ARTS ADVOCACY DAY 2026

Hosted by Arts For Los Angeles "Arts Advocacy Day" brings together Arts delegates that include Artist, Art workers & Cultural organizations to Los Angeles City Hall. Convining first atop of City Hall on the 27th floor "Mayor Tom Bradley Room & Observation Tower", then dispersing in small groups into City Council Advocacy Meetings. In this episode you will be placed front row at this years conniving. Topics include:

• 2028 Games (Cultural Programming Funding)
• Contracting & Procurement
• Increase DCA's Share of TOT

A Special Thank you goes out to @_Sofiantastic_ Thank you for sharing your experience with us. 

For more information on ARTS ADVOCACY DAY please give @Arts4la a follow 

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Email us at: Fenix@artwarsla.org
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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Hello and welcome to another Members Pass podcast. I am your host, Phoenix LAX. On today's episode of Arts Advocacy Day, today we find ourselves inside City Hall in the Tom Bradley room and observation tower on the 27th floor, hosted by Arts for LA, a nonprofit organization established as the Voice for the Arts in LA County, with a network of over 70,000 advocates across the Los Angeles region representing artists, art workers, and cultural organizations. They are here hosting Arts Advocacy Day, celebrating their 20th year anniversary. As over 50 advocates meet here in City Hall today, they are given scripts with topics that matter most, such as the 2028 games, contracting and procurement opportunities, and also to increase the Department of Culture Affairs share of the TLT. With that being said, not only will we hear from the CEO of Arts for Los Angeles, but also the general manager of the Department of Culture Affairs. I'm very excited for this one, and we're also going to hear from an art delegate herself talking about her experience. Let's jump right into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah, no. Because as you may know, this is Advocacy Month, and so we're having Advocacy Day today here at City Hall. And the City Hall is the city is the people's place. And you are all the people. And what I fundamentally we talk about a lot in RFLA is that we are all storytellers. The most fundamental element of being human is telling stories. And we are gathered here today because you all have stories, and we're taking those stories and putting into a pyramid and decide these are some of the top issues, but that's the starting point of the conversation. And why we're here at City Hall, where the elected officials reside, is because they're the ones who have the table. And what we're asking for is to build a bigger table to be more inclusive because that's the fundamentals of democracy. So we're here to tell a story, make sure that table gets bigger. And I forget who the elected official was back in the past. I think it was Shirley Chisholm who ran for president, the first African-American woman to do that, who said if they don't build a big enough table, bring your own chair. So we're either going to have them build a bigger table or bring our own chair. Um, so advocacy day, advocacy for the arts. Just want to let you know that you're part of a larger process, that we have meetings over at the uh Bureau of the Board of Supervisors with our um Activate program. We have some intelligent, um, talented people out there uh speaking for the uh creative workforce. Um, we're gonna be doing some state advocacy hosted by the California for the arts, and that kind of gives a big picture that you're part of something that's as a movement. Um, the agenda for today. So you all have been assigned captains. The captains raise your hands. I just want to say thank you. Salivate you. And then the agenda for today is you'll be going to your council meetings, you have your talking points, you have your assigned roles, and you'll be sharing your stories with the council members or their staff. And don't worry if it's only a staff member, because literally, I used to work for council office, I used to work for the mayor. They rely on staff. In fact, they're gonna always gonna ask the staff who's taking notes and paying attention, like what happened, what does this mean? Is there anything I need to do? And so having a staff member is actually still validation of the work that we're doing. And with that, oh, I also want to give a big shout out to our staff and to the team at R2LA. Um, I'm the one that's standing here, but they're the ones that did the majority of the work, and I appreciate the heck out of them because they're they're just smart, intelligent people who care deeply about what we do. And that is the lay of the land for today, but we would not be here without the uh strong leadership of our LA CEO Gustavo Herrera.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

Thank you, Mark. Um, and can we just echo a big, big thank you to all of the staff, please? But believe me when I say it's uh the the amount of coordinating and details that are managed leading up to Arts Day is is always surprising and extraordinary. And just huge, huge thank you for prioritizing the time to be here with us today. So I want to start off by uh asking if you might say the word unity with me. Unity, community, love to evoke those values into our space. Unity, community, and love. Before we head into these meetings, I want to take a minute to just remind you of the mission of Arts Relea. As I look around the room, there's family in this room, folks who have been here with us for a very long time. We're celebrating a 20-year anniversary today, and our mission as an organization is really to build a more thriving, a more equitable Los Angeles county. We're looking at art, culture, and entertainment. And our vision is bold. We've been looking at an LA where arts are valued, where all people benefit from the arts, and where creative workers thrive. And also where resources are equitably shared. But we can't do any of this alone. This all happens in community, it happens with you. You are Arts for LA. We, the staff, the nine folks that are on board are really here to support the community building, to support the community advocacy that we do to ensure that we can continue to fight for the arts, because the arts are not a luxury. The arts are essential infrastructure for our city. The arts are key to the economy of Los Angeles. One in six jobs in this region, and the arts, more importantly, bring us together. And at a time, in times like today, where there is a daily crisis, where we all feel a tremendous amount of anxiety of the world that we're living in, these opportunities for us to come together, to be together, and to advocate for the arts that we all love so deeply is everything. It's what's gonna get us through these very challenging times. And so I really want to thank you again for prioritizing some time today to do one of the most important things we can do as an advocacy community, as a movement of advocates, which is to meet with our elected offices and make our case. The arts are essential. And to talk to you about the what we will be advocating for today, I'd like to bring up Mark again.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Thank you, Gustavo. So, why are we here? What are we gonna be asking for? You had the information before you, but we felt it was very important just to reinforce. And so, the first, what we're asking for is today, as I stated before, your role is clear. Tell a story, make a clear ask, and we have provided the key material to assist you with your advocacy day. Um, first one is support framework B at $30 million. Department of Cultural Affairs presented to City Council a while back. Um, A, B, and C. A is the basic that can be done within the budget, but um as artists, we look at tomorrow and see what's possible. And so we're asking for the framework B at 30 million, because this is about ensuring Los Angeles shows the world that what we value as we head into the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, uh, this is how we build a cultural legacy that lasts beyond 2028. Uh, second ask is the repair the contracting and payment systems. Is that the city of LA, the intent is good, but process is processed, and when process has been around for a long time, uh, you need to update it and meet the needs of the modern era. And there's definitely ways whereby the city can ensure a system that's easy to navigate and that it prevents small organizations from being locked out. Because right now, if you're a small organization, say you're under $25,000, and you try to go through the process, you just don't have the time and resources to actually do it. It's very hard. And how can we make it easier? And and I know the Department of Cultural Affairs has been very supportive of that effort, and we're here to go to city council and make that ask and to be persistent in that ask. And then increased Department of Cultural Affairs share of the transit-oriented tax, also known as the TOT, is what is uh a tax on the hotels or anybody staying here for any kind of that's uh less than 30 days, and we're asking for it to be 1%, I mean, from 1% to 2%, because it hasn't been changed like 20 years. Um, as you all know, arts drives tourism, but funding hasn't kept up. Los Angeles relies on arts and culture to attract visitors and power the economy, yet Department of Cultural Affairs still receives only 1% of the TOT. A share that hasn't kept pace, as I said before, in a very long time and is not commensurate with its responsibilities that has grown over the decades. And the point of it is to align revenue with what drives it. And as we said before, LA is underinvesting compared to peers. Um while Los Angeles projects about $314 million in TOT revenue, which is about $3.15 million for the arts. San Francisco allocates $33.8 million, and they're smaller than we are. Um doubling LA's share to 2% is a practical step forward, closing the gap, and strengthening the cultural economy. So thank you again for being here to lead on these um clear talking points. Oh, and I forgot, I just irresponsible to me. I want to give a shout out to city staff who are here. We all appreciate you. Well, thank you. And now it's salmon.

SPEAKER_03 11:31

And just one more applause, colleagues, for um our board chair, uh Gail Lopes, who is right. Real really extraordinary leader for our organization. And Gail, just thank you for being here and your partnership. One of the things I want to share with us is that uh Arts Relais has tried to be very intentional, that we advocate not just for organizations and institutions, but artists and creative workers, and ensuring that in our policies, in our budget advocacy, we're centering the voices of artists and creative workers who are trying to make a sustainable livelihood here in Los Angeles. And so you'll see that in all of our advocacy. Yes, the economy, yes, the organizations, and centrally, yes, artists and creative workers. And no one gets this better than um one of our key partners in this work, a person I think who needs no introduction, uh, but I have the great honor of introducing him, is our uh general manager of the LA City Department of Cultural Affairs, Daniel Tarika.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much, Gustavo, for the introduction, and to Mark and Akeeb and to all of the Arts for LA team for making this important day today happen at City Hall. It's an honor to be in the room with all of you, um, because you all understand what arts and culture means, and that it's not a luxury, that it is a foundation for who we are as a society and for who we are as a city. You as artists, organizers, educators, and advocates ensure that creativity remains accessible, relevant, and deeply rooted with who we are in our communities. Your work doesn't just enrich lives, it builds bridges, preserves identity, and inspires possibility. So, as you all know already, the city is facing another tight budget year, and we are awaiting the mayor's release of the proposed budget on Monday. We understand that the budget does not have any furloughs or layoffs, any employee furloughs or layoffs, which is very important, but what we don't know yet is how they're gonna close the budget gap and what those programs that they may impact will be affected. So that will be revealed on Monday. And last year's budget uh was a tough one, and we are at risk of losing about a dozen positions, grants funding, program funding. Um, and with much gratitude to our staff for being able to find the savings to be able to save those, as well as the huge level of advocacy that you all put in, we were able to keep our budget level. So, for that, I want to give you all a huge round of applause. And that kept us where we were, where we needed to be. The challenge that we have faced this year is that we relied on those savings to be able to continue staffing and providing uh programming experiences. Um, so we are we are looking and and you know, we just want to make sure that this year the budget both stays level and then continues to grow as well. So, as Mark mentioned, as a department, we are deeply aware of the concerns around the city's lengthy contracting and payment processes. We take the concerns very seriously and have been working to reform those processes. As you may know or may not, um, the city and our department is bound by the larger city contracting and payment processes. So we are harnessing our power of creativity and our city experience to work with our city partners to explore and identify what those solutions might be to be able to move things faster and to be able to improve efficiencies, reduce barriers, and support our artists and cultural partners in more responsibly and the best ways that we can. We've already implemented some of those changes, and we're continuing to advocate for other ways to be able to streamline our budgeting and contracting processes. So that of course leads into what it looks like over the next several years. And with the Olympics and Paralympic Games coming fast, um, I'm excited to share it that the city has released its 2028 cultural program for the Olympic and Paralympic Games that was approved by council earlier this year. So thank you. It took a little bit to get there, um, but we're really grateful and thank you all to your support, both for what you're doing, the support getting us there, and the support that you're doing now. We're moving forward on program planning and implementation, and I encourage you to learn more about it if you don't know about it by checking it out on our website and subscribing to our list to be able to learn about what upcoming opportunities are going to be available for artists, arts organizations, culture bearers, and creative workers. The cultural program leverages our established infrastructure, our partnerships, and operational capacity. So, as Mark mentioned, we have three different frameworks that are part of our cultural program. The first framework utilizes our existing resources, and that's within our existing budget, and that's for $15 million. For the second two parts of the framework, those are frameworks B and C that you'll be talking about today, those are to be able to raise additional, uh raise and increase additional programming across our city to be able to raise additional funds. And we look through these programs to grow opportunities directly for artists, for cultural leaders, and arts and cultural organizations, and to build programming that creates direct opportunities, whether it's for youth arts education, murals, performing arts, visual arts, whatever it is, these are ways that we can further engage. And these are additional programs and part of how we're gonna be engaging Angelinos and how we tell our story for the city of Los Angeles and our region as we approach the world stage. So, as I mentioned, it's critical that the budget for the department both be kept both remain level as well as with whatever potential opportunities to grow, we look forward to seeing. And then one last thing that I think you all know about it's planning. Planning takes a long time for large-scale events. And if there's an opportunity for you all to remind folks that this budget, this year, is critical. Yes, it's not the year immediately that's going to be the year of the games, but this is the time that we need to be able to support the programming and the planning that will then lead us into the following year. So I just wanted to reiterate that. And then last but not least, I want to congratulate Arts4LA on celebrating 20 years of advocacy. It is so exciting to see what you've built and how we've been able to partner to be able to support who we are as a city and who we are as a region. You, through the work that you do, have mobilized a movement that's expanded opportunities, enhanced accessibility, trained many, many cohorts of advocates, and provided experiences for Angelinos and visitors. And at DCA, we see all of you as essential partners for who we are and how we help shape our city. And as a city, as a place to live and as a place to be able, where everybody, where everybody's voice matters. So I want to thank you all for your leadership. I want to thank you all for being here today and for your belief in the power of the arts. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

So tell me a little bit about your experience. How did you kind of gear yourself up? How did you get ready? And um, you know, what was that mind state? You know, how did you kind of in a sense put yourself into the conversation as opposed to just reading off the paper?

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Totally. So I I live and work in downtown LA. I work in Little Tokyo, and I over the course of the last year have been taking note to all the ways that our community members, um, but specifically our leaders, are looking at the ways that we're going to be activating as a neighborhood for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. And, you know, I my approach to this ask was taking a very uh community-facing uh approach and being able to like talk to leaders in the community and see what it is that they're looking for and what they're seeing in terms of like at a at a ground level organizationally. And um I was finding that our our leaders are looking for you know activations during the six to eight weeks, right? But more so about that long-term infrastructure that lasts and um really revitalizes arts and culture in the district well past the games. So that kind of looks like um, you know, aside from the games, we're doing like, you know, fan zones and um culturally sensitive programming, things like that.

SPEAKER_04 21:02

Awesome. Talk to me a little bit about your why. Why does this type of work matter to you?

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Absolutely. I used to work in the theater industry. I went to school for it. I was a props and scenic designer and I worked in the industry for a couple of years before the COVID-19 pandemic. And quickly thereafter, I really saw how fast the industry dried up. And it was tough to see it not really fully recover. And as someone who really understands what a gig economy looks like, I can relate to artists here at Malay right now who are trying to move through, you know, fire recovery, ice-impacted um neighborhoods, um, increased cost of living. And with, you know, generative AI as uh something that we had to be on the, you know, we had to be aware of and the outsourcing of art to other places that is in LA, um, it's really critical that we protect the artists and invest in those communities who really bring. That rich culture-diverse fabric to LA and really make it what it is today.

SPEAKER_04 22:04

100% awesome. Thank you for sharing that. And how did you find about uh how did you find out about today's event?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

So, my first interaction with Arts for LA was attending my first Arts Advocacy Day here in LA like two years ago. And since then they've been on my radar, and it wasn't until late last year that I had actually volunteered with them for their arts summit in in the fall that I found out about the delegate program. And as someone who's, you know, I'm a Gen Z museum professional living and working in LA, and you know, it it falls in line with the work that I do around civic engagement and my passion for the arts. I felt that you know this was a calling that I could really, you know, show up to and learn a lot from. And it's it's been an incredible experience.

SPEAKER_04 22:50

What keeps what keeps you coming back to the case?

SPEAKER_01 22:53

I would say to LA specifically is that I always discover something new. It's LA's a gift. Every day I'm I'm coming across something that just you know knocks my socks off. I'm just in awe of the beauty of how the city truly is one of a kind. Um the people, the art, the food, the culture, it's irreplaceable.

SPEAKER_04 23:15

Walk us through for people that may not be familiar with what today's uh event entail.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Absolutely. So the representative that we met with is actually, you know, as a part of SD1's office, they and Hilda Silise alone has been a great champion for arts and culture in LA County. And so that was already a reassuring notion that we had someone on our side and interested in taking the time to hear from and learn from us. Being able to speak with them was really, really, you know, actually it was comfortable. It wasn't, I wasn't stressed. It was a really um the conversation flowed really well. She asked a lot of questions, and you know, all in all, we had an hour together. We got through all of our asks, and we left with a couple actual items on where we can follow up on and how we can stay connected to make sure these asks really do kind of hopefully come to full fruition.

SPEAKER_04 24:07

Right, right. And I want to personally thank you for you know the work you do because I think that when more people like us get together and start advocating for the things we love is when we see real results. And uh, for those that may not be able to see this because this podcast is audio-based, um, we're uh currently reporting from the 22nd floor um in the city hall full year, I would say. And uh, this is why you'll hear kind of like the the wind like uh whistling behind us and some of the the bells are ringing when you hear the elevators. How do you celebrate yourself?

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Oh that's a great question. I really love to I love cooking, and so something I do for myself when you know maybe I have had a hard week, or maybe I'm in a good mood, or you know, things are going well. I just cook myself a good meal. I sit down, I take the time, I go out, get all my ingredients. I really like unplug, I set the phone aside, I put music on. Can't forget that. Um, but I just cook and I spend like two, three hours in the kitchen all together. I sit down, enjoy the meal, sit with myself. And if it's an extra special day, I have the privilege and the honor of being able to share that food with my people I love.

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Awesome, awesome. Okay, and then go ahead and give me your shout-outs. Who needs to hear from you? Loved ones, favorite coffee shop, your dog, your cats, colleagues. Let's have it.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yeah, absolutely. I'm shouting out to Little Tokyo, specifically Japanese American National Museum. The Democracy Center continues to stand on business. Um, shouting out to all my friends, artists, and colleagues across LA County who bring LA culture to life. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 25:46

Awesome. Lastly, where can we find you? Social media handles, whatever you can give us.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yes, I'm on Instagram at underscore S O F I A. N T A S T I C underscore. So Sofiantastic, yes, that's a pun. At Instagram. Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

Thank you so much for your time.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Of course, Phoenix. Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

We hope that this episode was informative, but also can be used as a resource as to what's happening in the city of Los Angeles with global events coming to our city. If you like what you heard, please consider subscribing to the podcast. And again, I am your host, Phoenix LAX, and this is Members Past Podcast. Till we meet again.