Advancing Creative Career Pathways at LACHSA

Access to tech and creative industry employment

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Public education in California has been underfunded for the last 50 years and yet, Los Angeles is widely known as the creative capital of the world. Public high school students from all over LA County need to be prepared for this lucrative job market that employs 1 in 13 jobs.
In low-income and unincorporated areas of the County, public high schools barely have functional facilities, let alone state-of-the-art equipment. Without access and innovative instruction, students lack the opportunity to learn and increase skills necessary for jobs in the local creative economy right out of high school.
With the rising costs of supplies and equipment, let alone the rapid pace of innovation in tech and creative fields, most public high schools cannot keep up with the training necessary for the creative economy jobs of tomorrow.

For 40 years LACHSA has been at the forefront of training the next generation of artists. Current students and alumni are creative change-makers having an impact all over the world.
With an extended, specialized schedule, students have college preparatory academics each morning and a full half-day of arts training every afternoon. The education is rigorous, however, these public school students are the most dedicated young artists in LA County.
To address the problem of access in creative career pathways, LACHSA needs to continually innovate to prepare its student artists for the careers of tomorrow and a life in the arts through its educational opportunities and new Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.
Each arts department educates student artists through a wide variety of opportunities and state-of-the-art equipment to increase their skills and talent. Many programs are newly CTE-certified including the Cinematic Arts’ Video Production track, Theatre Design and Production track, and the Commercial Music program. Students gain skills that they can apply to creative jobs such as editing, stage management, lighting or sound design, choreography, fashion design, music composition, producing, and others. Equally, LACHSA offers Master Classes with current industry leaders to offer real world skills and advice, as well as “the business of art” courses. LACHSA is currently reviewing its programs to respond to the impact of AI and other advancements in creative industries.

LA County is different because LACHSA is successful. We see an even brighter future. LACHSA alumni have painted 5-story murals in Little Tokyo, entertained thousands in its prestigious venues like the Hollywood Bowl, and inspired millions with box office hits like The Wild Robot. With the help of this grant, LACHSA’s diverse student artists will continue to thrive, to share their cultural stories, to challenge thoughts, and to inspire hope in our shared humanity.
Sustaining the excellence of LACHSA is the challenge, but the investment in its proven outcome opens access and opportunity to students who would not otherwise be able to attend a professional-level arts training program in high school. Student artists often find their creative home at LACHSA because of the dedication of its teachers and the shared passion of fellow student artists. Together, they raise the bar and inspire each other, guaranteeing that Los Angeles County remains the creative capital of the world.