The Business Side of the Artistic Life

Artists will attest that there is much more to their profession than simply creating art. In fact, a good portion of many artists’ time is spent applying for, and nervously waiting to hear if they have received, grants from such institutions as the California Arts Council or the Los Angeles Endowment for the Arts.

With 1990 deadlines for grants looming on the near horizon, a number of institutions are offering grant workshops and other guidance for artists who are unfamiliar or seek assistance with the application process.

* The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, which administers the L.A. Endowment, is holding more than a dozen free workshops to help artists of various disciplines apply for the 1990-91 Cultural Grant Program. This year, the department expects to top the $2.5 million awarded through the same grant program last year. The grants will go to projects in the city of Los Angeles that will take place July 1 through June 30, 1991. The application deadline is Feb. 28.

Workshops will be held as follows: Tuesday, 7-9 p.m. at Los Angeles Harbor Department, 425 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro; Thursday, 7-9 p.m. at Castelar Street School, 840 Yale St.; Jan. 17, 7-9 p.m., at Barnsdall Park’s Gallery Theatre, 4804 Hollywood Blvd.; Jan. 20, 9-11 a.m., at Southwest Los Angeles College, 600 W. Imperial Highway; Jan. 24., 7-9 p.m., at Department of Water and Power, 4030 Crenshaw Blvd.; Jan. 25, 7-9 p.m., at Self-Help Graphics, 3802 Brooklyn Ave.; Jan. 30, 7-9 p.m., at West Los Angeles Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth Ave.; Jan. 31, 7-9 p.m., at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 1804 Industrial St.; Feb. 3, 9-11 a.m., at Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Sierra North No. 311; Feb. 6, 7-9 p.m., Korean Cultural Service, 5505 Wilshire Blvd.; Feb. 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Southern California Indian Center, 4640 N. Lankershim, No. 514, North Hollywood; Sat., Feb. 10, 9-11 a.m., Los Angeles Photographic Center, 412 S. Park View; Feb. 15, 7-9 p.m., McGroarty Cultural Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga. Chinese, Korean and Spanish translators, and sign language interpreters will be available at some sessions. For more information, call (213) 485-2433).

* At Otis/Parsons Art Institute, a new six-session course, titled “Grant Writing Workshop,” will be held on Tuesdays, from Jan. 23-Feb. 27, from 7-10 p.m. Taught by instructor Rodney Sappington, the course will also feature guest speakers from various arts agencies. The fee is $105. For information, call (213) 251-0501.

* A two-part Government Grantwriting Workshop sponsored by the Los Angeles-based ARTS Inc. will be at ARTS Inc. (315 W. 9th St., Suite 201) from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, and at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design (1700 Lida St.) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Jan. 20. The workshop, which is designed for staff and board members of nonprofit arts organizations, will focus on applications for the California Arts Council’s Organizational Support Program (application deadline is Feb. 1). The cost for the two-part workshop is $50, and scholarships are available. For information, or to enroll, call (213) 627-9276.

* A workshop explaining Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions’ Artists’ Projects Grants and its application procedure will be held at LACE (1804 Industrial Street), at 7 p.m. on Monday. The deadline is Feb. 1 for LACE’s grant program, which will award a total of $30,250 in five or more grants to individual artists or groups of collaborating artists whose work explores or extends new forms. For more information, contact June Scott at (213) 624-5650.

* A Continuing Education course at Loyola Marymount, “Writing for the Arts,” includes, but is not limited to, instruction on preparing grant proposals. The class, which meets Feb. 3, 10 and 17 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., costs $75. For information: (213) 642-2757.

The 1990 deadlines for statewide grants through the California Arts Council are as follows: Artists in Residence Program for Schools, Feb. 9; Artists in Residence Program for Special Constituents and Communities, Feb. 26; Organizational Support Program, Feb. 1; State-Local Partnership Program, Feb. 26.; Traditional Folk Arts Program, May 4; California Challenge Program, July 2; Touring-Presenting Program, Aug. 24; Art in Public Buildings Program, Oct. 19.; Artists Fellowship Program for Performing Arts, Oct. 5. Call (916) 445-1530 for applications or more information.

Also fast approaching is the March 2 application for National/State/County Partnership grants. For information, call (213) 974-1317.

SUPPORT CLASS: Also aiming to help artists with the non-creative aspect of their work is “Artists’ Career Development Group,” a new course through UCLA Extension. “This class deals with career how-to issues which are not given a great deal of discussion in art school,” said the support group’s instructor Anne Marie Karlson, who is herself an artist and is represented by Los Angeles’ Newspace Gallery. “Students will learn how to write a resume, to shoot slides and set up career goals. They will bring to class examples of their work, and we will explore which areas of art are the best for them to pursue.” The class format will include discussions, written assignments and presentations by art professionals. The enrollment fee for the six-month course, which begins Wednesday, is $180. The class meets on Wednesdays from 7-10 p.m. and will be held in Room 108 of the Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Blvd. Information: (213) 206-8503.

ARTISTS’ STUDIOS: Artists who haven’t been able to find appropriate studio spaces may soon have a new home. Approximately 60,000 square feet for new loft and studio spaces are expected to be available in downtown Long Beach by this fall. The proposed spaces, which would range from 625 square feet to 2,100 square feet, will have 14-foot ceilings and natural light.

The project, which is being developed by the Public Corporation for the Arts, the Long Beach Regional Arts Council, the city’s Redevelopment Agency and M.C.& D. Capital Corp., is located in the historic Walker Building, a four-story structure at 401 Pine Ave. The building was originally designed and built by Meyer and Holler, architects of the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

For an application or further information, call (213) 499-7777 or (213) 590-9559.