January 30, 2025

ArtsOC's Creative Edge Lecture to

Feature Blizzard Founder as Speaker

Mike Morhaime, co-founder of Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment, will be the speaker for this year’s Creative Edge Lecture on March 4 at 10:00 a.m. at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Under his leadership, Blizzard produced some of the most widely recognized video game franchises of all time, including World of Warcraft and Overwatch. In 2020, Mike and his wife Amy Morhaime co-founded Dreamhaven, a new company also based in Irvine. Join us for this inspirational presentation and hear firsthand how the spark of imagination got Mike Morhaime started, and his personal perspective on how innovation and human creativity have proved and remain fundamental to success. Thanks to sponsorships, the lecture is free but registration is required.

Register here. 

Nominations Being Accepted for 25th

Orange County Arts Awards

From the 2024 Arts Awards, pictured from left to right: emcee Rick Stein, President and CEO of Arts Orange County, co-emcee Cheer Pan, Rick Smetanka (Haskell & White, Visionary Corporate Arts Patron), Quyên Nguyen-Le (Emerging Artist), Virginia Arce (Emerging Arts Leader), Doug Freeman, Charlie Zhang and David Dunford (Orange County Music and Dance, Outstanding Arts Organization). Not pictured, Carl St.Clair (Special Recognition) and Nancy Lee Ruyter (Visionary Artist).

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.

Emerging Artist Program

Accepting Applications

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists Program, which showcases the work of visual artists with disabilities. Applicants must reside in the United States, be between the ages of 16 and 25, and identify as disabled+. A jury will select fifteen artists to each receive a $3,000 award, have one of their submitted pieces appear in an exhibition, and attend a series of all-expenses-paid professional development workshops at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Read more here. 

California Arts Council

Seeking Grant Panelists

The California Arts Council seeks arts and cultural practitioners from diverse communities statewide for their upcoming grant review panels. Panelists play a critical role in the grant application process as field representatives. They work both independently and virtually alongside other panelists to evaluate grant applications, ensuring an equitable, honest and thorough review and ranking process.

Read more 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.

ALSO, ArtsOC will be hosting an Open House for Individual Members on Tuesday, February 4th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. If you are an individual member of ArtsOC, please join us on the second floor of the Orange County Music and Dance building. 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.