October 23, 2025

In This Issue

• UCI Grad Receives MacArthur Fellowship
• CAC Grant Recipients Announced
• Individual Artist Fellowship Program Returning
• Limor Tomer Named to ArtsOC Board
• Sculpture Debuts at Segerstrom Hall
• In Memoriam
• Laguna Beach Land Trust

UC Irvine Graduate Tuan Andrew Nguyen Named 2025 MacArthur Fellow

UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts alumnus Tuan Andrew Nguyen has been recognized as a 2025 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual fellowship, often referred to as the “genius grant,” honors individuals demonstrating exceptional creativity and a strong potential for future achievements across a range of disciplines. Nguyen is a multidisciplinary artist whose films and sculptural works give form to the lasting effects of violence, displacement and colonialism. His practice draws on the histories and personal narratives of communities grappling with the intergenerational traumas of war, from Vietnam and Senegal to Papua New Guinea and the United States.

Read more here.

California Arts Council Approves Allocations for 2025 Grant Program Award Recipients

The California Arts Council voted Friday, September 26 to allocate more than $19.5 million in grant funds, supporting nearly 700 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across the state. The Council vote distributes funding across three main grant types, including seven programs supporting general operations, regranting administration, and projects for nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout California.

There were a number of Orange County organizations that scored quite highly, yet were not funded. In recent years, the funding cut-offs tended to be somewhat more forgiving because there was more money. Due to reductions in the California Arts Council budget, there were just too few dollars to give and too many high-scoring applicants. Therefore, the funding cut-offs had to be set higher, meaning organizations that might historically have received an award found themselves falling short. In addition, the Council voted down a funding option that would have awarded more organizations at lesser levels. This said, please do not be discouraged if you found yourself being declined in spite of receiving a high score. There will be opportunities to advocate for increased funding for the California Arts Council in the months ahead, so please stay tuned.

Orange County Award Recipients:

General Operating

The Wayward Artist

Media Arts Santa Ana

Arts & Youth

Chance Theater

Relámpago del Cielo

Arts & Learning Conservatory

Impact Projects

Media Arts Santa Ana

Arts Orange County

State Local Partner

Arts Orange County

Individual Artist Fellowship

Arts Orange County

Individual Artist Fellowship Program

to Return in 2026

Arts Orange County has once again been selected by the California Arts Council to administer the Individual Artist Fellowship program, this time for Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In 2023, San Diego and Imperial counties were also included in the region ArtsOC administered. The program will be open to individual artists of all disciplines, with awards being made at the Emerging ($5,000), Established ($10,000) and Legacy ($50,000) tiers. Applications will be available in Spring 2026.

Arts Orange County Appoints

Limor Tomer to Board

Arts Orange County appointed Limor Tomer, Vice President of Programming and Production for Segerstrom Center for the Arts, to its Board of Directors at their October 15 board meeting. Tomer oversees all Center performances including outdoor programming for the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, as well as Education public programs and community engagement. She came to the Center having previously served in a number of high-profile roles at some of the nation’s most iconic cultural institutions, including General Manager of Met Live Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Adjunct Performance Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Project Manager at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and Executive Producer of Music at New York Public Radio.

Sculpture by Artist Karon Davis Debuts

at Segerstrom Hall

Segerstrom Center for the Arts unveiled “Curtain Call,” a bronze sculpture by visual artist Karon Davis, on October 2 in Segerstrom Hall. The public unveiling coincided with the opening night of San Francisco Ballet’s “Frankenstein,” and marked the first time Orange County audiences encountered the piece. On loan from Salon 94 in New York for the 2025–26 season, the larger-than-life sculpture depicts a ballerina bowing at the end of a performance, bouquet in hand.

Read more here. 

In Memoriam

Former three-time Laguna Beach mayor Elizabeth Pearson died at the age of 73 on September 25 following complications from a lengthy illness. Pearson was recognized for her devotion to seniors, as well as her understanding the need for community progress and protection of the environment. She served on the Laguna Beach City Council for 12 years, first running for election in 2001 and last serving in 2014. She also served as a planning commissioner for six years. Pearson was also a former member of the Arts Orange County Board of Directors.

Read more here.

Community Land Trust Aims to Keep

Artists in Laguna

(L-R) Planning Commissioner/artist Jorg Dubin and Mayor Pro Tem Mark Orgill, advocates of the Community Land Trust, stroll down Forest Avenue.

The Laguna Beach City Council is moving to address the problem of a lack of affordable housing for artists by the establishment of a Community Land Trust. The non-profit organization would acquire and hold properties for the benefit of the community at below-market real estate prices, providing low-cost housing for artists, seniors and the city’s currently nonresident workforce.

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.