Hi everyone,
This month we launch the LAND journal, a new online format to share information and resources. At LAND we believe deeply in supporting an artist’s entire process, not just the end result, an exhibition or object. In the way that we hope our public exhibitions and projects can be engaged as part of people’s everyday lives, we recognize that for artists, there is not really a divide between life and work. As such, we are committed to celebrating all parts of the creative process, to hopefully inspire everyone to think about their own lives and work a little differently. We hope this new platform and others that we are developing will allow us to communicate our processes more clearly and promote further engagement with all of the components that inform how we do what we do and why.
Running a public art nonprofit is an inherently collaborative endeavor. Our projects would not be possible without a vast network of community-based partners. We have partnered with every imaginable type of business and organization to realize the visions of artists. In that process, we have built internal systems and resources, that we hope to share widely to assist others.
Here in Los Angeles we have spent the last 6 weeks under social distancing protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seemed like nearly overnight, the world changed. On the one hand, LAND is uniquely positioned to pivot quickly in response to a changing world. LAND was founded in 2009 in the midst of a recession, and built into the organization’s DNA is an organizational structure that is flexible and nimble. We maintain very low overhead, and the lean team works remotely most of the time. But this new time presents unprecedented challenges, and we are faced with asking ourselves, what does it mean to be a public art organization in a time where we are forced to live our lives in private?
Though we don’t have answers for most questions right now, the team has quickly galvanized resources for our community in LA that we hope can be of support. With a barrage of information, we have combed through and will be sharing the most relevant direct resources for artists, mutual aid, and ways to support those most vulnerable and affected by the uncertainty right now. We will be posting those resources and continually updating them as more information and resources become available.
We thank the LAND board, our advisory board and nomadic council, members, supporters, friends and collaborators, for keeping us going right now. Most of all, we recognize and thank the artists that keep working right now and always, that forever inspire us and make Los Angeles such a vibrant and dynamic place to live. We remain committed to finding ways to support you and your work in new and ever-evolving ways.
In gratitude,
Laura Hyatt
Executive Director