Armory Selected for WPA-Inspired "Artists at Work" Program

Pasadena Community Job Center, NAACP Pasadena, and the Armory are excited to take part in the Artists At Work (AAW), a workforce resilience program designed to support the rebuilding of healthy communities through artistic civic engagement.

Conceived as a public/private partnership, the program will:

• Provide a salary, plus full health benefits and professional development resources directly to participating artists
• Provide financial support to participating local cultural organizations
• Connect both to the work of local social impact initiatives in areas such as antiracism, justice reform, sustainability and equitable development, health, economy, homelessness and housing, child welfare, worker’s rights, and immigrant rights. It is designed to impact the whole ecosystem of a community

Artists At Work was an idea inspired by the WPA and founded by THE OFFICE performing arts + film with an initial pilot in Western Massachusetts in 2020. Following that success, AAW was recently awarded $3M by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to expand its program in other parts of the country, starting in Los Angeles County in Fall 2021. More information can be found at artists-at-work.org.

Proposals will be reviewed by Armory, NAACP Pasadena, and Pasadena Community Job Center staff members. A select group of finalists will receive a fee to develop their proposal. For a period of 12-months, each participating artist will receive a living wage salary of $36,205 (calculated using the MIT Living Wage Calculator for the region less medical expenses), plus healthcare benefits.

The selected artist will participate in the following ways:

• Engage with their own creative practice and the creation of their work
• Submit a statement of intent for a project that will be developed over the course of the program
• Be actively involved in their proposed social impact program in collaboration with NAACP Pasadena and/or Pasadena Community Job Center Connect to the existing community-based arts education programs at the Armory (off-site, Armory studio, or schools and the neighborhoods they serve)
• Keep a video, audio, or written journal and/or other documentation of the work created during participation and share this documentation bi-monthly, which could also include:
  • Virtual and/or in-person field trips
  • Discussion or presentation of works in progress
  • Remote and/or in-person studio visits
  • Collaborations with community organizations

About the Partner Organizations
The Pasadena Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was chartered by the National Office of the NAACP in September of 1919. The Branch has evolved into a leading organization in the Pasadena community, a dynamic force that continues to focus on local issues that include Economic Development, Education, Housing, and Legal Redress/Civil and Human Rights to improve the quality of life of its members and the general community. The Branch sponsors the Afro-American, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program, designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among High School students.

For over 20 years, the Pasadena Community Job Center has been in operation with the purpose of connecting workers with area employers looking to fulfill their labor needs for a variety of services. It has also served as a community hub for education, cultural exchange, health services, and political organizing. During the pandemic, the center shifted gears to additionally serve as a mutual aid, food, and resource distribution center as well as a COVID testing and vaccination site. In the past two years, the PCJC has also become the flagship site for Radio Jornalera, an online streaming radio station—the only radio station run by workers for workers in the United States and has served a vital source of information for immigrant workers throughout the country.

Armory Center for the Arts is one of the Los Angeles region’s leaders in contemporary art and community arts education. Founded in 1989, our mission is to build on the power of art to transform lives and communities through creating, teaching, and presenting the arts. We believe that an understanding and appreciation of the arts are essential for a well-rounded human experience and a healthy civic community. The Armory is committed to holding deep conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion; and acknowledges that these efforts are ongoing, a process of growth, and require intense self-reflection and collective consideration. Visit armoryarts.org/about to learn more about the Armory's programs and values.

Artists At Work was an idea inspired by the WPA and founded by THE OFFICE performing arts + film with an initial pilot in Western Massachusetts in 2020. Following that success, AAW was recently awarded $3M by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to expand its program in other parts of the country, starting in Los Angeles County in Fall 2021. More information can be found at artists-at-work.org.