LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s appointment of artist and activist Patrisse Cullors to the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The New York Times bestselling author, educator and abolitionist brings over 20 years’ experience connecting art and justice in the fight for freedom. Cullors will serve as one of three Second District appointed Arts Commissioners.

“Art is a powerful tool in helping to connect, envision and create a better world. Patrisse has demonstrated her understanding of this and has experience using various mediums of art and community engagement to inspire and create change. Patrisse shares my commitment to equity and justice and will use her creativity to make arts and culture more accessible for residents throughout the Second District” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “I look forward to working with her as one of our Arts Commissioners in ensuring that all communities are uplifted and empowered by the arts.”

Cullors is the Co-Founder and Former Executive Director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and a native Angeleno with deep roots of serving Second District residents and fighting for liberation across LA County. She recently co-founded the Crenshaw Dairy Mart, a reimagined art gallery and studio located in the Second District that is dedicated to shifting the trauma-induced conditions of poverty and economic injustice through the lens of Inglewood and its community.

“I am invested and committed to weaving community solidarity in the Second District, and more broadly in Los Angeles County, through art and culture,” said Patrisse Cullors. “We can create meaningful change by investing in our imaginations and collective skills, give dollars towards beautifying our communities with art that is for us and by us, and continue to educate and amplify what justice can look at if we first invest in ourselves. All of these areas of work are areas that the Department of Arts and Culture is also committed to, and I am very excited to join this collaboration as an Arts Commissioner.”

The Second District has a rich history of combining art and advocacy with communities spanning from Leimert Park, Compton to Koreatown that are home to artists and cultural movements that have a global influence. There are over 107 arts organizations that primarily serve Second District residents and are using a wide range of artistic mediums to address key social justice challenges that include: anti-recidivism, healing trauma, and dismantling systemic racism.

Cullors will serve on behalf of the 2 million residents of the Second District alongside fellow Second District Commissioners Pamela Bright-Moon and Eric Hanks. The Arts Commission, an advisory body of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture consists of up to 15 members, three members appointed by each of the five Supervisors.

“I am deeply excited that Patrisse Cullors is joining the Arts Commission. She is an artist, an activist, a contributor to our cultural and creative economy, who is both rooted locally and known globally, and her work in racial equity and justice shows she has keen understanding of how to use art as a tool for change. All of these are relevant to our work, from supporting arts organizations and civic artists to advancing cultural equity through arts education and expanding pathways to creative careers. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with her to increase the visibility and the reach of arts and culture in Los Angeles County,” said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture.  

To learn more about the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, visit: https://www.lacountyarts.org/.