This month, P.S. ARTS’ Director of Programs, Tiffany Owens, had the opportunity to join Arts for LA for Advocacy Day, a day to meet with local elected officials to champion local arts funding. Read more below to hear how it went.
Communication is everything. On April 10, 2025, I participated in Arts Advocacy Day, an annual event organized and activated by Arts for LA, led by their Director of Policy and Advocacy, Ricky Abilez. I and about a hundred like-minded arts champions throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area went to Los Angeles City Hall and in small teams we met with municipal and county elected representatives and members of their staff. We engaged in conversations about the benefits and positive impact that the arts have on every aspect of our lives. This includes shaping and strengthening communities, stabilizing and amplifying economic growth, enriching and beautifying our cultural and actual landscape, and serving as a base of employment and purpose for a significant portion of our citizenry.
My team met with Communications Deputy, Andoni Elias Nava, from District 13 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez’s office. By meeting in person the team was able to connect and learn that our shared common purpose was already much stronger than we imagined. Himself a longtime filmmaker and professional, practicing artist, Nava took the time to talk in depth with us about the value of the arts in Los Angeles and invited us to continue the discussion far beyond our scheduled meeting time, looking at the continued importance of the arts, considering the balance with the so many other critical needs in our city and county. We all walked away with a sense of shared, common goals for the community to flourish and thrive. Talk, dialogue, conversation, connection, common purpose. Communication is everything.
