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CAC - ACTION ITEM: 1) Discuss Potential Programmatic Options for 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games 2) Provide Recommendations to the City Council As Desired
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Meeting Date: December 17, 2024
Contact Person/Dept: Sally Unsworth / City Manager - Economic and Cultural Development
Phone Number: (310) 253-6003
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Cultural Affairs Commission (12/12/24)
Department Approval: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager (12/11/24)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC) 1) discuss potential programmatic options for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and, 2) provide recommendations to the City Council as desired.
BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION
In June 2023, the City Council created a 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation Subcommittee and on June 12, 2023, the City Council approved a Subcommittee Work Plan that included the following goals:
1. Create Opportunities for Culver City residents and businesses to celebrate the Olympics while generating public awareness, excitement, and engagement.
2. Develop resources to promote Culver City before and during the Olympics.
3. Help Culver City businesses prepare for the Olympics.
4. Explore partnerships related to the Olympics.
5. Beautify the City so it looks its best during the Olympics.
6. Ensure people can get to, from and through Culver City quickly, efficiently, and sustainably during the Olympics.
7. Evaluate and make recommendations to the City Council on Olympic-related items for example, on proposed partnerships, requests for funding for special events, or recommendations from the Cultural Affairs Commission for non-City groups.
8. Help Culver City become the creative epicenter for the Olympics.
In June 2023, the Subcommittee held a kick-off event to celebrate the five-year countdown for the 2028 Games. And in May, 20224, the Subcommittee held a joint meeting of the Subcommittee, Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS), Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC), and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC Olympics Subcommittee, and representatives of the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC) and the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC), to discuss planning for the 2028 Games.
In addition to these Culver City-specific meetings and events, since early 2024, the Cultural Affairs Division has attended several meetings and listening sessions hosted by the Los Angeles City and County’s Departments of Cultural Affairs in partnership with Arts4LA, Community Arts Resources (CARS), and LA Commons. These convenings have included various municipalities within Los Angeles as well as nonprofit, foundation, and civic agencies with a focus on collaboration and sharing cultural planning ideas and resources in anticipation of the 2028 Games, and specifically, how arts and cultural programming will be amplified by the upcoming Cultural Olympiad.
What is the Cultural Olympiad?
Los Angeles’s Cultural Olympiad, alongside the 2028 Games, will highlight and expand access to the region’s rich cultural landscape, celebrating diverse voices and the bold artistic history of Los Angeles. The Cultural Olympiad will feature originated artistic content and programs and will amplify LA’s varied cultural institutions’ performances, events, and exhibitions in a wide range of mediums, including film, fashion, visual art, dance, theater, music, and culinary experiences. The program will be staged in the year preceding and during the Summer Games and will feature an education component for students across the region.
The Cultural Olympiad will complement and support the existing work of LA28, the official hospitality organization that is producing the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Though closely aligned, the Cultural Olympiad will rely on a combination of funders and funding mechanisms to support local, regional, and City-wide programming and arts and cultural activations across 88 municipalities. Each municipality, especially those who plan to host official sporting venues, will program differently and with different budgets and funding considerations.
Lessons from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
An October Municipal Funders meeting was held at the LA84 Foundation with relevant lessons from the 1984 Games. Among the legacies of these games were:
• Profits from the 1984 Games led to the establishment of an endowment of 235 million dollars that helped establish the LA84 Foundation. This was the most successful financial legacy of any past Olympic games. The LA84 Foundation and its museum have a digitized and open-source record of all Olympic records since 1896 which serves as a historical record.
• The 1984 Cultural Olympiad was a 10-week arts festival with a budget of 11 million (33 million if adjusted for today). The LA Times was the largest sponsor and the focus for the programming was on bringing international artists and performers from all over the world to Los Angeles. The 1984 Cultural Olympiad boasts the establishment of the LA Opera as one of its biggest arts legacies for the City.
• Other arts highlights include the Olympic poster series by artist Ernie Barnes and The Olympic Gateway sculpture by artist Robert Graham.
Municipal Partners and Olympiad Themes
Various themes have been proposed for help with planning and unifying partnerships across Los Angeles. The Mayor of Los Angeles has established “Games for All” as the City’s overarching theme to help promote accessibility as a major emphasis in 2028. The Cultural Olympiad working group has determined that “Legacy” will be the theme with the goal of leaving behind a substantial arts and cultural footprint that will continue past the Games themselves. West Hollywood is hoping to partner with other municipalities under the shared vision and theme of “Inventing New Traditions” and has convened other westside Cities, including Culver City, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica in discussions related to shared promotions and partnerships for the region. Santa Monica has begun to utilize “Celebrate 28” in communications related to their programming.
Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Funding for 2028 Olympics/Paralympics
The Cultural Affairs Division work plan and subsequent 2024-2025 budget included the addition of a special CIP budget to develop programs that include arts and cultural initiatives in conjunction with the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Proposed projects outlined in the CIP include permanent art installations, creative placemaking, temporary artworks at City gateways, cultural opportunities, and community arts festivals. CIP funding is planned to be drawn from the Cultural Trust as part of the City’s Art in Public Places Program.
The following projected budget breakdown has been proposed for FY2025-FY2029:
FY2025: $50,000
FY2026: $50,000
FY2027: $100,000
FY2028: $250,000
FY2029: $50,000
DISCUSSION
CAC is asked to review and discuss various ideas related to possible arts and cultural programming and activations in Culver City suggested in the various Subcommittee meetings held since 2023. Programs and arts activations should consider viability, availability of resources (staff and funding), and potential outside partners and collaborations across City departments. Some of the ideas proposed include building upon existing Cultural Affairs programming, while others would be new initiatives to consider.
Arts and Cultural Programming Ideas:
• Multiple proposals for performing arts festivals - Performing Arts Festival, Jazz Series, International festival in partnership with Sister Cities Committee, Film festival
• Hayden Tract Walking Tour - Art as Architecture, Other walking tours
• Murals
• Program Ivy Station/Media Park
• Transit Opportunities - in buses/artwork contest
• Collectible Posters, Culver City-specific designs
• Gateway Art/Major Installations
• Street Light Pole Banner program, billboards
• Utility box wraps (neighborhood-specific), rework a portion of Arts District’s tree surrounds
• Arts District Temporary Art in Medians
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Other than staff time, there is currently no fiscal impact associated with this agenda item.
ATTACHMENTS
None
MOTION
That the Cultural Affairs Commission:
Discuss and provide recommendations to the City Council on programmatic priorities for Cultural Affairs for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.