Buena Park’s Koreatown Becomes Orange County’s Newest Official Cultural Enclave

The Buena Park City Council voted unanimously on October 10 to adopt a resolution officially designating a stretch of Beach Boulevard as Koreatown. This marks the fourth official culture enclave in Orange County, following the recognition of Anaheim’s Little Arabia in 2022, as well as Garden Grove’s Koreatown in 2019 and Westminster's Little Saigon in 1988. According to the approved resolution, there are nearly 11,000 Korean Americans living in Buena Park, making up 13% of the city’s population.

Read more here.

Governor Newsom Signs Groundbreaking Law Promoting Affordable Housing

for Artists in Cultural Districts

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 812, allowing local governments to reserve affordable housing in cultural districts for artists at risk of being displaced by rising housing costs. The first of its kind in the state, AB 812 provides a tool for local governments whose jurisdictions include either a state or locally-designated cultural district and who recognize the need to retain the artists and cultural workers who make these neighborhoods unique.  

Read more here.

Paymaster Program Supporting Small Nonprofit Performing Arts

Organizations Launched

Californians for the Arts has announced the launch of CalPayArt, a paymaster service program specifically designed to support payroll compliance for small nonprofit performing arts organizations in California. Theatre, music and dance companies were hard hit by Assembly Bill 5, which forced them to classify performers and other talent as employees rather than as independent contractors or as volunteers who were given stipends. CalPayArt will allow for lower insurance and unemployment coverage costs incurred by these organizations. It is a program of Californians for the Arts, paid for by a grant from the California Arts Council.  

To learn more and to sign up for the program, click here.

Nominations for Orange County Music

and Arts Administrators Awards

Still Being Accepted

There are just two days left to nominate a teacher, administrator or arts advocate for the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators Awards. If you know of someone whose leadership has impacted their school, district and community, you have until Friday, October 27 to complete your nomination. Award winners will be honored at a ceremony on Tuesday, February 27 at the Samueli Theatre in the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

To nominate someone, click here.

UCI Health – Irvine Seeking Artists

UCI Health is seeking artists to participate in an ambitious art program being developed for its new medical complex under construction in Irvine. This Call for Artists seeks original works of art for UCI Health - Irvine, which will be the nation’s first all-electric, carbon-neutral medical center when it opens beginning in spring 2024. In these buildings, the art committee plans to display original works in all media. They also are interested in licensing the rights of two-dimensional art to be printed as murals and as framed giclées. 

To learn more and apply, click here.

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