Please Don’t Forget about This Afternoon’s ArtsOC Member Mixer!

This is a great way to connect with other artists, educators and arts leaders. It starts at 4:30 and is open to both current and prospective members. The mixer will be at the ArtsOC office, which is located on the second floor at 17620 Fitch Avenue in Irvine. It's free! To RSVP and for details, please email Karen Ahola at kahola@artsoc.org.

New Pacific Symphony Principal Pops Conductor Named

Music Director Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony have announced the appointment of Enrico Lopez-Yañez as the orchestra’s new Principal Pops Conductor, effective September 1, 2023. During the 2023-24 season, Lopez-Yañez will lead the orchestra in four programs of the seven-concert Pacific Symphony Pops series.

Read more here.

Mural Debuts in Placentia Underpass

The Clean California program has brought a stunning piece of art to the underpass of the 57 freeway at West Crowther Avenue in Placentia. The 185-foot-wide by 29-foot-tall slopes on either side have become Los Angeles graffiti artist Alejandro “Man One” Poli’s 10,730-square-foot canvas.

Titled “Good People Under Our Sun and Moon,” Poli's work was selected last year from a group of 35 submissions in a process that was administered by ArtsOC.

Read more here.

Exciting Plans for Great Park

The next phase of development for Irvine’s Great Park will include a concert venue, botanical gardens and aquatic facility. It will also feature Cultural Terrace West, a 35 acre area devoted to new homes for Pretend City Children’s Museum, Flying Leathernecks Museum and Orange County Music and Dance.

Read more here.

New Hope Center for the Arts CEO

Hope Center for the Arts announced that they have hired Dr. Mike Radice as their new Executive Director. Dr. Radice had been serving the organization on an interim basis since October 3. 

Read more here.

Become a VSA Program Site

If you have experience working with pre-K through grade 12 students with disabilities, or providing professional learning to their teachers, you could become a VSA Program Site. The Kennedy Center Office of VSA and Accessibility is seeking U.S. arts, education and cultural organizations to provide accessible, arts-based education experiences to students with disabilities, transition opportunities to youth with disabilities, or professional development to educators of students with disabilities. 

Read more here.

Anaheim's Korean American Special Education Center Awarded CAC Grant

The Korean American Special Education Center in Anaheim was approved for a $40,000 California Arts Council grant through the Creative Youth Development Program. The program is rooted in the belief that arts learning is an essential tool for healthy human development and that it should be available to all young people throughout California. 

Learn more about the organization here.

Economic Activity of the U.S.

Arts & Cultural Sector

The significant contribution of arts and cultural industries on the U.S. GDP is demonstrated by recently released data by the National Endowment for the Arts and Bureau of Economic Analysis. The study shows the overall arts economy in 2021 represented 4.4 percent of GDP, or just over $1.0 trillion, in spite of the continued impact of the pandemic on the sector.

Read more here.

Will Promised San Juan Capistrano Performing Arts Center Actually Happen?

Although a first class performing arts center was a featured part of the development proposal accepted by the San Juan Capistrano City Council in 2017, many have begun to doubt if it will ever become a reality. Intended to be built on the property where Camino Real Playhouse currently stands, the project has experienced a number of issues.

Read more here.

Writing Fellowship Opportunity

The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum is accepting applications for the Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship through May 1. The annual award is given to two emerging writers of color focused on criticism or journalism about the visual, performing, or media arts, each of whom receive $5,000 to be spent over a six-month period.

Read more here.

Apply for Individual Artist Fellowship

by April 14

Arts Orange County invites artists practicing any art form to apply for a prestigious California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship. Unrestricted awards range from $5,000 to $50,000. The application deadline is April 14, 2023.

ArtsOC is the administering organization for the Region I portion of this statewide program. Region I includes North County Coalition for the Arts in Imperial County; Arts Orange County in Orange County; Riverside Arts Council in Riverside County; Arts Connection in San Bernardino County; San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture in San Diego County. 

For complete guidelines and access to the application portal, visit https://artsoc.org/individual-artist-fellowship/

Nominations for 2023 OC Arts Awards

Being Accepted

Arts Orange County is now accepting nominations for the 23rd OC Arts Awards. The benefit evening that recognizes and celebrates Orange County arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons will be held on October 17 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater.

For nomination guidelines and to submit a nominee, click here.

We acknowledge with respect our presence on the ancestral lands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians - Acjachemen Nation and the Tongva People.