LA Commons

Meet Danielle Perez, Getty Marrow Community Engagement Intern at LA Commons! Danielle is passionate about working with the community and has come to LA Commons through the Getty Marrow Internship Undergraduate Program.

“My care for engaging community in arts to create connection drew me to the the Getty MUI program with LA Commons.” -Danielle

Thank you to the Getty Foundation for funding the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship Program to expose college students from backgrounds that have been underrepresented in the arts to careers in museums and visual arts organizations.

Meet our second partner in We are the Harvest - SCOPE! (Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education)

SCOPE does amazing grassroots organizing in South LA on social, economic, and environmental justice. We brought our We Are the Harvest workshops to SCOPE to uplift their stories around connection to plants and nature.

It was a blast making art and sharing stories with SCOPE members - we want to give a big thank you to the SCOPE organizers for sharing their joy with us!

We are excited to share our new pilot youth workforce program in partnership with The Ford and LAPhil - our Artist & Venue Apprenticeship Program!

This summer, we’re bringing four LA Commons’ youth artists to the Ford’s LA Soundscapes concerts. Youth will have the opportunity to gain direct experience in live events and production assisting while developing valuable transferable skills. Shoutout to the Ford and LAPhil’s amazing Community Residency program for making this possible!

🎵Join us in Saturday August 31 at the 5th Annual !

LA Commons will be hosting an art workshop at the Kid’s Zone. Make sure to stop by and make some art with us!

(location - Willowbrook Community Garden
Tag first photo Willowbrookcommunitygarden, , )

Today we’re spotlighting one of our We are the Harvest Community Garden Partners! 🥕

Rose Pinkney has been the lead organizer and garden steward of Willowbrook Community Garden since it began, this year is their 10 year anniversary! She has done incredible work to support and gather community members at the Willowbrook Community Garden.

was one of three locations for our We Are the Harvest hub workshops. Artist Michelle Glass () led community members in sharing stories about plant-based knowledge and dyeing pouches that will be used in a community tapestry.

Thank you to all those who participated - we can’t wait to show you the tapestry!

We’re !

We’re looking for a part time Leimert Park Healthy Culture Hub Program Manager for LA Commons. The position is focused on furthering the effectiveness of our Leimert Park Healthy Culture Hub aimed at uplifting cultural vitality as a force of healing and resilience for individuals and the community at large.

Apply now at the link in our bio or visit www.lacommons.org/careers

LA Commons is proudly partnering with LA Phil and The Ford this summer on their LA Soundscapes concert series!

As a Community Residency partner, we will bring four LA Commons’ artists to the Ford to lead artmaking at the theater and be spotlighted on their social media. We are also piloting our Artist and Venue apprenticeship program, hiring four LA Commons youth to gain on-the-job experience in event and artist coordination at these concerts!

We hope you will join us at LA Soundscapes this summer on August 11th, August 18, September 15, and September 29th.

Images captured by Uzuri Ray (), provided courtesy of the LA Phil

Meet Isabella Perrini (She/Her), Marketing and Development Intern at LA Commons! Isabella is passionate about art, and the impact it can have on the world. She has come to LA Commons through the LA County Arts Internship Program! Thank you to the LA County Board of Supervisors and Department of Arts and Culture for providing undergraduate students with meaningful opportunities for job experience and training through work in nonprofit arts organizations.

It was a joy visiting artist Michelle Glass in her studio to see her progress on our "We Are The Harvest" tapestry! Each cotton pouch of our tapestry was dyed at hub workshops throughout South LA, where community members learned about natural dyes and reflected on their connections to land, plants, and agriculture.

We want to give a special shout out today to the Getty Foundation for funding our community engagement project, We Are The Harvest, as part of Getty PST: Art & Science. We can’t wait to unveil the tapestry later this Fall!

: We are thankful for funding from the LA County Justice, Care & Opportunities Department’s Year 3 Care First Community Investment (CFCI) Care Grant!
LA Commons will continue to develop Leimert Park Village and Fremont Wellness Center into Healthy Culture Hubs, integrating arts and culture as complements to health services to promote recovery and resilience for all South LA residents.

