arts & business council

MetLife Foundation National Arts Forums Series

LA Stage Alliance
Los Angeles, California

Leadership: New Frameworks for the Changing Face of America
05/10/2008

Moderator: Liz Ondaatje, Arts Policy Specialist, formerly of the RAND Corporation

Presentation by Patricia Martin, author of RenGen: Renaissance Generation: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What It Means for Your Business

Panelists:

• Sammy Hoi, President, Otis College of Art and Design
• Susan Gray, Cultural Arts Planner, Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles
• Terence McFarland, Executive Director, LA Stage Alliance 

Following Patricia Martin’s presentation, panelists joined her to discuss whether or not her concepts of the RenGen hold true in Los Angeles. In many ways, Los Angeles already relates to a RenGen city. For example, collaborations between business and arts communities are very important for a city's renaissance. In Los Angeles, we see bridges between business and arts communities being built; LA Stage has been instrumental in exploring new options and models for partnerships.

Although Los Angeles has always been a creative city, the efforts to brand it as such have fallen short. Panelists discussed possible efforts to help Los Angeles be recognized as a creative, RenGen city. Thoughts on changing the perception of Los Angeles included:
• Educating businesses on the overall ecology of the arts and the importance of considering the RenGen community
• Increasing arts advocacy efforts on all levels to better communicate the value of arts in the community
• Making the arts part of the public conversation

With the need for more collaborative efforts between business and arts organizations, a discussion opened up on which avenues can be taken to achieve this. This discussion lead to a focus on creating an Arts & Business Council in Los Angeles. Arts & Business Councils have a history of building bridges across groups—offering programs that appeal to corporations, employees, and arts organizations and providing unique benefits for each group. Programs such as the National Arts Marketing Project and MetLife National Arts Forum Series have brought about great discussions between arts and businesses. The idea of creating an Arts & Business Council in Los Angeles will be a major focus of the second forum.

LA Stage Alliance commissioned a feasibility study, funded by the California Community Foundation, to examine how a stronger relationship can be formed between arts and business communities in Los Angeles.