The Project will rehabilitate an existing two-story, 19,200 SF building along Hollywood Boulevard and will include: 5,200 SF for The Actors Fund Training & Career Center, 1,300 SF of co-working office space for small arts non-profits, 8,300 SF of gallery, exhibit, performance, and rehearsal space for tenants and area arts organizations, including social justice exhibitions, 4,400 SF / 64-seat black box theater for tenant presentations/shows, youth engagement activities, and community meetings.
This facility will allow TAF to provide permanent, affordable space for non-profit arts organizations in Hollywood. The Project will provide programming space for TAF and two other primary tenants that provide economic and social support for those working in the creative industries. There will also be performance spaces for those in the arts. One of the two tenants will be LACE. TAF is in negotiations with other organizations vying to lease the third space.
These organizations not only provide arts programming for the surrounding community, but also support for artists or those serving the arts, many of whom are low-income. 19.7% of the jobs in LA County are in the creative economy, which includes the arts and entertainment. The tenuous nature of jobs in the entertainment industry means that many of those pursuing careers in this area are low-income. The Project will also maintain a dynamic space for arts organizations in an area that experienced high gentrification immediately prior to the Covid Pandemic.
The Wilcox Building space will house the Sponsor’s services. The Wilcox building is a newly constructed mixed-use building with 152 affordable housing units adjacent to the Arts Building.
This Project will allow TAF to increase its programming by 5-10% in a permanent location close to the population it serves. With the Project’s completion, TAF expects to serve 3,000 persons per year on-site, and provide its social services to 2,500 persons in the adjacent residential building.
TAF’s programming includes:
1. Career Services/Job Placement – TAF helps industry professionals find strategic ways to supplement their income in between sporadic arts engagements. TAF works with clients to find “portfolio careers” – or part-time positions that use their arts skills. Sample portfolio careers include: teaching assistant positions in schools for actors, grant writing for writers, gym management positions for dancers, etc. TAF also provides classes on resumes, entrepreneurship, and job searching. It partners with employers and helps to place clients in well-paying positions.
2. Financial Wellness – The Actors Fund provides money management trainings that range from single sessions to 6-week workshops focused on budgeting, balancing multiple sources of income, planning for dry spells, managing debt, and saving.
3. Health Insurance – The Actors Fund provides trainings to help artists understand and then enroll in health insurance.
4. Affordable Housing Workshops – The Actors Fund provides seminars on how to navigate the affordable housing system, with a goal of finding housing.
