Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture’s Post

Artistic activities enrich seniors' lives, offering joyful self-expression and connection, and engaging in creative pursuits stimulates the mind and enhances emotional well-being. Start by understanding your loved one's interests and abilities. This will help you select activities that resonate with their preferences and skills, ensuring a more enjoyable experience. Once you've assessed their interests, create a dedicated, comfortable, well-lit art space equipped with diverse supplies. Ensure the area is accessible for all mobility levels, allowing everyone to participate fully. Use adaptive tools like easy-to-grip brushes, tactile materials for sculpture, and digital art on touchscreens. These tools make creative expression accessible to everyone, regardless of skill. Document and display their artwork regularly to celebrate creativity and provide a sense of accomplishment. This recognition boosts self-esteem and encourages continued participation. In conclusion, incorporating art into senior care transforms their golden years into a vibrant canvas of shared experiences. Embrace this journey to enhance well-being and foster community bonds.

😎 🏫 🏭 In NYC often you see structures like the building below, where a property next door encroaches on to the air space of another. How and why does this happen? When this happens, it comes under the Subject Area: NYC Air Rights. Understanding air rights in New York City can seem complex, especially for someone new to the concept. However, grasping the basics is essential for any New York City resident or real estate enthusiast. In simple terms, air rights refer to the space above a building that can be used for further development. What Are Air Rights in NYC? 🏢 🏭 Air rights in New York City are essentially the ability to utilize the space above a building for development. They represent the unused vertical space above a property that a building owner can develop or sell to neighboring properties. For example, if zoning laws allow a building to reach a height of 75 feet, but the current building is only 50 feet tall, the 25 feet of unused vertical space are considered air rights. In NYC, air rights have become a valuable asset due to the limited availability of land, particularly in densely populated areas like Manhattan. The ability to build upwards rather than outwards offers developers an opportunity to maximize the utility and value of a given piece of property.

As we plan for the future, the concepts of aging in place and ADA-compliance aren't just buzzwords—they're vital to living fully and independently in our later years. This article from the The Wall Street Journal features two retired physicians, who with the help of a visionary architect, turned these principles into a reality by designing their forever home in Austin, Texas. Creating spaces that embrace both functionality and beauty, ensuring that our homes can adapt to our needs while keeping us connected to the people and environments we cherish. https://lnkd.in/gvZZ8bUG

In the arts industry, unpaid work is often considered a necessary step for emerging creatives, providing opportunities to gain experience, expand networks, and showcase talent. While some view unpaid roles as essential for career advancement, the prevalence of such practices highlights systemic issues within the industry. The reliance on unpaid labor can perpetuate inequalities, as not all individuals have access to alternative income sources or safety nets. This disparity underscores the need for discussions around fair compensation and the establishment of support structures like sick leave and superannuation to ensure the well-being of artists. The romanticized image of the "starving artist" contributes to undervaluing artistic contributions, overlooking the material resources required for artistic endeavors. While artistic worth should not be solely measured in monetary terms, normalizing unpaid work risks devaluing artists' efforts and reinforcing detrimental expectations within the industry. Advocacy for equitable pay and sustainable working conditions, as championed by organizations like the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), is crucial for reshaping the arts sector. By reimagining success beyond financial metrics and promoting support for artists' holistic needs, the industry can foster a more inclusive and sustainable environment for all creatives. Valuing art means valuing the individuals behind it. It is imperative to move towards a system that recognizes and supports artists of all backgrounds, ensuring that the pursuit of art remains accessible and viable for everyone, not just those with privilege.