🎉This year we launched our first ever youth social media program. Throughout the last few months youth artists worked with our communications team to capture content and use LA Commons branding to tell stories through their lens.

A special thank you to our youth and community arts team!

Youth Featured:
Lupita, Youth Artist Fremont
Stephanie Gordian, Youth Art Mentor MacArthur Park
Julio Morales, Youth Artist MacArthur Park

We are Fremont's Healthy Culture Hub! Partnering with our Fremont Artist and Communities to integrate arts and culture as complements to health services.

Thank you, Youth Artist Lupita, for showing the incredible work from our ! Watch out for more updates on Fremont this coming fall!

We did it! We raised $16, 913! Thank you to everyone who amplified, supported and donated to us.

Your contributions will continue our work to engage artists, youth, and community members in creating our next Los Angeles.

We're so close to our goal of raising $20,000 by 11:59pm TONIGHT! Only $3,457 left to go!!!

We're calling on YOU to help us cultivate creativity, healing, and community connections!

Donate here: https://lacommons.networkforgood.com/projects/224488-our-wealth-is-our-togetherness

Don't Forget! Join us to honor our ancestors TOMORROW for 14th Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks at 12pm !!

We'll be at the Leimert Park Art Walk with an exciting procession, art activities, music, poetry, and more!! Check out our program at tinyurl.com/FOM2024

See you there!

NOW HIRING! LA Commons has several full-time and part time positions open! If you are interested in contributing to our communications, community art program or development team, visit the ‘Opportunities’ page on our website.

Find more info here: https://www.lacommons.org/careers

Hello everyone! Today, we are excited to showcase our last youth artist from the "Stop the Hate" MacArthur Park youth art project, Tania. Tania has found deep inspiration in our community art initiative. Here's what her piece signifies:

"In creating this artwork, I aimed to embody the themes of Love, Enjoyment, and Community. Love, to me, transcends barriers of race, religion, and nationality. That's why I chose to depict it with small flags representing different countries and varying skin tones, forming a heart that embraces the world.

When I reflect on enjoyment, I envision children playing freely in a safe park, surrounded by harmony.

Community, for me, encompasses each of us—whether Latino, African American, White, or Asian American. By coming together, we can achieve great things for everyone. I depicted this by showing people supporting each other, symbolizing that as a community, we must offer assistance regardless of who needs it."

Tania's artwork beautifully captures these universal themes, celebrating diversity and unity within our community.

Stay tuned for more youth artists’ highlights! -coming every Wednesday!
Thank you, Stephanie, for her post!

We’re !

We’re looking for a full time Development Manager for LA Commons. We are seeking a development manager who will advance LA Commons’ individual giving program by promoting the organization’s mission and values, and enhancing relationships with donors and the larger LA Commons community.

Apply now at the link in our bio or visit www.lacommons.org/careers

Our 14th Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks is this Sunday!

Participants of all ages have been coming together every Saturday in preparation for the Festival by creating their own masks, learning African dance, and drumming. We can't wait to close out the season this Sunday with you, our wonderful community!

If you believe in the power of community, shared healing, and togetherness, please give a gift today! An anonymous donor will match every gift up to $10,000!

Don't forget to give by Festival day, June 30!

Happy ! Today, we celebrate the enduring spirit and legacy of our ancestors. Their resilience and wisdom continue to light our path.
At LA Commons, we're committed to fostering racial equity and justice for Black and Brown communities through our dynamic programs and active community involvement. Join us in celebrating !

Last week, artists at John C. Fremont celebrated all of their talented hard work! Having shared moments they enjoyed during the program, everyone was very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful and fun program.

Congratulations to all of our hard working artists, and we hope to see them again in future projects involving Fremont’s Healthy Culture Hub!

Stay tuned for more youth artists' highlights!
- coming every Wednesday!

(Photography Credit: Mercedes Carreto, thank you for catching such valuable and beautiful moments and smiles!)

We had an incredible time at the Second Annual June Jubilee: A Celebration of Black Excellence at the Los Angeles Central Library!

