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CC - ACTION ITEM: (1) Approval of a Recommendation from the Cultural Affairs Commission to Appoint Victoria Marks as Culver City Artist Laureate for Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27; and (2) Approval of Related Artist Laureate Agreement.
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Meeting Date: June 9, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Sally Unsworth / City Manager Office of Economic and Cultural Development
Phone Number: (310) 253-6003
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [X] No [] Date: May 20, 2025
Commission Name: Cultural Affairs Commission
Public Notification: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (06/05/2025); Culver City Arts Foundation (06/05/2025)
Department Approval: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager (06/03/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve the Cultural Affairs Commission’s recommendation to appoint Victoria Marks as Culver City’s Artist Laureate for a two-year term beginning July 2025 and ending June 30, 2027; and (2) approve a related Artist Laureate agreement.
BACKGROUND
On May 11, 2015, the City Council considered the possibility of creating a Poet Laureate position and directed the Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC) to investigate and provide a recommendation. The CAC formed an ad hoc subcommittee which researched and considered public comment on the subject. This subcommittee recommended establishing an Artist Laureate Program that would encompass all arts disciplines. They also recommended appointing Dr. Janet Hoult as Honorary Artist Laureate for poetry for a two-year term, with duties including facilitating public awareness of poetic arts and advising the CAC on program guidelines and selection criteria.
The program was formally established by the City Council in March 2018. The City Council appointed Alexey Steele as the first Artist Laureate in January 2019 for a two-year term, which was later extended for a third year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Katy Krantz was appointed as Culver City’s Artist Laureate for a two-year term during 2023 and 2024, following a recommendation process involving a review panel, Subcommittee, and the Cultural Affairs Commission.
The program recognizes the importance of the arts and artists who enrich the community and serves as a collaboration between the City, the Cultural Affairs Commission, and the Culver City Arts Foundation. The Artist Laureate serves as an honorary, civic appointment and cultural ambassador. Program goals include raising community consciousness and appreciation for the arts, recognizing artistic excellence, and spotlighting the role artists play in a vibrant community.
DISCUSSION
The program overview and guidelines were reviewed and updated in the summer of 2022 with input from the Subcommittee, representatives of the Culver City Arts Foundation, Alexey Steele, and staff. Changes at that time included an increased stipend ($10,000 per year from $4,000), funding for supplies and related costs (up to $10,000), adding language about advocating for arts across disciplines, and adjusting the review criteria from three categories to four.
In 2024, the program overview and guidelines were again reviewed, and a formal independent evaluation process was implemented. As a result, the artist stipend for the 2025 - 2027 program has increased to $30,000 ($15,000/year) with a $10,000 budget to cover supplies or other expenses. The Culver City Arts Foundation expects to contribute $10,000 to the program and their grant agreement will be drafted in Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
2024 Program Evaluation Process
In late 2024, Sara Daleiden Consulting was engaged to facilitate an evaluation of the Artist Laureate Program. This process included conducting interviews with various program leaders and stakeholders in October 2024, followed by an evaluation session on November 13, 2024, at City Hall. The evaluation aimed to foster connection among program leaders, evaluate the program to identify areas for refinement and growth, and identify strategic recommendations. See attached CAC Staff report for more details about this process.
Key recommendations from the consultant's evaluation summary included:
• Enhancing the applicant pool through strategies such as reducing the required time living and working in Culver City and expanding the geographic reach to applicants who live or work in zip codes that overlap or are adjacent to Culver City.
• Exploring enhanced social media and partner distribution for application outreach.
• Presenting the program application orientation as an open house event showcasing past
Laureates' work
• Supporting the Artist Laureate throughout their term (e.g., with an initial Research and Design phase, providing creative workspace, and/or career development)
• Refining the workflow (e.g., clarifying staff roles as intermediaries and reporting leads, establishing regular briefings for the Artist Laureate Workgroup, involving the Subcommittee in work plan approval); and
• Building teamwork and advocacy capacity (e.g., aligning with community partners integrating arts into City functions, developing an artist network).
Following the receipt of the evaluation summary in December 2024, staff and the CAC Artist Laureate Subcommittee considered these recommendations in preparation for the next application cycle. The following program updates were incorporated for the 2025-2027 program:
• The geographic boundaries for interested applicants were expanded to include eligible artists that lived or worked in Culver City or neighboring cities and districts including Mar Vista, Baldwin Hills, Palms, Crenshaw, Baldwin Vista, Leimert Park, Hyde Park, Ladera Heights, Marina Del Rey, Del Rey, and unincorporated areas bordering Culver City. This expansion also eliminated a specific residency time requirement for living and working in Culver City.
