Mental Health America of Los Angeles’ Post

Why It Matters

Arts enthusiasts: check out this upcoming White House convening, Jan 30th, with a live stream available! An opportunity to explore how the arts can be used as a lever to change communities - and, what's super interesting about this, is the seemingly interdisciplinary approach to the conversation, including representatives from the arts community, as well as the built environment, health professionals, DEI/equity leaders, etc. "This national convening brings together leaders from various sectors, including government officials; policymakers; artists; advocates; academics; and philanthropic, labor, and community leaders to explore ideas, policies, and actions that can elevate the arts and humanities across the nation. In particular, the summit will delve into how the arts contribute to health and well-being, invigorate physical spaces, fuel democracy, and foster equitable outcomes."

While there are countless avenues through which we communicate our differing perspectives in the world today, many of these platforms have become spaces where each individual remains in a feedback loop of like-minded beliefs. Our convictions are continually reinforced as correct and true, further limiting our willingness to listen to and consider others' views. As we all know, this breeds a dangerously volatile society. This is why the performing arts are crucial to the well being and prosperity of our communities, local and global alike. Whether as theater, comedy, or music, the performing arts bring together people from a wide scope of political, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. An audience can be composed of people of all walks, each with their own beliefs, but all with their ears open and eyes wide, not to mention their guards down. With no explicit political agenda or social cause to be fought for or against, this makes for a tremendous opportunity for the tie that binds to reveal itself - our shared humanity. A comic's stand up set that has you laughing at the absurdity of a stance you thought was yours; a scene in a play that moves you to tears by its cruelty before you have time to judge the situation as justified; a musician's concert that leaves you beaming in sheer joy in a sea of people who look nothing like you, other than your shared smiles - these are just a few moments that the performing arts bring us that have the power to undeniably influence the way we see the world and our place within it. This power can inspire curiosity and exploration where a closed mind once lived and ultimately have us relating to those we had so readily dismissed as wrong or "other". We need the arts to help cultivate empathy and imagination, especially at a time when we are becoming more and more rigid in our points of view and alienated from one another. I have been fortunate enough to work with organizations, such as Brooklyn Academy of Music and now St. Ann's Warehouse, who boldly bring to their stages art that ignites the courage within us to question, reflect on, and change the way we share our world. Our current production at St. Ann's Warehouse, Dark Noon, is one of such evocative pieces, spawning impassioned conversations after every performance. Audience members can be heard grappling with the plurality of history and complexity of cultural identity while marveling at the awe-inspiring use of video, lighting, space and sound, not to mention the breathtaking performances. https://lnkd.in/enxf9aRR As the arts are often deemed frivolous and as a threat to the status quo, arts organizations and programs are often the first to lose funding by governments. Thanks to the following post from The Public Theater, it will take you less than a minute to implore our local government to think twice about defunding ours. #PerformingArts #NYCarts #ArtsProgramming #NonProfit #ArtsFunding

Florida Cancels Culture: Consequences for the State's Economy https://lnkd.in/grmrjfbH The recent cancellation of $32 million in arts funding in Florida has sent shockwaves through the community. Artists, educators, and leaders are voicing their concerns about the impact of these cuts on the state's economy, culture, and education system. The arts sector plays a vital role in shaping Florida's identity and future. Check out this article to learn more about the potential long-term consequences of these funding cuts and what they mean for the Sunshine State. #SaveTheArts #SupportFloridaCreativity 🎭🎶📚

Arts and culture are fundamental to our way of life - they make life worth living. As a Trustee of Perth Theatre and Concert Hall, I know the huge impact that our people, venues and productions have on our local communities. Not only do they make a direct economic impact of £16m, they deliver significant additional positive benefits across our region in terms of health and well-being, learning and engagement, and skills development. This massive social value is now at risk with the decision by The Scottish Government to reverse a previous promise not to cut £6.6m from the budget for Creative Scotland, the public body responsible for investing in Scottish arts and culture. This would have a massive impact on Creative Scotland's Regularly Funded Organisations. They employ 5,000 workers, support 25,500 artists and provide millions of opportunities for people across Scotland to engage with the arts and culture. This news severely threatens an already vulnerable - but vital - industry. Please sign the petition and urge the Scottish Government to again reverse the cut. https://lnkd.in/eudh8Z2W #arts #culture

#ListeningSession 6 - GCF’s President and CEO, Matthew Randazzo and Chief Impact Officer, Rasheda Malcolm-Cromwell hosted an open forum with organizations in the arts and culture sector that enrich our region through creative endeavors, employment and arts education. During the conversation, attendees expressed a clear need for more funding and support for staffing and operations. Additional takeaways include a desire for more artists to be at the decision-making table, better access to boardrooms and private sector spaces, and greater recognition of the positive effects the arts have on our regional economy. How do you think we can best serve our region’s artists and cultural institutions? What opportunities do the arts bring to the region and how can we ensure these opportunities persist?