CARFAC Ontario and ALAS invite artists experienced with, or interested in, the creation of public art to join our legal drop-in session!  From murals to sculptures and interactive installations, public art is unique in its ability to engage broader audiences, transform public spaces and foster a sense of community. But it is not without its risks and challenges. Artists must navigate a range of complex and oftentimes confusing logistical details, stakeholder expectations and technical challenges, many of which entail potential legal considerations. This virtual session provides a relaxed space for artists interested in public art to learn both from each other and from our expert facilitators—Curtia Wright (multi-disciplinary fine artist, mural artist, and arts educator) and Lina El Mugammar (business and intellectual property lawyer). Designed as a community-led forum, participants are encouraged to bring and share their questions, experiences, struggles, and successes with their peers and facilitators.  This session is primarily aimed to provide individual artists and collectives with community support on best practices and legal information while also contributing to CARFAC’s ongoing development of the new public art fee schedule and public art toolkit. To ensure we can create a space that is comfortable and encourages artists to share their questions and experiences, this session is intended only for artists. Commissioners, arts administrators, project managers, organizations, government bodies, and other types of administrative or third party roles are not permitted to join.  Date: March 20th, 2024 Time: 5 - 7pm EDT Virtual via ZOOM This session will not be recorded. ASL interpretation and auto-captioning will be provided. Additional access accommodations can be requested at registration. FREE to attend Register: bit.ly/CARFACPublicArt #BringingTheArtsToLife #ArtistLegalRights #ArtistRights #hastheartistbeenpaid #artistsupportartists #ArtistLegalAccess

The map layer, created by New York City as a MyMap, a tool to make your own maps online, shows public restrooms across all five boroughs operated by either NYC Parks, the city’s Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York’s three public library systems, or privately owned public spaces like the Lincoln Center. This layer, which can be accessed through on.nyc.gov/restroom, shows up on Google Maps as restroom sign icons to mark the location of nearly 1,000 public restrooms. The icons are colour-coded, with green for restrooms operated by NYC Parks, light blue for transit locations, black for public libraries, and gray for privately owned public spaces. https://lnkd.in/grHfAzPk

Why Are Air Rights Important in NYC? 😎 🏨 🏗 New York City is a densely populated urban environment where land is both scarce and expensive. As a result, developers have long sought creative ways to maximize their building space. Air rights provide a unique solution, allowing for the expansion of buildings vertically. This means that owners of properties with available air rights can either develop that space themselves or sell it to adjacent properties that might wish to expand. This system helps maintain a balance between development and the city's need to control building density. 🏨 🏭 🏢 Historically, NYC focused on building upwards due to limited land availability. However, unrestricted vertical growth can lead to increased density, impacting city life by reducing sunlight, increasing shadows, and affecting the urban environment's livability. To manage this, NYC implemented zoning laws and air rights regulations, allowing for controlled growth and maintaining a balance between urban development and quality of life.

Everyone deserves access to green spaces. Transportation represents one of the biggest barriers to time in nature. In rural and urban communities alike, individuals without cars or living in neighborhoods lacking public transit simply cannot reach the public lands and spaces that were established for all Americans to enjoy. The Transit to Trails Act would tackle this disparity by establishing a grant program to fund accessible transportation systems in areas of the country with the highest need so that access to public lands is more equitable and convenient for all. This bill: • Prioritizes low-or zero-emissions vehicles; • Prioritizes projects that provide free and discounted rates for low-income riders; and • Ensures that all funded transportation connectors and routes are accessible to people with disabilities. We need more Congressional champions to throw their support behind this important legislation. Take action today and urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Transit to Trails Act. https://lnkd.in/g4gJHX9u REI #gtoutside #takeaction #greenspace

The "New Deal included the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Arts Project, a scheme that employed about 4,000 artists – many of whom would have otherwise been forced to quit their careers – and paid them a weekly salary. In return, [FDR] asked artists to use their skills to contribute to society: reviving buildings and public spaces, enhancing infrastructure projects and making work that captured the essence of the era. Crucially, the government-funded scheme paid artists equally, regardless of gender or race. Perhaps this was the only time in the entire course of western art history that artists of different genders were valued the same, monetarily anyway. A vast difference to today: on average a woman’s work is sold for a 10th of the price of a man’s. But it also meant there was a way in for those with no artistic connections, or from working-class backgrounds, such as Lee Krasner, who went on to have a huge impact. What became clear was how valuable it was to give artists financial stability. For context, the WPA collectively saw more than 100,000 paintings and murals created, and 18,000 sculptures in public buildings across 48 states." https://lnkd.in/eCEhi4eR

As professionals, we understand the power of a well-crafted RFP. But have you considered its impact in the artistic world? 🎨 Discover how RFPs are opening doors for artists and fostering community engagement, while also offering a model for inclusivity and fairness in business. A must-read for those looking to blend business acumen with community spirit.