Each week, Arts Orange County and Culture OC deliver you this look at the stories and events happening in our arts and cultural community.

Su Yu-Xin: Searching the Sky for Gold

The Orange County Museum of Art proudly hosts the first solo exhibition outside Asia of this artist who explores the substances that populate the air we breathe in order to inspire us to examine our place in nature MORE

Fences' Stands Tall as a Sad, Bitter Portrait of '50s Black America

REVIEW: Laguna Playhouse softens the edges, but Wilson’s masterpiece is still as harsh as ever.

South Coast Repertory Loses $20,000 NEA Grant

South Coast Repertory is a victim of the latest cuts in arts funding by the Trump administration.

On May 2, the theater received word that a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant awarded to its production of “The Staircase” was being withdrawn. The play about Hawaiian myths and stories opened that night on SCR’s Julianne Argyros Stage. It was commissioned, developed and produced by the Costa Mesa theater company in a process that spanned several years.

SCR had been notified of the award on Nov. 7, 2024. The NEA sent out a press release confirming the award in January.

While the production won’t be affected by the decision, SCR must find a way to replace the NEA money, according to Suzanne Appel, the theater company’s managing director. “The way all government grants work is that when the government awards the grant, the grantee spends the money and then you make the request (for the grant) after you’ve already spent it. The grant period began in January, so we would have made other plans around the production if we knew we weren’t going to receive this funding.”

'We Have Nowhere Else to Go'

After 59 years in the city of the arts, Costa Mesa Playhouse faces an existential crisis and must find a new home.

Alexander Shelley and Pacific Symphony Reignite Beethoven's Fifth

REVIEW: The orchestra’s music director-designate made the old seem new, leading accomplished performances.

Each week, we recommend a variety of events and experiences from the listings at SparkOC.com, our free website for Orange County's arts and cultural community.

La Belle et la Bête

An original theatre piece at the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts explores the storytelling imagination by shining a spotlight on the life of French author Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, who wrote the earliest known version of the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast." MORE

57th Annual Sunset Beach Art Festival

The two-day festival presented by the non-profit Las Damas brings live music, kids' activities, and the works of over 150 artists to the beachside MORE

Comic Orange: Evening with R.L. Stine

Meet the legendary creator of the spooky children's book series "Goosebumps" and "Fear Street" at the Laguna Hills Community Center MORE

Mother’s Day at The Lido Theater - Mamma Mia!

The beloved musical featuring the music of ABBA gets a special screening at the restored movie palace on the Lido Peninsula MORE