Happy 2017! DCA is thrilled to be starting off the New Year with so many meaningful creative experiences and opportunities to share with you.

DCA is committed to producing and promoting year-round classes, workshops, exhibitions, and events at our Cultural Centers throughout the city. We invite you to have a look at the classes and opportunities offered at your neighborhood Arts Center. Highlights for this month include Winter Classes starting at Sun Valley Youth Arts Center, Canoga Park Youth Arts Center, Barnsdall Art Park Junior Arts Center, Lincoln Heights Youth Arts Center, William Grant Still Arts Center, Watts Towers Arts Center, and more.

DCA’s Watts Towers Arts Campus has served as a beacon of light for arts education and a conduit for social change. It continues to support and present master artists and to nurture aspiring young people. The Towers and DCA’s arts education institution on the campus is one of the most important tourist destinations in Watts that continues to serve not only our local Southern California community, but also the world at large, as is evidenced by its large number of international visitors. DCA was proud to see the destination featured in the award-winning musical La La Land, which garnered several national media outlets, such as CNN, People, and Travel + Leisure to name a few, to publish articles highlighting this important landmark to the Watts Community and the City.

The 36th Annual Black Doll Show presented at DCA’s William Grant Still Arts Center closes next month. Artists were asked to mine their studios, kitchens, and thrift stores for raw materials, mixing old and new to create contemporary works of art that move beyond traditional doll making. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m. Don’t forget about the last Saturday Afternoon Doll-Making Workshops on February 4. For more information about exhibition and other activities, please visit the WGS website.

In closing, I want to bring attention to the work of an important long-time staff member, Lee Sweet. Starting at LATC in 1985, and officially joining the DCA family in 1991, Lee runs the Warner Grand Theatre and DCA’s Cultural Centers in San Pedro. Lee works tremendously hard to assure that the Theatre remains a valuable resource to community. Local theater and dance companies, who are typically small in size and don’t have spaces of their own, have embraced the Theatre as their own since the City took over the facility in 1995-96. It has become a home for local companies such as the San Pedro City Ballet, Elite Dance Studios, Encore Theatre Group, Palos Verdes Children’s Choir, and Scalawag Productions to name a few. Well done, Lee! We salute your devotion to the performing arts and your community.
I encourage you to take advantage of DCA’s Neighborhood Arts and Cultural Centers this year. As a City Department, we strive to deliver quality programming and serve as artistic outlets for both LA’s residents and tourists alike.