Illustration by Hännah Foote. From left to right: Jia Yi Gu, Cameron Shaw, Frances Anderton, and Shelby Williams-González.
Over the past year, directors of cultural institutions across Los Angeles have announced their retirements, which means a new generation of cultural leadership is upon us. But despite a desire for change that seems nearly universal, new directors must still answer to many of the same funders and face the same pressures as their predecessors—to raise money or sell tickets, to scale up, to stay relevant—all while navigating post-pandemic reopenings and reckonings around race and inclusion. What does Los Angeles need from its new guard of cultural leaders? What obstacles do their institutions face, and how can these new faces surmount them? Will all of the city’s culture centers even survive?
California African American Museum executive director Cameron Shaw, Inner-City Arts president and CEO Shelby Williams-González, and MAK Center for Art and Architecture director Jia Yi Gu visit Zócalo to discuss the change they plan to be and want to see in one of the world’s most vibrant cultural capitals.
Featured Speakers:
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Frances Anderton
Architecture and Design Journalist
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Cameron Shaw
Executive Director, CAAM
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Shelby Williams-González
President & CEO, Inner-City Arts
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Jia Yi Gu
Director, MAK Center for Art and Architecture
The Takeaway
Meet the New Guards of L.A. Culture
New Faces, New Buildings, New Names, and More Are Coming
The cultural scene of Los Angeles is in the process of redrawing itself—in the last month alone, two institutions have announced their first female executive directors, Johanna Burton at the …