Action Alert

Arts Orange County is asking that you take immediate action by adding your signature to a letter organized by Californians for the Arts to request that the California Arts Council back off a proposed plan to defund its most important statewide network of arts organizations.

You can easily & quickly add your name to the letter here. 

Jonathan Moscone Steps Down as Executive Director of California Arts Council

After less than two years, California Arts Council Executive Director Jonathan Moscone announced his resignation, expressing a desire to return to his creative roots. His last day on the job will be Dec. 15.

Moscone was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to be director of the state agency in April 2022. Before that, Moscone led San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for seven years and served as artistic director of the California Shakespeare Theater for 15 years. Moscone is the youngest son of late San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

Read more here.

Bronze Statue of Tandem Surfers Steve and Barrie Boehne Unveiled in Dana Point

A large crowd gathered across from Doheny State Beach on Pacific Coast Highway on October 25 for the unveiling of a life-size, bronze statue of champion tandem surfers Steve and Barrie Boehne. The statue, created by artist Bill Limebrook joins several others on display at Watermen’s Plaza.

Read more here.

New Theatre Company Finds

Home in Mission Viejo

Local theatre company The Bravo Players Guild have been granted temporary occupancy of a former Stein Mart building in Mission Viejo’s Los Osos Core Area Project. The City Council unanimously voted at a September meeting in favor of the company having a home in the 3,000 square-foot building for 15 months. 

Read more here.

In Memoriam: Gloria Zigner

Recipient of 2012 Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award from Arts Orange County, public relations guru Gloria Zigner was known for her energy, creativity and extensive personal connections. She was the society editor of Orange Coast Magazine for 20 years, and she was the founder and executive producer of the legendary CHOC Follies. The CHOC Follies is an original musical comedy produced annually, which for the past the past 25 years has featured casts of 100 Orange County business, civic and society leaders who act, sing and dance to raise money for Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). The popular show has netted over $6 million for CHOC.

Opportunities

Applications are now open for grants to support NEA Big Read projects between September 2024 and June 2025. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs featuring book discussions, writing workshops and creative activities that celebrate unique aspects of their community. Applicants must select one of 50 available NEA Big Read books.

For complete grant guidelines and to apply click here.

Penguin Random House has launched a $10,000 Freedom of Expression prize inviting high school students to write about a banned book that changed their life. The new writing award celebrates freedom of expression in response to a rise in book bans across the country. Book bans in U.S. public schools increased by 33% over the last school year according to a September report by Pen America. It found that the authors whose books were targeted were most frequently women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Read more here.

The OC Fair & Event Center is seeking to install artwork created by local youth on the two largest light towers in Plaza Pacifica. The theme of the artwork will focus on celebrating the rich diversity of Orange County and the surrounding region.

Read more here.

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