The LA Promise Fund was given the tremendous privilege of contributing to the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA Education Program with intensive programming provided during the 2017-18 academic year and sustained teacher support during the 2018-19 academic year. Thanks to major support provided by the Getty Foundation and additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment, the LA Promise Fund shared culturally relevant art and artists with students, teachers, and families across LA County. Through the combined efforts with the LAUSD Arts Integration Branch, a suite of programming opportunities was offered to all LA County schools free of charge to bring the Education Program into over 500 schools and to impact over 50,000 students in Los Angeles.
The Student Arts Contest
The Student Arts Contest provided LA County students a direct platform for engaging with, analyzing, and internalizing the themes of PST: LA/LA while also demonstrating creativity and skills across arts disciplines. The contest closed on March 1, 2018 with 1,586 submissions that responded to the contest prompt, "LA is ____. Am I LA?" The contest accepted submissions in the following categories: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Creative Writing, and Film/Media Arts. Winners were announced at a culminating celebration on May 6th, 2018. Along with an overall Grand Prize $5,000 college scholarship, each contest category will award scholarships in the following amounts:
1st Place: $2,500
2nd Place: $2,000
3rd Place: $1,500
Field Trips and Family Days
To ensure students had the opportunity to see Latin American and Latino art in person, the program funded 45 field trips to PST: LA/LA exhibitions for over 2,250 students from 19 school districts in LA County. Other schools and community-based non-profits participated in weekend Family Days that provided free transportation, translation services, and lunches for students and their families. More than 2,600 students, teachers, and families visited PST: LA/LA exhibits as part of LA Promise Fund's program offerings.
Professional Development
In partnership with LAUSD's Arts Education Branch, 250 teachers from 27 school districts were trained on strategies to integrate PST: LA/LA into their curricula for over 20,000 students.The broad range of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibitions presented an opportunity to connect many students with their heritage and identity, and to strengthen the relationship between schools and museums. For these reasons, Teacher Resource Guides were created to help teachers connect the themes of PST: LA/LA exhibitions to class curricula. LA Promise Fund used these guides as a foundation for Professional Development sessions that explored a range of topics in learning and teaching in the arts. Professional Development sessions featured:
Research-based instructional strategies for teachers of all content areas.
Techniques for utilizing technology to support teaching in the arts.
Analysis of a diverse portfolio of artwork from Latin American and Latino artists.
The PD helped me gain knowledge on the power that arts integration has on our students and how it can be incorporated to various subjects and practices. Overall, the PD provided me with context and strategies that helped me understand the need for art in schools."
Education Grant Program
A group of 50 teachers were awarded a total of $45,332 to implement arts-making activities aligned to PST: LA/LA in their classrooms.
ArtsMatter offered grants to support ambitious art projects inspired by PST: LA/LA in classrooms around LA County. Teachers used grant funds to purchase art supplies, hire artists to work with their students, and rent space for special events. Work from projects was submitted to the Student Arts Contest. Over 5,000 students participated in classroom arts-making as part of the Education Grant Program.
This grant launched my small, 6th period Ceramics class on a journey of self-discovery and perseverance that they have never displayed in my class. I have seen growth in emotional maturity, pride, and sense of community." Jeannette Elliott, Monterey High School
Project: Terra Cotta Pots of Latin America
About PST: LA/LA
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA was a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles taking place from September 2017 through January 2018. Led by the Getty, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA was a collaboration of arts institutions across Southern California.
Through a series of thematically linked exhibitions and programs, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA highlighted different aspects of Latin American and Latino art from the ancient world to the present day. With topics such as luxury arts in the pre-Columbian Americas, 20th century Afro-Brazilian art, alternative spaces in Mexico City, and boundary-crossing practices of Latino artists, exhibitions range from monographic studies of individual artists to broad surveys that cut across numerous countries.
Supported by more than $16 million in grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA involved more than 70 cultural institutions from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, and from San Diego to Santa Barbara. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor was Bank of America. Major support for the PST: LA/LA Education Program was provided through grants from the Getty Foundation. Additional support was provided by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