• The application process was expanded to include an initial “Call for Letters of Interest” phase for interested artists. Outreach efforts were also greatly expanded to include multiple social media blasts, targeted outreach to local groups, artist collectives, nearby neighborhood groups, and various academic, visual, and performing arts departments.
• A mandatory virtual Artist Laureate orientation session was held on March 19, 2025. Interested applicants received information including a program overview, key information about City contracting and reporting requirements, and a Q&A period.
• Following the “Call for Letters of Interest”, the Subcommittee members reviewed all letters received (47 in total) and made a recommendation to invite 25 artists to submit a full application to be considered for the program.
• An expanded orientation and engagement period will be introduced in July - September 2025 to include formal and informal introductions to the Artist Laureate including soliciting ideas, feedback and networking opportunities between the Artist Laureate and community stakeholders. A special effort will be made to connect the Artist Laureate across City departments prior to a formal workplan presentation to the Cultural Affairs Commission in October 2025.
• Throughout the 2025-2027 program, bi-monthly check-in meetings with the Artist Laureate will be encouraged with Cultural Affairs staff, and regular reporting will occur with the Cultural Affairs Commission and the Culver City Arts Foundation.
Observable Outcomes
By expanding the geographic boundaries for applicants, increasing outreach to promote the program, and reducing other barriers to participation, the program saw an over 500% increase (7 applications in 2022 vs. 47 letters of interest in 2025) in engagement with the application process from the previous program cycle. The quality of the artists who applied to the program was excellent and the increased outreach contributed to a heightening of the program’s profile amongst the larger Los Angeles artistic community.
Additional information about the artist selection process can be found in the attached CAC Staff report. Following the review process, interviews, and deliberation, an independent selection committee recommended Victoria Marks to the CAC Artist Laureate Ad Hoc Subcommittee, which supported the recommendation. On May 20, 2025 during its special meeting, the CAC voted to recommend to City Council that Victoria Marks be appointed as the next Artist Laureate of Culver City.
Victoria Marks
Victoria Marks is a multi-disciplinary artist and choreographer/director whose primary artistic medium is people and the relationships between them. She creates movement-centered performances with and for groups of people, which she describes as a form of group portraiture. She defines choreography broadly as any set of intentional actions or movements. Her work spans stage, film, and public space, and she describes herself as a bridge builder who focuses on facilitating connection and creating safe and joyful spaces for people to come together. Marks has a strong background in community-centered performance making, having created projects like "Action Conversations" with diverse groups, including teen mothers and older women, veterans and artists, and others. Her work aims to bring wonder, build empathy, and make ordinary life more beautiful by engaging people where they meet and creating warm, playful, and relevant opportunities for engagement.
Marks is a Professor and Chair of the Inter-Departmental Program in Disability Studies at UCLA, and her extensive professional accomplishments include numerous grants and awards, commissions for her work by prominent organizations, and significant roles as a consultant, advisor, and panelist in the arts field. She envisions using her tenure to make public spaces more vital, dip into micro- communities to support growth and interconnection, and view the city as a canvas for projects that connect residents and build civic pride.
Based on her artistic excellence, significant experience in community engagement, and compelling vision for connecting with the diverse communities of Culver City, the Cultural Affairs Commission concurs with the CAC Artist Laureate subcommittee and independent selection committee’s assessment that Victoria Marks is exceptionally well-suited to serve as the next Artist Laureate.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The two-year Artist Laureate Program expenditures are projected to be $40,000. $30,000 of this amount is for the Artist Laureate stipend as compensation for their time and will be divided into two equal annual payments of $15,000. Up to $10,000 is allocated for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. The Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 includes sufficient funding in CIP Account 41380000.730100.PO019 (Artist Laureate Program) which can be found in the Capital Improvements section of the Proposed Budget under Cultural Arts Fund (413).
ATTACHMENTS
1. 25-06-09_ATT 1_CAC May 20 Staff Report
2. 25-06-09_ATT 2_Artist Laureate Program Overview and Guidelines
3. 25-06-09_ATT 3_Victoria Marks Letter of Interest
4. 25-06-09_ATT 4_ Victoria Marks Application
MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Approve the Cultural Affairs Commission’s Recommendation and Appoint Victoria as Culver City Artist Laureate for Fiscal Years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027; and
2. Approve the related Artist Laureate agreement; and
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.