Join Sandra Tsing-Loh: L.A. arts plan needs your input

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Never mind those rumors of ‘culture wars’ breaking out again in the fight for the White House. Angelenos shall have ‘one clear vision’ when it comes to arts and culture. So says hizzoner, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in announcing a presumably less contentious -- but you never know -- campaign to create a Cultural Master Plan for the city. It’s up to the Cultural Affairs Department, headed by General Manager Olga Garay, to forge this document of vision and comity by year’s end. Lending help are hired consultants and a blue-ribbon volunteer advisory commitee, appointed by the mayor, that includes writer and whimsical NPR science maven Sandra Tsing-Loh, artist Gronk, film producer Sherry Lansing and local museum powers Michael Govan (LACMA) and James Wood (J. Paul Getty Trust). And not just them, but you! The master plan process prizes public input, starting with a Web survey asking L.A. residents and visitors to give the who, what, when, where and why of their arts and cultural interests. Fill in the blanks by Sept. 23, and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a grand prize of $500 cash and a second prize of tickets to a Cultural Affairs-sponsored jazz show by the Charles Mingus Big Band or an architectural tour of noir-flavored literary and cinematic sites.

-- Mike Boehm