Los Angeles County is setting the stage for a new cultural landmark as the Board of Supervisors gave the green light to a plan for creating the Southeast LA (SELA) Cultural Center in the City of South Gate today, a project championed by Supervisor Janice Hahn to address inequities in access to the arts. According to a motion by Hahn, the cultural center aims to unleash the potential of a community rich in art and talent that has been long starved of the spaces and the investment needed to nurture it.
"Southeast LA is bursting with art and with talent, but what it has been denied for too long are the space and investments to celebrate it," Hahn said in a statement highlighted by the county bulletin. She also noted, "This community deserves the same access to arts and cultural institutions that the Westside and Downtown LA have had for decades." The approval marks a significant victory for local artists who have dreamed of a cultural hub to call their own, which now seems within reach backed by unanimous board support and the county’s commitment, despite a history of being overlooked by the wider artistic narratives and infrastructures in Los Angeles.
The project's momentum is bolstered by an impressive $124 million in state funding, secured by Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon and State Senator Lena Gonzalez, further signaling the state's recognition of the need to rectify imbalances in opportunities for artistic expression. Hahn, Rendon, and Gonzalez recently celebrated the presentation of an additional $8 million in grants destined to support local talent and the advisory panel guiding the creation of the center. This financial shower promises to catalyze the Frank Gehry-designed establishment's emergence from what is now a mundane County Public Works yard, transforming it into what could be a beacon of cultural pride for the community.
The co-author of the motion, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, emphasized the transformational impact of the SELA Cultural Center, stating "By investing in SELA through the development of a Cultural Center, we can continue to support the cultural lives and community resilience of a region that has experienced decades of systemic inequality." Local artists and officials, including Rendon, who described the Center as a future "world-class cultural destination," echoed these sentiments during public comments at the meeting.
An array of voices from the community shared their encouragement and hailed the project's approval, among them Rendon, who told a county bulletin, “Today’s vote by the Board of Supervisors is a huge step towards the creation of the SELA Cultural Center", lauding Supervisor Hahn for her steadfast commitment to the initiative.
