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| Art + Practice | |
|---|---|
| Name | Art + Practice |
| Established | 2013 |
| Location | Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Founder | Theaster Gates; also associated with the project origins involving philanthropists and local community leaders |
| Type | Contemporary art space; social services partnership |
Art + Practice
Art + Practice is a nonprofit cultural organization and arts space in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, founded to combine contemporary art exhibitions with social services and youth programs. The organization launched initiatives that intersect visual arts, community development, and social practice, collaborating with museums, philanthropic foundations, artists, and civic institutions to address neighborhood revitalization and cultural equity. Its model connects curatorial projects, artist residencies, and partnerships with service providers to create a hybrid institution that occupies both the art world and local community networks.
Art + Practice opened in 2013 amid a period of civic investment and cultural programming in Los Angeles that included initiatives by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Foundation. The project emerged from dialogues that involved artists like Theaster Gates and philanthropists such as patrons linked to the Tipping Point Community and other Los Angeles funders. Early coverage compared its model to experimental spaces associated with figures like Rirkrit Tiravanija and institutions such as The Kitchen and Friedman Benda (as commercial peer contexts), situating it alongside precedents set by Studio Museum in Harlem and Dia Art Foundation for artist-led nonprofit practice. Partnerships with municipal actors, including relationships reminiscent of collaborations between cultural groups and the City of Los Angeles, shaped leasing arrangements and programming strategies. Over successive seasons Art + Practice curated exhibitions while developing a social services partnership with agencies modeled on programs like those run by United Way affiliates and family-support organizations based in Los Angeles County.
The organization’s stated mission integrates contemporary art presentation with youth services and supportive housing referrals, aligning with the civic frameworks championed by institutions such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Ford Foundation in addressing urban inequity. Programming has included artist residencies analogous to those of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and project commissions similar to initiatives by Creative Time and Public Art Fund. Educational programs have drawn inspiration from youth arts models practiced at the Hammer Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Getty Center. Collaborations with local service providers mirror partnerships formed by nonprofits like LA County Department of Mental Health and national entities including AmeriCorps-style youth engagement. Curatorial projects have involved curators and writers who have worked with the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Modern, and Serpentine Galleries.
Housed in a renovated residential structure and adjacent spaces in Leimert Park, the venue’s architecture reflects adaptive reuse practices found in projects by architects connected to cultural conversions such as Herzog & de Meuron's museum work and the adaptive transformations seen at Dia:Beacon. The spatial configuration accommodates gallery exhibitions, a community room, and administrative offices, paralleling the mixed-use models employed by institutions like the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Conservation and design decisions have echoed standards promoted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Institute of Architects in community-centered cultural facilities. Site-specific installations have responded to Leimert Park’s cultural landscape, resonating with local landmarks such as the Leimert Park Village and nearby LA cultural nodes like Crenshaw corridors.
Exhibition programming has featured nationally and internationally recognized artists alongside emerging practitioners, including artists whose careers intersect with venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. Solo and group shows have included work by artists connected to movements and scenes represented at institutions like the Studio Museum in Harlem, Fondazione Prada, and the Museum of Modern Art. The curatorial approach has staged interdisciplinary projects in dialogue with performers, filmmakers, and writers associated with places such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the New Museum. Tours, talks, and catalog projects have involved scholars and curators with affiliations to the Getty Research Institute, the California African American Museum, and university programs including UCLA Department of Art and USC Roski School of Art and Design.
A core component has been partnership-driven social services, notably youth mentorship and transitional support modeled after programs at nonprofits like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and case-management frameworks used by Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Workshops for teens, family literacy programs, and job-readiness initiatives have been offered in collaboration with community organizations comparable to Beyond the Bell and Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Public events, cultural forums, and neighborhood outreach have linked to community arts networks similar to those cultivated by Arts for LA and the National Endowment for the Arts grant recipients. The institution’s programming situates creative practice alongside referral services to health and housing providers analogous to partnerships seen with county agencies in urban cultural policy strategies.
Funding streams have combined philanthropic grants, private donors, foundation support, and earned revenue consistent with nonprofit arts fiscal models exemplified by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Annenberg Foundation. Governance has included boards and advisory councils populated by leaders from cultural institutions akin to the Getty Trust, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board members, university administrators, and civic philanthropists. Corporate partnerships, charitable gifts, and project-specific underwriting have paralleled funding mechanisms used by institutions such as the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Financial oversight and strategic planning practices align with standards advocated by sector organizations like the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
Category:Arts organizations in Los Angeles