CREATEIncreasing Diversity in LA's Creative Economy
Our program will connect Culver City High School’s highly diverse students with leading industry partners in Los Angeles' creative economy to provide mentoring and skills training in Video Game Design and Technical Theater. With access to real world, creative industry professionals, our students will gain meaningful skills to provide a pathway to employment in the creative industry, helping to diversify the workforce in this vital sector of the economy of Los Angeles County.
What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?
Access to tech and creative industry employment
In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?
Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)
What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?
The creative industry is a key component of the Los Angeles County economy. Our goal is to provide resources that equip Culver City students with the skills and resources to access employment in this vital sector.
Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.
Culver City High School (CCHS) offers Career Technical Education pathways which provide students with curriculum and skills training in specific career fields. This initiative will benefit our Video Game Design and our Technical Theater CTE pathways.
We are requesting funding support to engage with two local professional organizations in the creative industry to provide CCHS students with hands on experiences and mentoring. For the Technical Theater component, we will partner with Center Theatre Group to stage and perform a play at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. Students will work hands-on with technical theater professionals at the Kirk Douglas Theatre during the staging, set building, lighting design, audio production, costume design, stage management, and front-of-house operations during the production planning, preparation, rehearsals, and performances.
For the Video Game Design component, we will partner with Cleverlike Studios. Game design professionals will provide lessons and direct support for students to produce a mini game to be played at a culminating event.
Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.
A study by SMUDataArts in April 2024 analyzing the demographic makeup of the arts and cultural workforce in LA County found significant gains in greater ethnic and racial diversity. However, significant gaps remain, especially with Hispanic/Latinx workers.
Our program is designed to increase the access to creative industry employment for the highly ethnically and racially diverse students at Culver City High School. With a more diverse workforce in Los Angeles County’s creative career fields, there is an increased likelihood of greater representation of the stories and products produced by this industry. In addition, this career pathway offers lucrative employment, thereby providing an increase in available trained workers for local companies.
What evidence do you have that this project, program, or initiative is or will be successful, and how will you define and measure success?
We successfully piloted this project in the 2023-24 school year. We plan to track the students who participate in this program to determine if they pursue higher education or employment in the creative industry.
Describe the role of collaborating organizations on this project.
Center Theatre Group will provide the industry professionals to mentor students at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Cleverlike Studios will provide industry professionals to mentor students in video game design.
Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?
Direct Impact: 200.0
Indirect Impact: 50.0