Los Angeles City officials on Friday announced a year-round series of free arts, music and cultural events at MacArthur Park as part of ongoing efforts to revitalize the space.
The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners on Thursday approved a partnership with the Music/Arts/Community Los Angeles, formerly known as Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles, to produce and manage the initiative.
The year-round programming is supported by a $250,000 investment, consisting of $150,000 from City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and $100,000 from the California Community Foundation.
“This partnership will transform the MacArthur Park Bandshell into a year-round gathering place where families, young people, elders, artists and neighbors from all walks of life can celebrate culture, build community and create memories together,” said Hernandez, whose district includes MacArthur Park.
“Safety is built through connection. When our public spaces are active, welcoming and filled with community, they become places where people feel they belong and look out for one another,” Hernandez added.
The board choose MAC-LA to lead the program following a request for proposals process, according to city officials. Programming is expected to involve free live concerns, visual art exhibits and interactive community art experiences, indigenous cultural programming, arts education and entertainment industry workshops and family-friendly community festivals.
MAC-LA will also oversee artist recruitment, event production, community outreach, multilingual marketing, public safety planning and the creation of a community advisory board to have residents help shape programming.
“MacArthur Park has always been one of Los Angeles’ most treasured public spaces, and this partnership represents an exciting new chapter for the park,” Jimmy Kim, general manager of the Department of Recreation and Parks, said in a statement.
Programming is expected to begin in September, with a full calendar of free and low-cost events announced in the coming months.