On Aug. 13, the Arts and Culture Commission met to discuss its 2024-2025 work plan. This plan incorporates five projects that the commission will prioritize in the coming months and use the majority of its budget to accomplish. Each item reflects the commission’s mission to increase awareness and visibility of arts and culture and encourage arts and culture activities.
At the meeting, Matthew Brown, recreation services manager, presented the proposed work plan in continuation from the July meeting, including items that were ongoing priorities from the 2023-2024 year. These items are the Fine Art Acquisition, which is classified as a core function of the commission, Festival Beverly Hills, which is a City Council supported initiative, the Artwalk, which commissioners decided not to remove after a lengthy discussion, and the Visitor Kiosk/ Art Portal, which were combined into one item, leaving room for a new item on the work plan. While these work plan items are the top priority and take up the majority of the commission’s budget, the commissioners are also busy year-round with other events such as Music in the Mansion, Concerts on Canon, the Spring and Fall Art Shows, Jewish American Heritage Month and Día de Los Muertos celebrations.
With room for another priority, the commissioners had the chance to submit proposals before the meeting on Aug. 13. These items were then voted on by the entire commission. Chair Karla Gordy Bristol proposed an annual Beverly Hills Arts and Culture Awards Ceremony that would honor impactful members of the city’s art community. Each year would focus on a different theme to highlight artists and different cultures. She also suggested a destination arts and culture space to highlight love and kindness in the community. This would be a sustainable public area with artistic structures, displays and images.
At the meeting, Bristol added two new proposals, stating that performing arts are on all of the commissioners’ radars for the upcoming year. First, she proposed the construction of a performing arts pavilion, which would be the city’s only permanent outdoor performing arts venue. During the discussion, it was suggested that this be built at the Greystone Mansion, since the space is already utilized for many community performances. Her second proposal was the implementation of temporary art exhibits on cultural holidays in the city of Beverly Hills. These exhibits would take place inside the hallways or lobbies of preexisting buildings. Commissioner Maralee Beck backed up Bristol’s idea, adding that these exhibits could take the place of expensive art installations at metro stations.
In a submission prior to the meeting, Vice Chair Pamela Beck proposed a comprehensive partnership with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, called Movies at The Wallis. This program would offer different series that feature films from Beverly Hills directors and those that have been filmed around Los Angeles. Pamela recommended featuring a series of noir films, which portray arts and culture in local history. As she explained, this partnership would be easy to implement because The Wallis already hosts a number of community events throughout the year. “Making this an actual work plan item seems like a winner for the whole city,” she said. Pamela is also on the board of directors at The Wallis, which she says would help facilitate the process.
During a discussion at the meeting, Maralee Beck supported her proposal, adding that the program should incorporate more than just movies. “I think it’s important that we begin something like this out of our own pride of what made Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, and that would be songwriters, the musicians, the dancers, many of the things that we plan on putting into the historical aspect of the kiosk,” she said.
After all of the proposals were presented, the commissioners voted anonymously on their favorites. Three of the commissioners who were present voted for the comprehensive partnership with The Wallis as their top priority, and one commissioner voted for the performing arts pavilion. As a result, Bristol, Pamela Beck, Maralee Beck and Commissioner Deborah Frank decided to add the partnership with The Wallis to the 2024-2025 work plan. This work plan will be presented to the City Council for review at a future meeting. The proposals that were not selected as part of the work plan may still be on the table as smaller projects at a later point.