It was a day filled with joy and inspiration, featuring engaging speakers, enriching workshops, and lively entertainment. From health and wellness sessions to genealogy and technology workshops, and arts and crafts for all ages, there was something for everyone.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate African American culture and contributions in such a fun and welcoming atmosphere. Stay tuned for more highlights and future events!

Greetings all! My name is Stephanie Gordian, and I am the youth art mentor for the MacArthur Park project "Stop the Hate." This is another spotlight of our outstanding youth artists.

Today, I would like to highlight another fantastic youth artist, Carmen Guatzon. Carmen is new to the LA Commons youth art program. She loves the arts, including culinary arts, choir, sketching, and painting. Carmen believes that we can combat hate amongst each other through acceptance and understanding. We must accept that even if we are all different in specific ways, we all bleed the same color.

Something Carmen really enjoys about the project so far is that the project challenges the youth to use their creativity and come up with ideas outside the box.

Stay tuned for more youth artists' highlights!
- coming every Wednesday!

Celebrate 14 years of honoring our ancestors at Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks!

This year, we're unveiling our first-ever photo contest, capturing the captivating essence of the festival through your lens.

Share vibrant masks, captivating performances, and/or an ancestor you’d like to honor for a chance to win a 2024 LA Commons T-shirt!

Rules
Must be following & tag:
Use hashtags:

John C Fremont’s Healthy culture hub artists wrapped up their project!

Our goal for this project was to highlight our community, and shed light on things we see in our community.

Here are some behind the scenes from the project!

Here one of our lead artists Jackie, () helped out a student artist with her print! And here are some of our talented students' prints!

Shout out to our Youth Artist, Lupita, for this reflection! Keep a look out for more of our - coming every Wednesday!

Join Us - Volunteer with LA Commons! We’re popping up at festivals, engaging the community, and uplifting youth and artists across Los Angeles.

Visit us on our volunteer form to learn more! Link in bio.

Join us Sunday, June 30 at 12pm for the 14th Annual Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks at the Leimert Park Artwalk!

The Festival of Masks is an annual celebration of our ancestors and an invocation for the South LA community.

The festival features a libation ceremony, procession, and a lineup of dance and musical performances. The blessing and libation ceremony are designed to invoke a healing and reflection process in the community. The procession through the streets symbolizes the people's power and capacity to take ownership over their community, address challenges, and create change.

Find out more and register at the link in our bio!

Photo Credit: Mercedes Carreto

How do you celebrate the wealth in your community?

In the Fremont neighborhood, we demonstrated how our at our 2nd Fremont Art & Wellness Festival last Friday! We were able to share artmaking activities (including screenprinting led by ), break bread, and celebrate the incredible cultural resources in the local community! Over 750 youth, their families, and local residents of all ages came together on a beautiful Friday afternoon for healing, connection, and wellness.

We’re so excited to continue supporting communities as they creatively express themselves and their priorities. If you believe in the importance of supporting youth, artists, and community, please donate today!

https://lacommons.networkforgood.com/projects/224488-our-wealth-is-our-togetherness

Hello, my name is Julio Morales, a youth artist from the LA Commons MacArthur park project, Stop the Hate! We are able to develop our artistic and comprehension skills with activities that allow us to see and analyze images from different perspectives, with different ways to focus. As we look and paint from different perspectives, we also watch and analyze the problems of our community and look for different solutions.

Keep a look out for more of our - coming every Wednesday!

We brought our Getty PST: Art & Science program, We Are The Harvest, to the Fremont Healthy Culture Hub! Led by artist Michelle Glass (), parents of the Fremont Parent’s Center have spent the past month experimenting with natural dyes and sharing stories on our connections to the plants of our communities and ancestors. At each neighborhood site, community members learn about histories behind natural dyes, including cochineal, indigo, and marigold, and reflect on the benefit of natural and sustainable materials in our everyday lives. Amidst the natural dye artmaking, artist Terrick Gutierrez (), a Fremont High School graduate, has supported in recording the experiences of the participants to incorporate into the collective art project.

Special thanks to the staff at Fremont High School for their support in hosting the workshops! Don’t miss us at the Fremont Arts and Wellness Fair tomorrow!