NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman to Visit Los Angeles

by LA Stage Alliance | March 12, 2010

In his latest stops on the Art Works tour across America, scheduled for March 13-19, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, California. Landesman is coming to Los Angeles and San Francisco at the invitation of the James Irvine Foundation and foundation CEO Jim Canales. In addition to Mr. Canales, Olga Garay, general manager of the Department for Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, and Luis Cancel, director of cultural affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission, will welcome the chairman to their respective cities.

The host for Landesman’s San Diego visit is Mayor Jerry Sanders and Victoria Hamilton, executive director of the City of San Diego Commission on Arts and Culture. Bruce Davis, executive director of the Arts Council of Silicon Valley will host the events in Oakland.

The chairman is traveling to these cities to learn how the arts work in California communities with a particular focus on the role of the arts in education and in creating and sustaining livable, vibrant urban centers. The Los Angeles events on Monday, March 15, include:


10:00 am		Tour of Inner City Arts with Inner City President & CEO Cynthia Harnisch Location: 720 Kohler St.
10:15 am		Public Forum: Arts Education in Los Angeles Location: Inner City Arts Forum participants include: Mark Slavkin, vice president of education, Music Center Cynthia Harnisch, president and CEO, Inner City Arts Ayanna Hudson Higgins, director of arts education, Los Angeles County Arts Commission and Arts for All Cynthia Campoy-Brophy, executive director, The HeArt Project
2:30 pm		Public Forum: Arts, Culture, and Urban Revitalization Location: Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring St. Forum participants include: Bert Green, Bert Green Fine Arts Gallery Russ Brown, executive director, Historic Downtown Business Improvement District Evelina Fernandez, member, Los Angeles Theatre Center/ Latino Theater Company Simon Pastucha, City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning/ Urban Design Studio Jay Lopez, executive director, Downtown Art Walk Pamela Huntoon, education director for Councilwoman Jan Perry and Art Walk board member Lillian Burkenheim, project manager, Community Redevelopment Agency Jessica Wethington McLean, Bring Back Broadway, Councilman Jose Huizar Tom Gilmore, CEO, Gilmore Associates
3:45 pm		Presentation: A Park for Civic and Cultural Vitality Location: Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, NE corner of lobby, Grand Hall level/3rd Floor Presentation participants include: Aaron Paley, president, Community Arts Resources Martha Welborne, managing director, Grand Avenue Project Howard Sherman, executive vice president and COO, Music Center Bill Witte, president, Related California Mark Rios, principal, Rios Clementi Hale Studios
5:30-6:30 pm		Reception: Meet & Greet with Los Angeles Arts Leaders Location: Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave.