Eight Los Angeles Artists Awarded $15,000 Fellowships More Than $530,000 Granted to 18 Visual Arts Organizations

Los Angeles — The California Community Foundation recently announced that it has awarded $657,000 to support Los Angeles-based artists and arts organizations. Individual fellowship grants of $15,000 were awarded to five highly accomplished mid-career artists and to three emerging artists who show tremendous potential.

As one of the few local supporters of individual artists, the California Community Foundation views art as an important vehicle for building one community out of many - transcending social, political and economic barriers in ways words cannot.

"Even though arts funding in Los Angeles has been cut dramatically in recent years, the community foundation's commitment to supporting individual artists has not wavered," said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. "It is our privilege to support the diverse, world-class arts community that calls Los Angeles home."

The individual artists and arts organizations were honored last night at a reception at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The reception featured an exhibit showcasing selected works of the individual artist winners. The exhibit was curated by Matt Lipps, a photography instructor at University of California, Irvine.

The Visual Arts Initiative is designed to nurture and support the work of Los Angeles area artists and arts organizations while reflecting the diversity and richness of the many unique communities that exist in this region.

Since 2001, the community foundation has distributed $360,000 to outstanding emerging and mid-career artists and more than $1.8 million to visual arts organizations and small theater companies.

In 2004, 180 arts organizations received grants ranging from $10,000 to $60,000 to support their visual arts programs.

A juried panel of local artists, curators and academics in the arts selected this year's individual artist winners. The community foundation defines a mid-career artist as an established artist who has seven or more years of active, professional participation in his or her field, and an emerging artist as having fewer than seven years of professional experience in his or her field.

Funds for the California Community Foundation's Visual Arts Initiative are provided by the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, the Brody Arts Fund and other foundation funds.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $600 million. In partnership with its donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.

Below is a list of the grant recipients:

Mid-career Artists ($15,000 fellowships)
Enrique Martinez Celaya (photography, painting and sculpture)
Karen Kimmel (multimedia)
Dan Kwong (performance art)
Rika Ohara (multimedia)
Eloy Torrez (painting)

Emerging Artists ($15,000 fellowships)
Sandra de la Loza (multimedia)
Won Ju Lim (sculpture)
Ruben Ochoa (multimedia)

Visual Arts Organizations
About Productions, Pasadena ($25,000)
Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena ($48,638)
California/International Arts Foundation, Los Angeles ($13,200)
City at Peace, Venice ($25,000)
East West Players, Los Angeles ($60,000)
Ford Theatre Foundation, Hollywood ($29,662)
Great Leap, Los Angeles ($30,000)
Greenway Arts Alliance, Los Angeles ($20,000)
The HeArt Project, Los Angeles ($40,000)
LA Freewaves, Los Angeles ($25,000)
Los Angeles Poverty Department, Los Angeles ($20,000)
Miracle Mile Players, Los Angeles ($10,000)
Outfest, Los Angeles ($25,000)
Robey Theatre Company, Sherman Oaks ($20,000)
Shakespeare by the Sea, Redondo Beach ($30,000)
Shakespeare Festival/LA, Los Angeles ($45,000)
Southern California Women's Caucus for Art, Los Angeles ($10,500)
Visual Communications, Los Angeles ($60,000)