The Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) invites LA County-based artists, arts administrators, or other creative professionals to submit a proposal to work in partnership with the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative (Homeless Initiative) as a Creative Strategist-Artist in Residence (Creative Strategist).  

The Creative Strategist will collaborate with Arts and Culture and Homeless Initiative staff to develop a project that may include but is not limited to artistic interventions, approaches, and strategies; community engagement and participation; the identification or mapping of cultural and community assets; the creation of new artworks; and/or access to artistic and cultural experiences to meet the established goal(s) of the residency:

1. To develop and prototype strategies designed to dispel myths and shift the narrative about people experiencing homelessness; 
2. To develop arts-based methods that capture complicated ideas in a visual form to increase understanding and awareness of the complexities and solutions of the homelessness crisis in the region; and 
3. To develop artist-led, community-informed approaches for increasing public awareness of and galvanizing public support for addressing the homelessness crisis. 

Programmatic activities may include both artist and community-initiated projects, workshops, and events, and site-specific visual and/or performing art presentations to address multilayered objectives that improve services provided by LA County (County), using creative methods that engage Homeless Initiative constituents and stakeholders. The Creative Strategist may engage other artists, performers, and culture bearers during the residency. Events may be held in person or via a digital platform. 

This Creative Strategist residency may include, but is not limited to, the use of trauma-informed visual storytelling techniques, such as graphic recording, infographics, illustrations, video, photography, and other visual media, to illustrate and promote a deeper understanding of the complicated nature of solving the homelessness crisis. 

Rooted in socially engaged art and civic practice, the Creative Strategist Program emerged out of the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and launched in 2018. A Creative Strategist is someone who can apply their practice and creative problem-solving skills to develop artist-led and community-informed solutions to complex social challenges faced by Los Angeles County departments, introduce arts-based methods for engaging with internal and external stakeholders, and support articulated departmental goals. Creative Strategists are thought partners, they foster innovative ideas and prototype strategies for integrating arts, culture, and creativity into County operational practices. Creative Strategists can play a key role in supporting systems change, strengthening relationships between government and communities, and advancing the County’s cultural and racial equity goals.  

This type of work requires a commitment to working collaboratively and a dedication to civic engagement. Applicants must have a portfolio or body of work that demonstrates their ability to align creative practice with social and public need and their experience engaging diverse communities including, in this instance, people experiencing homelessness and/or communities disproportionately impacted.

Deadline for Submissions: July 24, 2023 | 5PM (PST)