Managing the financial side of a public art project can be just as creative and critical as making the work itself. This session equips artists with the tools to plan, track, and steward project funds from commission to completion. We’ll cover core skills including building detailed budgets, understanding payment schedules, navigating contracts, and anticipating hidden costs like insurance, taxes, and long-term maintenance.

Public art often means working in complex bureaucracies and can lead to misunderstandings and a sense that transparency is lacking in the civic art field. This session seeks to address this dynamic by inviting artists to learn about the processes, policies, and structures that inform the civic art process within government agencies. From project development and management to oversight and multi-agency coordination, the session will explore these requirements from the LA County Civic Art and other agencies’ perspectives.

This session demystifies the public art proposal process. Artists will learn how to craft a strong conceptual narrative, integrate technical feasibility, develop a preliminary budget, and effectively communicate concepts to stakeholders. We will consider challenges and opportunities for designing in the public art context including ways that artists can navigate meeting client needs while retaining their artistic voice. The session will include samples and tips as well as a review of real-world RFPs.

Sustainability in public art isn’t just about environmental compliance—it’s a creative opportunity. This session explores how artists can thoughtfully integrate sustainability into their practice through material selection, production methods, and conceptual framing. Using recent public artworks commissioned for the California Air Resources Board as case studies, we’ll look at a range of artistic responses to environmental themes and discuss the real-world challenges of incorporating sustainable practices into public commissions.

Designed for artists scaling up their practice, this workshop addresses budget tracking, timeline development, working with teams and subcontractors, managing installations, and using digital tools (like Gantt charts and cloud storage) to stay organized and in control. Artists will learn from a highly skilled project manager who will share ways to stay organized, on track, and on budget in high pressure fields.

Public art often comes with unexpected challenges—but these moments can lead to meaningful growth. In this session, artist Susan Logoreci will share how she uses feedback, constraints, and even rejection as opportunities to evolve her creative practice. Through case studies of real-world projects, Susan will walk participants through moments where client input or institutional push-back led to stronger outcomes. She’ll also reflect on the shift from studio/gallery-based work to the demands of creating for public space and broader audiences.

This interactive session is designed to support organizations that are actively implementing meaningful Cultural, Equity, and Inclusion (CEI) strategies. You'll gain tools to assess your progress, receive guidance on navigating current challenges, and connect with fellow leaders committed to these goals. Workshop participants will leave with a beginning draft or refreshed statement, policy, and plan as well as strategies for communicating with their boards to allow for adoption in advance of the fall Organizational Grant Program application deadline.

To provide some guidance, the Grants and Professional Development division will host the annual OGP Reporting 101 Workshop series via webinar to make it more accessible for all OGP grantees. This webinar will provide a walkthrough of where to find/how to fill out the reporting forms in the SurveyMonkey Apply online platform, an overview of the report questions and an explanation of the required documents that will need to be attached to the report to effectively document the activities and learnings that have evolved through the implementation of the OGP-funded project.

To provide some guidance, the Grants and Professional Development division will host the annual OGP Reporting 101 Workshop series via webinar to make it more accessible for all OGP grantees. This webinar will provide a walkthrough of where to find/how to fill out the reporting forms in the SurveyMonkey Apply online platform, an overview of the report questions and an explanation of the required documents that will need to be attached to the report to effectively document the activities and learnings that have evolved through the implementation of the OGP-funded project.

This workshop will walk participants through the nuts and bolts of the LA County Arts Internship Program, including elements of a successful application as well recent changes to the program. All interested applicants, both new and returning, are strongly encouraged to attend.