Ideas Sought for Public Art Funds

Los Angeles arts officials will ask Chatsworth and Granada Hills residents Tuesday to suggest ways to spend public arts funds in their neighborhoods.

The workshop is one of several to help draft plans for spending revenues generated by a new public art fee charged to developers.

For two years, developers of major, non-residential building projects have been asked to reserve up to 1 percent of their project costs for public art. The fees have generated about $1 million for public art investment so far, said Peggy Gaido, public arts administrator for the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.

Comments at the workshops will be incorporated into community and general land-use plans, and will guide city planners in approving city arts expenditures, Gaido said.

“It’s to give us direction on what’s important in a given area,” she said.

The arts division is also seeking input from citizens on the proposed formation of regional arts councils throughout the city. The city is considering applying for a National Endowment of the Arts grant to start five citizen councils throughout Los Angeles. The councils would approve public art expenditures in their regions and spearhead local fund-raising efforts for art, Gaido said.

The Cultural Affairs Department has held about a dozen public art workshops this year. Gaido said the most common issue raised by citizens has been youth programs.

“People want programs for youth, they want to involve them,” she said.

Many participants in the workshops have mentioned graffiti, and have suggested public art funds could be spent on programs to give teen-agers alternatives to spraying paint, she said.

The workshop is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Mason Recreation Center, 10500 Mason Ave., Chatsworth.