Culver City Announces Artist Laureate Program

From the City of Culver City:

The City of Culver City has announced the launch of its Artist Laureate Program. One artist who lives or works in the City will be selected to serve as a cultural ambassador to raise community consciousness to a greater appreciation of art within Culver City.

Selected for a two-year appointment (January 2020 – December 2021), the Artist Laureate will attend events, engage with the public and partner with the school district as well as cultural organizations and businesses. Visit the City's website to complete an online application by the deadline of October 3, 2019.

“The City recognizes the many creative artists who are committed to developing their art forms and enriching our community with their activities. The Artist Laureate Award will provide access, recognition and a stipend of $8,000 in support of one of these artists,” said Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, chair of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission. “The award recognizes artistic excellence, supports the continuing development of the artist’s work and spotlights the important role individual artists play in contributing to a vibrant community, enriching Culver City’s creative economy and positively impacting the quality of life for people of all ages.”

One artist will be chosen to represent the City as Artist Laureate. The artist will be chosen from among the art disciplines: fine and visual arts (including 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, and digital art); performing arts (including dance, theatre, spoken word, and music); and literary arts (including poetry, novels, essays, stage plays, and screenplays).

Artist Laureate candidates must: reside or work in Culver City for a minimum of 5 years at time of application; be at least 18 years old at the time of the application; be the principal creator/performer or the sole author of work(s) submitted; and have exhibited, performed, presented and/or published artistic work in a public context within the last three years.

Candidates cannot be enrolled as an undergraduate student in a degree program or enrolled as a graduate student in a program related to the specific arts discipline of this application. Artists may apply on their own (self-nominate) or apply with the support of a nominator.

Applications will be evaluated and ranked by an independent peer panel comprising distinguished professionals in the relevant artistic disciplines and the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission Artist Laureate Subcommittee. For each applicant, the panel will consider artistic quality and originality of the artist’s work, the record of the artist’s professional activities and achievements, and the potential community impact of the artist’s engagement in Culver City and the surrounding area.

The City Council will review the recommendation made by the Cultural Affairs Commission and make a final determination in January 2020, when the winner will be announced.

To apply or learn more about the Artist Laureate Program, visit the Culver City Artist Laureate Program webpage or contact Artist Laureate Program Coordinator Alicia Ide at alicia.ide@culvercity.org or 310-253-6005.

The Artist Laureate Program is an initiative of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission. Funding for the Culver City Artist Laureate program is made possible in part with a grant from the Culver Arts Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and funding arts and cultural individuals, organizations and institutions in Culver City.

The City of Culver City is dedicated to achieving cultural equity through its programs. Cultural equity embodies the values, policies and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial and informational resources.