/history presentations, literature or publishing projects, media activities or presentations, design/visual art exhibitions or museum projects, or traditional/folk arts activities/presentations. The DCA has provided an educational introduction and online instructions for applicants, and actively encourage them to attend webinars or workshops that will allow to them to better prepare for the application.
DCA Cultural Grants Program guideline poster.
The announced deadline for applications for this up to $80,000 grant is August 27th, 2021 at 11:59pm.
“DCA advances the social and economic impact of arts and culture through grantmaking, public art, community arts, performing arts, and strategic marketing, development, design, and digital research. DCA creates and supports arts programming, maximizing relationships with other city agencies, artists, and arts and cultural nonprofit organizations to provide excellent service in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.”
Los Angeles, CA. The Los Angeles LGBT Center is one of the primary support systems for LGBT individuals and families; it offers programs, services, and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community within Los Angeles and beyond. Last Saturday, the Center partnered with KTLA to host a virtual telethon called Love in Action. The show collected donations for the nonprofit’s most vital programs and services.
The two-hour event, presented by The Ariadne Getty Foundation and Glamazon L.A., featured appearances from many household names, including Jane Lynch, Adam Lambert, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, RuPaul, among others. For those of you who were not able to attend the event live, KTLA uploaded it to YouTube.
From the Los Angeles LGBT Center:
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.
To find out more about the Los Angeles LGBT Center, including future events, programs, and services, learn more here.
Los Angeles, CA. Free Arts LA was founded with the goal of helping children in the foster system who had suffered from trauma or abuse by teaching them to express themselves and rebuild their self-esteem through art and craft. Today, the organization helps over 22,000 children across Los Angeles by pairing children with adult mentors and volunteers who guide the children through the artistic process of painting, drawing, writing, or other arts, serving as positive influences while the children find and improve themselves after their difficult experiences. Due to the pandemic, however, volunteers who wish to work directly with children must undergo their two-day training course over Zoom.
Free Arts LA volunteers taking a fun break while undergoing their online training course.
Free Arts LA offers several programs through its partners, namely an 8-week long Mentorship program, their Court program where children are encouraged to engage in arts to provide them with a safe space before appearing and testifying at the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Courthouse, and Free Arts Day, a fun one-day event held across LA county that helps children have fun and builds their sense of community.
Art Swagger LA, an art and design fundraiser held annually, has partnered with Free Arts this year and all proceeds from the event will go directly to the organization, helping to further develop its programs. The fundraiser will include a virtual panel, a silent auction, and – if Covid-19 conditions improve – an in person event on September 30th, 2021.
Free Arts programs inspire hope in the lives of children from ages 5-18 who have experienced abuse, neglect, poverty and homelessness through innovative creative arts programs and positive interactions with caring adult volunteers. Free Arts LA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Los Angeles, CA. AIDS Walk Los Angeles will observe the halfway mark of its fundraising on August 16. Recognized as one of the world’s first walks to take up the cause against HIV and AIDS, AWLA has raised nearly $90 million for APLA Health’s various programs that focus on care and advocacy for over 18,000 affected individuals in the Los Angeles County. Due to Covid-19, there is no official in-person walking event and most of the AIDS Walk will be held online, with three outdoor challenges that take place during checkpoint dates of the Walk.
To keep supporters motivated and updated on the progress of fundraising, The Walk Show began on July 7 – the same time as the AIDS Walk fundraising began. The show releases new episodes every week, with each week focusing on a particular location in Los Angeles County helped by the work of APLA Health. The Walk Show is hosted by popular drag queen Ongina who walks viewers through fundraising tips and fun challenges. A big highlight of the show is the weekly story of a patient from one of APLA Health’s programs or clinics. Episodes of The Walk Show can be found here: https://aidswalkla.org/the-walk-show/.
The Trans Connections program, featured in Episode 2 of The Walk Show.
“APLA Health was founded in 1983 as AIDS Project Los Angeles with the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic in Los Angeles County. Today, we provide services in four key areas: 1) primary medical care, dental, behavioral health and HIV specialty care, 2) Critical HIV Support Services, 3) HIV Prevention, and 4) Advocacy.” APLA Health & Wellness is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization doing business as APLA Health.
