OCMA Opens!

The much anticipated opening of the new Orange County Museum of Art on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus has arrived with a series of events including a ribbon cutting held on October 7. 

For more information, visit the website at https://ocma.art/.

Major Endorsements Continue for Prop 28

The Orange County Register has endorsed Proposition 28, which would increase arts and music funding for all PK-12 public schools in California without raising taxes. This latest endorsement adds more support to the campaign’s robust coalition of labor and business leaders, community art educators, educators, and entertainment industry leaders.

Read more here.

Grant Opportunity

Humanities for All has an upcoming Quick Grant program offering awards between $1,000 and $5,000 with an application deadline of October 17. This program accepts applications three times a year, with emphasis placed on projects that show potential to provide high-quality humanities learning experiences for participants and audiences.

Read more here.

Thuy Vo Dang Joins UCLA Faculty

After having served as curator for the Southeast Asian Archive and research librarian for Asian American Studies at UCI Libraries, Thuy Vo Dang has joined the faculty of the UCLA Department of Information Studies. In this new role, she will train future educators, curators, librarians, archivists, and memory-keepers and advance her research on the Vietnamese diaspora and refugee archival praxis. 

Thuy is a member of Arts Orange County’s Board of Directors. She will be co-hosting the Orange County Arts Awards on October 18. 

Read more here.

Theatre Awards Announced

The Orange Curtain Review has announced their 2022 awards, recognizing excellence at such companies as McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Costa Mesa Playhouse and South Coast Repertory. The Orange Curtain Review was created by Alina Mae Wilson in 2014 in an effort to raise more awareness about the local Orange County theatre scene. 

Read more here.

Make Your Vote Count

Americans for the Arts Action Fund has launched its ArtsVote “Make Your Vote Count” pledge campaign with artwork designed by renowned contemporary artist and Americans for the Arts Artists Committee member Shepard Fairey. Check the accuracy of your current voter registration or register to vote for the first time, plus see the latest updates on all the new election rules on customized voter factsheets created for every state and U.S. territory.

Read more here.

Major Orange County performing arts and events venues are easing COVID Restrictions. ArtsOC spoke with leaders at such institutions as Segerstrom Center for the Arts, South Coast Repertory, Soka Performing Arts Center, Musco Center for the Arts, Pacific Chorale, Laguna Playhouse, Irvine Barclay Theatre and Orange County Fair and Event Center. Each said they were no longer requiring audiences to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Masks, while encouraged or welcomed, would not be mandatory. Audiences are advised to always check the websites of organizations and venues where they have tickets, as guidelines are subject to change if required by a presenting artist’s contract requires or if infection levels increase.

New Public Art Sculpture

A new piece of public art has been unveiled at the top of Irvine’s Skyloft Apartments. The 60-foot sculpture, titled “Mercury Falling,” was created by Laguna Beach artist Jorg Dubin and commissioned by Sanderson J. Ray Development, owner of Skyloft.

Read more here.

Orange County has over 1,100 works of art in public places. ArtsOC maintains a searchable database on SparkOC.com. https://www.sparkoc.com/public-art/

This benefit evening recognizes and celebrates the arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons in the OC community whose significant contributions during the past year, or over the course of a lifetime, have notably impacted the arts in Orange County. For tickets and more information, visit https://artsoc.org/events-and-programs/orange-county-arts-awards/

We acknowledge with respect our presence on the ancestral lands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians - Acjachemen Nation and the Tongva People.