CRA/LA’s Art Program is integral to the mission of the CRA/LA to eliminate blight and revitalize Los Angeles through focused redevelopment activities in designated project areas. CRA/LA began its commitment to public art in 1968.  In 1985, an arts policy was formalized for three downtown project areas and in 1993 it was expanded to all areas.  This policy, which continues today, requires developers working in CRA/LA’s designated project areas to contribute 1% of development costs to art projects. These developer contributions pay for on-site public art projects, cultural facility and other artistic enhancements throughout the project area.

Through these developer contributions, downtown has become an area in which to experience a range of work by some of the art world’s most exciting artists and a center for several of the nation’s outstanding cultural facilities including the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. In 1993, the CRA/LA expanded the scope of the art program to include all project areas. Thus, neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles are benefiting from the creativity of artists in designing streetscapes, parks and other enhancements to the physical landscapes, and in the upgrade to cultural facilities such as the new Ricardo Montalban Theater on Vine Street in Hollywood. CRA/LA’s investment in art creates neighborhoods that are beautiful and meaningful, where the unique qualities that make places special are made visible by the partnership between artists and the others involved in the process to physically build community.