Los Angeles, CA. The Broad, a contemporary art museum in Downtown Los Angeles, is known for being one of the world’s largest modern art collections. The museum has hosted many family oriented events; most recently, it partnered with the Los Angeles Public Library to host summer art school classes. The online format not only allowed for promoting social distancing, but made the classes more accessible for children and their families.
From The Broad:
In July, families with kids are invited for four live one-hour virtual drawing sessions. Facilitated by The Broad’s Visitor Experience Lead David Candelaria, participants will create a drawing inspired by works on view in the museum, while learning words used in contemporary art.
Each workshop includes a live in-gallery segment showcasing the artwork that inspired the activity. Families will have time to share their creations at the end of the session.
All sessions are free to attend and held over Zoom. Sessions will be translated live into Spanish.
The four pieces of artwork used as inspiration: Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1981), Roy Lichtenstein’s Still Life with Green Vase (1972), Julie Mehretu’s Six Bardos: Transmigration (2018), and Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s C’mo’ and Walk With Me (2019).
The classes were hosted every week throughout the month of July, each one having a different theme based off of a piece at the Broad. The themes were Portraiture, Still Life, Color and Abstraction, and Collage respectively. At the end of the session, participants get the opportunity to share their creations with each other.
For more information on future events, or to learn more about museum visitation, make sure to visit The Broad.
Los Angeles, CA. The Barcid Foundation is a Native American non-profit organization dedicated to providing initiatives and opportunities for indigenous peoples within media, tech, and STEM. It’s calling for film submissions for its 15th annual Skins Fest that will be taking place in November. Alongside Comcast NBCUniversal and many other sponsors, Barcid oversees the yearly LA Skins Fest in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. The festival takes place November 16th – 21st, 2021 in Hollywood. It aims to showcase the rising talent in Native American filmmaking.
Skins Fest Native Youth Filmmakers feature
At the 2018 LA Skins Fest, President and CEO of Barcid, Ian Skorodin, remarked on how Native American artists and cinema has grown with the festival: “We have seen Native Cinema grow into a genuine force with a voice that is finally being heard. Native filmmakers have been pushing creative limits and will have the acknowledgement they deserve.”
14th Annual LA Skins Fest.
Information about how to make a submission can be found on the Skins Fest website.
In addition to the LA Skins Fest, Barcid runs a host of other events and workshops to help foster Native American artists and help people grow their professional careers. Barcid Foundation’s goal is to use media as a tool for cultural, educational, technological and economic development to help the Native American community.
The Native Current: Multimedia Workshop introduces children ages 9-17 to new ways of thinking about the LA River through film.
About Barcid
The Barcid Foundation is a nonprofit tax-exempt 501c3 that oversees several Native American endeavors, including the LA SKINS FEST. Barcid was founded in 2004 to offer educational opportunities to Native American communities through multimedia programs. Barcid projects include the preservation of decaying library materials that pertain to Native American history, video production of PSAs for local Native American non-profits, and the LA SKINS FEST.
About LA Skins Fest
The prestigious Los Angeles Skins Fest ranks among the country’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers, and critics. The LA Skins Fest is considered a major launching ground for Indian Country’s most talked about films. Founded in 2007, the Los Angeles Skins Fest, now presenting screenings in the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, is a multi-day and multicultural event celebrating the art of film, TV and new media. The Los Angeles Skins Fest’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule consists of dozens of filmmakers presenting their newest works, special artist development programs, tributes to community leaders, special events, and remarkable films. Festival headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA.
Brentwood, CA. The Getty Center in Brentwood reopened to the public in May after a 14-month closure due to COVID-19. “We are delighted to welcome visitors back to the iconic Getty Center, one of Los Angeles’ most visited cultural destinations,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Admission is free, but visitors need to register for a date and time.
Visitors and staff will be required to wear face coverings and maintain social distance, and all visitors will have their temperatures checked upon arrival. Anyone displaying symptoms such as coughing, sneezing or fever will be denied admittance.
According to Getty officials, in addition to “Lucretia,” other new exhibitions on display include “Photo Flux: Unshuttering LA”; “Power, Justice and Tyranny in the Middle Ages”; “Artist as Collectors”; and “Silk & Swan Feathers: A Luxurious 18th-Century Armchair.”
