Believing that access to the arts should be a right and not a privilege and believing that all our presentations should be offered with the finest technical support available, the vision that drives Grand Performances’ programming is complex and addresses multiple concerns including:
• A high priority for artistic excellence
• Programming that reflects genre diversity
• Artists that reflect the cultural diversity of our community
• Developing, commissioning, and producing artistic works by innovative artists as part of our services to the community
• Supporting and nurturing the careers of local artists
Access
• It is important to the artists to know that they are reaching America’s most diverse audience, and it is important to the audience to know that they are part of that audience
• We must continue to have innovative marketing programs that result in community-wide audience development without regard to economic condition
Meaning
• Expand programs that engage the audience and also demonstrate how the arts comment on a variety of social issues that pertain to the broader community
• Scheduling artists whose works are meaningful to various segments of our community, thereby providing other segments of our community with opportunities to better understand the many communities that make up Los Angeles
Leadership
• Recognizing our unique position in the broader arts community and providing leadership assistance as that community strives to contribute to the broader community in Los Angeles
• Collaborating with other art and non-art community-serving organizations to strengthen ties to the communities; provide audiences with new information about others that positively impact on community health; and to build stronger support teams for all Grand Performances work
Our vision is at times to pleasantly surprise audiences, and at other times, challenge audiences. Grand Performances brings together audiences to discover artists often unknown to the Los Angeles public. Grand Performances fulfills its mission by presenting innovative performing arts programming; by supporting new creative works by well-known artists; and by providing audiences opportunities to use performances as a stimulus for deeper conversations about art and how society can influence art.
Prepared by Former Executive Director Michael Alexander in
September 2009 and revised December 2015.
