From Local Legends to Future Creators

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Long Beach

Research (initial work to identify and understand the problem)

In Long Beach, residents from underserved communities, especially low-income youth and other disenfranchised groups, face persistent barriers to engaging with music and the creative economy. Cuts to arts education, limited access to performance spaces, and exclusion from creative career pipelines have created a cultural and economic disconnect, especially harmful in Los Angeles, where the creative industry is a significant source of identity and opportunity.
Through programs like Blues in the Schools, Blues for Seniors, and Blues for Vets, we’ve addressed these inequities by offering connection, healing, and creative expression, revealing a more profound need: a lasting, physical space where music and community intersect.
The Long Beach Music Museum concept has evolved from this work. LBBS now seeks to research access gaps, gather community input, and assess whether a museum could become an inclusive hub for cultural learning and creative opportunity.

The Long Beach Music Museum is an early-stage initiative based on the belief that cultural heritage can promote economic inclusion. The Museum aims to build on our decades of community engagement to address the longstanding exclusion of low-income youth and emerging artists from creative career pathways.
This grant will support a year of intentional research and testing. We will conduct a needs assessment to identify barriers to access and document aspirations within various stakeholder groups. This process will include surveys, listening sessions, and interviews with students, artists, educators, and cultural leaders. Additionally, we will pilot mini-exhibits and artist engagement sessions at a temporary location across from the Long Beach Convention Center, inviting the community to participate in shaping the future of the Museum.
Long Beach is a city with a significant global cultural impact, home to iconic artists across various genres, including hip-hop, punk, and Tejano. However, many residents remain disconnected from this creative legacy and the economic opportunities it presents. This Museum has the potential to become a first-of-its-kind institution rooted in the community, designed to celebrate and honor local stories, foster healing through the arts, and inspire the next generation of diverse creative professionals throughout Los Angeles County. Ultimately, this initiative will help us all feel more connected to and proud of our community.

Successful research and pilot efforts will result in a roadmap for a permanent music center and a model for community-rooted creative workforce development. In the short term, we will continue serving local students and educators across 15 schools, evolve our music curriculum, and pilot concert-based programming that celebrates Long Beach musicians while exposing youth to creative career paths. We will train musicians of color, secure new school partners, and assess program impact. In the long term, we envision a permanent space operating as a cultural hub, educational center, and creative career incubator. With strategic alignment to our city’s 10-year tourism plan and the anticipated support of music estates and affiliated institutions, such as the Grammy Museum, this initiative could anchor cultural and economic revitalization. By celebrating local music legacies and investing in new talent, this project will help reshape the creative pipeline for underrepresented communities.