The museum, perched high above the 405 Freeway in West Los Angeles, has been closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Admission to the Getty Center is free, but a limited number of reservations will be available for each day and must be made in advance. Much of the museum, grounds, store and some food service options will be open, but the Getty Library will remain closed, along with the Family Room and galleries that are too small to accommodate social distancing.
From Getty Center:
There are some new rules for visitors:
Keeping Everyone Safe
We are following LA County Department of Public Health orders as they are updated. Currently, we are maintaining the safety measures described below.
Face Masks Required Indoors
All visitors over the age of two must wear a face mask over nose and mouth when inside buildings, including parking structures, and when boarding and riding the Getty Center tram.
Visitors may remove their masks when outdoors.
Please note that the following are not permitted to be worn instead of a face mask: gaiters, bandanas, scarves, ski masks, balaclavas, or masks with an exhalation valve. Face shields are also not allowed instead of a mask, but may be worn over one.
Cleaning
High-touch surfaces such as door handles and handrails are being cleaned regularly. So are tables, counters, and chairs in the cafes. Restrooms are being cleaned four times a day. The Center Tram is being cleaned before opening, hourly during operating hours, and after closing.
Hand Sanitizer
Find hand sanitizer near doors and other high-touch areas.
Admission and Parking
Admission and Reservations
Admission is free, and requires a timed-entry reservation. Each person in your party over the age of 2 needs a reservation.
New entry times are released daily.
If you can’t visit at the time you reserved, please cancel your reservation so we can release the time for others. To cancel, email [email protected] or call (310) 440-7300.
Hollywood, CA. Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky were brought to life on July 22nd by the exuberant Enluis Montes Olivar and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Billed as “Swooning Russian Romanticism,” the concert included Tchaikovsky’s tribute to Ukraine and Rachmaninoff’s rapturous Second Concerto with pianist Lukáš Vondráček. The evening was part of the Thursday Classical Music series which, as with all of the concerts, has resumed after a year off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The outdoor Hollywood Bowl has safety measures but doesn’t require masks for vaccinated individuals, so the concert feels just as it used to.
From world premieres and orchestral favorites with Gustavo and the LA Phil to epic movie nights, pop, jazz, Bowl traditions, and a lineup of top international acts, there is a special night out for all tastes,” a news release said.
The lineup of artists scheduled to perform at the venue this summer includes Christina Aguilera, Ziggy Marley, H.E.R., James Blake and more. Check out the full season calendar online.
The venue served as a food distribution site during the height of the pandemic last year.
“After the many challenges of this past year, we all feel a profound sense of joy and gratitude to be able to once again share music with you, and especially to be able to offer these opening concerts to our heroes on the front lines, who have given their all to keep us safe this past year,” Dudamel said in a statement.
Audience members can still bring their picnic baskets and bottles of wine.
We’ll see about 50 different musical artists or groups back in the Hollywood Bowl half-shell this summer.
From Hollywood Bowl:
The health and safety of our audiences, artists, and staff is our top priority. We are committed to ensuring that you have an exceptional Bowl experience, with confidence in the policies and procedures designed for a safe environment for all. Our policies and procedures are created to align with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s protocols.
Increased Capacity
Based on new guidance, from Los Angeles County and the State of California, the Hollywood Bowl concerts will increase to 100% available capacity for concerts starting in July.
We encourage all attendees who can to get vaccinated, and according to a survey conducted in May 2021, 94% of Bowl audiences were already partially or fully vaccinated and 98% plan on being fully vaccinated.
Account Credits/Refunds
With these significant changes to our concert procedures, we are allowing anyone who has already made a purchase for the 2021 season the opportunity to receive a credit on their account or full refund of their purchase.
Guest Requirements
In addition to House Rules, the following protocols are required for all visitors:
Masks are required indoors and recommended at all times when not in your seat. Please bring a mask to the concert.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health strongly recommends that all guests wear a mask at all times when not in their ticketed seat. It also requires that all guests two years and older, and regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor public settings unless they are actively eating and drinking or are otherwise exempt from wearing a mask due to a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
Wear a mask with two or more layers. Wear the mask over your nose and mouth and under your chin. The following are prohibited: Masks with exhalation valves; masks made of loosely woven fabrics; scarves, buffs, bandanas, gaiters, and face shields alone (inadequate protection). Masks will be available upon request.
