36 Hours in L.A. 2050
Many exceptional thinkers have observed, “you need to picture your idea before you can achieve it." With 36 Hours in L.A. 2050, ForYourArt pairs artists and urban visionaries together to imagine stops along a 36-hour itinerary in L.A. circa 2050. Through a series of roving conferences and an exhibition, 36 Hours in L.A. 2050 culminates in a future-forecast map stimulating thinking and creating new possibilities for our collective future. International arts figures will be invited to participate, broadening the reach of this conversation and integrating their perspectives to reflect the international nature of our city. Additionally, building upon the conversation started by LA2050, 36 Hours in L.A. 2050 will utilize LA2050’s eight well-defined success indicators as a touch point in discussions leading up to and during the roving summits. According to the 2012 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region, 1 out of 8 regional jobs is in the creative economy. Imagine a Los Angeles in 2050 where 1 out 3 regional jobs is in the creative economy and this sector moves from the 4th to 1st largest employment cluster including an even more flourishing artist sector. Likewise, the Goldhirsh Foundation’s LA2050 report that sites that L.A. ranks near the bottom of large U.S. cities for volunteerism. Imagine a Los Angeles in 2050 where everywhere is a creative context and we have at least double social connectedness from 21.5 to 43 percent -- deeply increasing our civic and social engagement. What would our Los Angeles look like and how would an Angeleno or someone visiting spend 36 hours in the city in 2050? 36 Hours in L.A. 2050 creates a cross-disciplinary and participatory platform for visioning LA2050’s arts and cultural indicator and what everyday life will look like in L.A. 2050. Specifically, utilizing an April 3, 1988 Los Angeles Times Magazine’s 25-year look ahead to 2013 article as a reference point, the project will future forecast art centric visions of L.A. 2050 through an exploration with artists, architects, creatives, thought leaders, institutions and more, answering these questions: In 2050: What kinds of new creative economy jobs exist? What ethical shifts will have taken place? What does an “artist” do? What new landmarks will we have?What new kinds of organizations will we have? What will arts organizations look like? How will Angelenos spend their time in a 24-hour day? How might arts organizations evolve as part of this growing ecosystem? How will arts and culture spur civic connections and engagement? What does L.A. as an arts and cultural capital look like? The future forecast information collection will be multifold and will include roving talks and presentations taking place at 3-4 venues across L.A. -- all over the course of 36 hours. Conversations will be documented and inform an exhibition at ForYourArt at 6020 Wilshire Blvd. Through an invitational and open call process, artists, architects and others will be invited to exhibit their artwork, their ideas or concepts for “36 hours in L.A. 2050”. The conversations and exhibition are followed by a publication, MAP: ForYourArt L.A. 2050. The overall activities and vision of 36 Hours in L.A. 2050 will be captured in this “future map” that looks 37 years ahead to 2050. The map will include an invitation to meet up at an L.A. landmark in 2050 on a certain day and a 36-hour 2050 itinerary. ForYourArt will also utilize its platforms and partners to stimulate conversations around the forecasting and to further engage participation.
What are some of your organization’s most important achievements to date?
ForYourArt creates new contexts for art on- and off-line and applies an entrepreneurial spirit to producing and distributing artists’ work. ForYourArt experiments with a range of activities in its 6020 Wilshire Blvd. space that fall in between the nonprofit and the commercial sectors - generating patronage through conversations, pop-up shops, creative interventions, artist initiatives and family activities.
ForYourArt has worked on significant projects including The Getty’s Pacific Standard Time, and the Hans Ulrich Obrist’s The NOW Interviews at the Venice Architecture Biennale, featuring interviews with leading artists, architects and urban planners by the celebrated curator. ForYourArt has published art maps for Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago and developed an iPad app with artist John Baldessari.
ForYourArt also organized the public art component for Arts Matters, a first of its kind, citywide public art exhibition and fundraising campaign to support arts education in the nation’s second largest public school system. Presented by the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education (LA Fund) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Arts Matter addresses the importance of arts education in Los Angeles public schools, the “creative capital of the world.” Artists Barbara Kruger and John Baldessari created public art works that were presented on city buses and other outdoor media all across the greater metro area.
Please identify any partners or collaborators who will work with you on this project.
For 36 Hours in L.A. 2050, the anticipated partners and collaborators are many including Los Angeles art and architecture schools, arts organizations, museums, artist, architects, urban planners, arts and service nonprofits as well as many business and technology entities and their innovators.
Please explain how you will evaluate your project. How will you measure success?
Success will be measured through the strength of the visions presented for places and experiences. 36 Hours in L.A. 2050 will be an opportunity to deepen engaged networks around these common visions for success in the future, and spread these ideas about Los Angeles internationally.
Illuminating summits, an exhibition, and a map and its contents will be the results of this project. Along with the field, these activities will provide new access points for the public to participate in the conversation, be inspired and emotionally connected to L.A.’s arts and cultural community of the future.
ForYourArt is also a platform to explore new business models and ways for artists and institutions to monetize their value independent of the existing arts marketplace, which functions successfully for fine art. As we imagine every artist as an entrepreneur, too, in L.A. 2050, this project also seeks to explore future art practices
How will your project benefit Los Angeles?
By creating an independent space for thinking about what ‘36 hours in L.A. 2050’ will look like in the future, the project will generate concrete visions around places and experiences that reflect ideas, conversation and collaborations towards a general consciousness of L.A. in 2050.
Whatever unfolds here continues to heighten L.A. as a leading cultural arts capital and spurs new inventions.
What would success look like in the year 2050 regarding your indicator?
Success in the year 2050 would have many embodiments including: increased art and cultural patronage for institutions and artists; free museum admissions across the city; access to quality, sequential arts education for all public K-12 students; healthy, well-funded government cultural agencies providing grants to nonprofits and artists; spaces and programs that support artist as entrepreneur and social practitioner; deep civic and social engagement including robust board governance, artists serving on public commissions, etc; easy use of public transportation to get to and from event venues, and more. Additionally, public policies that support: artists/creative live/work spaces, affordable artist housing, temporary and public art programs; engaging spaces; innovation in architecture for public buildings, more open space, incubator programs, etc.