February 27, 2025

In This Issue

• Richard Stein to Retire
• ArtsOC Welcomes New Board Members
• MASA Named a Best Place to Experience Latino LA
• NALAC Leadership Institute Applications Open
• CAC Announces 2024-25 Award Recipients
• New Americans for the Arts CEO
• New Funding Opportunity for Small Performing Arts Organizations 
• Nominations Accepted for Orange County Arts Awards
• Plus Our Upcoming Member Mixer on March 20

ArtsOC’s Richard Stein

Announces Retirement 

Richard Stein, President and CEO of Arts Orange County, will be stepping down on June 30 from the position he has held since 2008. Stein said that the transition has been in the planning stages for a long time. He’ll be succeeded by Patrick Brien, the organization’s vice president and chief operating officer who previously was executive director of the Riverside Arts Council for almost 17 years. Stein will continue to serve the organization as a senior advisor for one year. He led that nonprofit through the 2008 financial crisis, during which he was able to develop the business model which has built ArtsOC into its place as Orange County’s leading advocate and service provider for the arts.

Read more here.

Arts Orange County Welcomes

Four New Board Members

Suzanne Appel, Dr. Stefan Bean and Sam Robertston were welcomed onto the Arts Orange County Board of Directors at the December 2024 meeting, while Dan Faltz was elected earlier this month. 

Suzanne Appel is the Managing Director & Co-CEO, South Coast Repertory. She was previously Managing Director of Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre, as well as Director of External Affairs for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Managing Director at Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University, Yale School of Drama and Yale School of Management (MFA/MBA).

Dr. Stefan Bean is Superintendent of Schools for the Orange County Department of Education. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Bean led the Irvine International Academy and Aspire Public Schools in Los Angeles. His educational qualifications include a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California, a master's degree in educational leadership from Loyola Marymount University and a doctorate in educational administration from California State University, Fullerton. 

Dan Faltz serves as Director of the Huntington Beach Art Center. Since 2019, he has also served on the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. Dan previously coordinated the Alliance for California Traditional Arts' statewide Arts in Corrections program and served as assistant curator at the Ontario Museum of History & Art, as programs manager for UCLArts & Healing and in several roles at the Academy Film Archive and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. 

Sam Robertson is the owner of Arvida Book Company, an independent bookshop in Old Town Tustin. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of The Arvida Review, a semi-annual literary journal, and founder of the OC Book Fair, held for the first time last July in Old Town Tustin. She also serves as chair of The Tustin Literary Foundation. 

To view a full list of ArtsOC's Board of Director, click here.

MASA Named to the "LA Times De Los 101: The Best Places to Experience Latino L.A."

The Los Angeles Times and De Los has included Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) in their first roundup of the “De Los 101: The Best Places to Experience Latino L.A.” The Santa Ana-based nonprofit is listed in the “10 Places Creating Community for Latinos in Los Angeles” section. MASA aims to bring digital art to a new generation and to create a welcoming space for creatives. For artists, there are free and accessible media classes, networking gatherings and art workshops.

Read more here.

Open Call for Applications for the 2025 NALAC Leadership Institute

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) has announced that they are accepting applications for the 2025 NALAC Leadership Institute. The Institute is a week-long fellowship that brings non-profit arts administrators and cultural workers together from across the nation for intensive training in leadership and management capacity. The deadline to apply is Monday, March 3 at 11:59 p.m. CST.

Read more here.

California Arts Council Announces 2024-25 State Arts Grant Award Recipients

The California Arts Council has officially announced contracts to disburse more than 800 grant awards for its 2024-25 fiscal year. The awards total close to $19.5 million in overall investments for operational and project support to nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state of California.

Orange County recipients are as follows:

Art Spread – $19,443 for Statewide and Regional Networks

Arts Orange County – $62,959 for State-Local Partnership

Creative Identity – $20,276 for General Operating Support

MUZEO Foundation – $16,203 for Arts Education Exposure

Vietnamese-American Arts and Letters Association – $16,203 for Creative Youth Development

Congratulations to these organizations on their awards.

Read more here.

Erin Harkey Named CEO of

Americans for the Arts

On February 5, Americans for the Arts announced that Erin Harkey will be its new CEO beginning at the end of March. Harkey has over 20 years of experience helping individuals and communities succeed through the arts. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts in Milwaukee. Before joining BCA, she also held roles within the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Earlier in her career, she managed public art programs at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Arts Council for Long Beach.

Read more here.

New Funding Opportunity for

Small Performing Arts Organizations

Opens March 10

"Ride the Cyclone" at the Chance Theatre

The Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund (PAEPF) grant program will be opening on March 10 at 9:00 a.m. and now is the time to get ready. ArtsOC has partnered with CA for the Arts in promoting the opportunity, and recordings of webinars are available so that you may learn about eligibility requirements and how you can apply. The PAEPF is funded by the State of California and administered by CalOSBA. Eligibility criteria applies.

Read more here.

Nominations Being Accepted for 25th

Orange County Arts Awards

Dennis Kim, Concertmaster of Pacific Symphony, performing at the 2024 Orange County Arts Awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the 25th Orange County Arts Awards to be held in the Fall 2025, in the Samueli Theater at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Awards are presented for work in these categories:

Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Awards for extraordinary contributions to arts and culture over a lifetime.

Achievement Awards for outstanding work completed in one or more years.

Emerging Artist/Arts Leader Awards.

Please note that awards are not always given in every category each year. The deadline for nominations is March 15.

View the Call for Honorees and Nomination Form here.

Upcoming Member Mixer

ArtsOC will be holding a Spring Mixer for Members and Prospective Members on Thursday, March 20. The event will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Orange County Music and Dance building, located at 17620 Fitch Ave, Irvine 92614. Connect with arts colleagues from throughout the county!

To RSVP, please email Karen Ahola at kahola@artsoc.org.

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