Stay at home if you are ill.
Stay home if you are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms, have been in contact with someone known to be or suspected to have been infected with COVID-19 within the last 10 days, or if you are subject to a quarantine or isolation order. For ticket return options, please contact Audience Services.
Sanitize your hands frequently.
Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Enhanced Health and Safety Measures
In alignment with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s guidelines, the Hollywood Bowl has implemented the following policies and procedures to provide a safe environment for our audiences, artists, and staff:
Hourly cleaning
Across high-touch locations and surfaces
Hand sanitization stations
Positioned throughout the Bowl
Reduced contact ticketing
Digital tickets are able to be scanned directly from your mobile device. Learn more here.
Mobile ordering
Download our app and order food or merchandise for pick-up without missing a beat. Learn more here.
Los Angeles, CA. Previously known as the Los Angeles Drama Club, the Shakespeare Youth Festival is a community of young people from various backgrounds across LA who come together to tell stories, perform plays, and express themselves. SYF focuses on building communication and literacy skills and improving the self-esteem of these children. This summer, the organization planned various events that helped grow these skills further.
From June 21 to June 25, SYF held the Young Playwrights’ Festival through Zoom. The program involved daily sessions where students of Grade 7 and up were given playwriting and storytelling lessons. Students were encouraged to write plays based on prompts, events from their own lives, and stories they made up together, and at the end of the program the plays were performed by professional actors and Los Angeles Drama Club actors.
SYF students in the Shakespeare in Nature program.
The Shakespeare in Nature program was held from from July 12 to July 16 at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Participating students were from Grades 2 through 8 and learned about plays that had heavy nature themes, like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear. The program explored three different concepts: how Shakespeare uses plants as plot devices in his plays, the concern surrounding climate change and environmentalism during Shakespeare’s time, and the various allusions Shakespeare makes to birds in his poems and plays.
The organization’s Summer with SYF 2021 program is currently ongoing, with registration still open for interested students. The program holds sessions every Monday through Friday and serves as an introduction in the world of Shakespeare and his plays for the youth. Additional information on registration and financial aid for those who are keen can be found here: https://shakespeareyouthfestival.com/summer-2021/
More about the Shakespeare Youth Festival:
“We are Shakespeare Youth Festival, the country’s youngest Shakespeare Troupe. In the spirit of cultural generosity and with the goal of creative excellence, we create diverse communities of belonging and self-empowerment with children and youth locally and across the globe through the magic of theater … and we do it all in Iambic Pentameter.” SYF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Culver City, CA. Adopt & Shop, a pet adoption nonprofit, is providing discounted pet wellness events each month. Most notably, it is hosting low cost vaccine and dental clinics. SNPLA‘s mobile vaccine clinic will be at Adopt & Shop on certain weekends from 10 AM to 2 PM. This month, it was held on the 10th and will be held again on the 24th. Appointments are not necessary, and licensing, microchips, vaccines, de-worming, and flea treatments are available for cats and dogs.
Online advertisement of the mobile vaccine clinic at Adopt & Shop, in partnership with the Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles (SNPLA).
On the first Sunday of each month, Adopt & Shop is partnering with Smile Specialist to host a dental clinic. It takes place from 12 PM to 4 PM, and the appointments are approximately ten minutes each. Unlike the vaccine clinic, these appointments will have to be booked in advance. Pet owners can call Smile Specialist directly, or they can contact Adopt & Shop.
From Adopt & Shop:
Cat and dog vaccinations are vital to your pet’s health. Even if your pet is an indoor animal, it’s important that they are vaccinated. Vaccines help prevent mild illnesses, as well as potentially fatal diseases, such as rabies. We offer low-cost pet vaccinations to you to help promote the health of all pets.
Don’t forget that dental hygiene is an important part of your pet’s health. In-depth cleanings and tooth pulling under anesthesia are very expensive. Our non-anesthetic cat and dog dental cleanings are a great preventative measure to help keep your pet from needing invasive procedures. Pricey procedures can be a big deterrent for pet owners, but with our easy-on-the-wallet dental clinics, you can breathe easy and your pet can smile wide with their clean pearly whites. Keeping your pet’s teeth clean keeps them happy and healthy!
To learn more about the discounted vaccine and dental clinics, find information here.
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