BroadStage Cultural Heritage Residency Programs

Access to Creative Industry Employment (sponsored by the Snap Foundation)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative

Due to a collection of economic and health factors, per the 2022 Otis Creative Economy Report, California's Fine and Performing Arts workforce sector shrunk by 19.4%. Further, in the 2022 LA's Performing Arts & Reopening Survey, operating capacity and audience participation are down to 50% of pre-pandemic levels and ticket revenue is 1?3 of what it was. BroadStage is taking an active role in addressing rebuilding LA's arts sector. We are: 1) Curating performances that center on topical, timely and relevant themes, thereby addressing representation and social cohesion. 2) Curating performances with diverse artists and presenting a diverse range of human experiences. 3) Shepherding the intergenerational transfer of arts appreciation and expertise, working to ensure there is a place for younger artists to learn and hone their chosen craft as they age. 4) Acting as an engine in the creative economy, providing avenues for creatives to economically support themselves and their families.

Our first two residencies are conducted in collaboration with Santa Monica College (SMC) and Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), have three-year arcs, no admission fee, and will provide emerging talent in jazz and latino-centered arts performance, curation, mentorship, and community engagement opportunities. Our artists-in-residence will engage with SMC and SMMUSD students, providing mentorship on skills acquisition, advocacy regarding cultural identity, intergenerational mentorship and ultimately, the introduction of emerging talent throughout each residency. TIMELINE: Jazz Residency: Year One of the Clarke residency begins in September 2023, with a public performance. During the Fall semester, Clarke will spend six hours/month with SMC ensemble groups offering workshops, coaching, and perspectives on becoming a jazz creative in the LA economy. He will perform again in March, 2024. At each of his public performances, he will perform with a group of jazz young professionals, thereby facilitating the intergenerational transfer of the artistry of jazz in live performance. Latino Culture Artistic Residency: Year One/Theatrical Performance: Year One will start in March, 2024 with the performance of Herbert Siguenza, in "A Weekend with Picasso." Leading up to his performance, SMC and SMMUSD faculty will work with students on thematic issues of artistic and racial/ethnic identity and advocacy as a Latinx artist in the performing arts sector.

BroadStage will impact embedded, systemic practices blocking historically under-resourced communities' potential and stabilize, uplift and make more visible the artistry of LA's emblematic cultures. Led by artists from within these community groups, our Residency Program provides a real-life example of art in action for the residency participants. The residencies impact up-and-coming artists by involve curricular and co-curricular skills training, discussion, and mentoring designed by curating, community born artists for those same community arts students and enthusiasts. They also provide paths to work within chosen artistic fields, thereby maintaining the creative economy of Los Angeles. Through the residencies, participants become advocates of the inherent artistic merit of their multi-faceted communities. Over time, we will engage more historically under-resourced LA County artists and communities, providing more paths for creatives to engage in their chosen artistic arenas.

Success will be defined by the communities involved. They will shape project outcomes and measures of success by being involved in their creation. We will meet with project collaborators, local leaders and engage with artists and community members continually to shape Residency goals. Figuring out how to meet any single community's needs happens when community members determine what those needs are and what it looks like when those needs are met. BroadStage accomplishes this through face-to-face meetings and interactions with community members - students, artists, arts enthusiasts, community organization partners, and audience members. Documentation strategies are reviewed and assessed by team members and our Patron Management team who then review surveys and their questions for validity, reliability and consistency. Outcomes will be assessed year by year and compared to further refine each residency's upcoming program and future residencies in development.

Our partner organizations are Santa Monica College and Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District. SMC is a Hispanic Serving Institution of 33,000 with 37% of its students identifying as Hispanic. SMMUSD serves 9,930 students with 50.6% identifying as non-Caucasian. Within that, 29.5% identify as Latino. 14% are economically disadvantaged. The faculty of SMC and SMMUSD's music departments are collaborating with Stanley Clarke in developing the music curriculum and co-curricular activities for the jazz residency. Further, faculty from SMC's theater department, their Public Policy Institute and the SMC Adelante program, an academic support program created by the Latino Center in 1989, will collaborate on the Latino Culture Residency.