THIS! Music's effect can be nearly instantaneous. It helps to have familiar music BUT familiarity is not required! We are able to eliminate burnout in 5 minutes with strangers. And the best thing about using music is that it only reinforces itself, in the same way that a song you know and love can instantly change your mood / cognition, the more you use our music, the faster your brain will react! Who else can say that, eh? By the way, by "our music" I mean Evoked Response's latest productions which are available on many apps, health programs and are embedded into multiple devices (one which is going for FDA approval for sleep). We do not have our own app. Strictly B2B. If you want to experience the music yourself we have some (admittedly old) samples on the site, but we also give our entire latest library to partners and researchers FOR FREE. Indeed this is actually how we sell our music - 90% of our clients want to conduct a thorough study on their own customers, and we are happy to let the results speak for themselves. If it's a brain gaming company maybe they test if user score increases, if it's a sleep company does it improve sleep. And even companies that just want better music for their product, whatever it is. Why? It boils down to one thing: Does this music increase my bottom line? Yep! It reduces churn, increases conversion, and significantly increases engagement with the app / device. Fortunately we have a therapy that is both effective and enjoyable. I even talked recently about how we can reliably induce frission (chills)! Yup making some bold claims here. Put me to the test here or DM.

As the state's largest independent arts festival, we're thrilled to see the NSW Government launch the Creative Communities 10-year arts, culture and creative industries policy. Our CEO & Festival Director ensured independent artists were deeply imbedded in the policy via her role on the Ministerial Advisory Panel that helped shape the policy. As she said at on Tuesday nights launch:     "Our sector has been calling out for change for longer than many of us can remember. Change of the scale we need has to start with intention. Creative Communities draws a line in the sand that clearly states for our State, there is now an intention to support, enable and magnify across all of Government. It cannot be overstated how monumental this shift is. This is not just a policy that throws a desperate sector a few token gestures. It is a commitment to value, to treasure and to fundamentally imbed arts, culture and creative industries into our everyday lives.”   Creative Communities is grounded in five principles:      1. Prioritise First Nations culture    2. Embrace the arts, culture and creative industries    3. Advocate for the value of culture    4. Support sustainable growth   5. Take our creativity to the world and bring the world to our stories      This policy commits to an all of Government approach to support, enable and advocate for arts, culture and the creative industries, ensuring that everyone in NSW has the opportunity to actively participate in culture. We’re immensely proud, through Kerri Glasscock, to have contributed to ensuring inclusivity and fostering the growth of creative industries in NSW. Let's work together to take Sydney's stories to the world stage!     Created in collaboration with:      Bankstown Poetry Slam Darren Dale, Blackfella Films, Kerri Glasscock, Louise Herron, Sydney Opera House Ross Rudesch Harley, Michael D'Agostino, Sara Mansour, Kylie Kwong, Jonathan Zawada, KLP, L-Fresh the LION, Nakkiah Lui, Rachel Neeson, Romance Was Born, Liane Rossler, Julianne Schultz, Khaled Sabsabi, Julia Finn, Create NSW, Sound NSW, Screen NSW, Annette Pitman, Mark Crees, Kyas Hepworth, Emily Collins, Powerhouse, State Library of New South Wales, Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, University of Sydney, Anna Burns, Heath Aston, Lizzie Butterworth, Angud Chawla, Grace Cramer     Read the full policy, click here: https://lnkd.in/g944sUz3

> LONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE. Well done Wandsworth for winning the 2025 bid - without doubt, London's most dedicated borough for creativity & culture. But proud to have contributed to the Haringey bid - Borough of culture for 2027. The "Rebel Borough!" (Yet to work that slogan out.) The social impact work we have done through London Community Arts CIC has been a valuable contribution (it also tipped that balance and got Crouch End voted as the 'Best Place to Live in London'). The Crouch End Festival (one of London's biggest community arts festivals), Crouch End Literary Festival, running accessible venues like The Intimate Space, live music clubs like üF-Beat and topical events around Easter, Halloween and Christmas have all been part of our borough bid. Not to mention work in schools. LCA's ethos has always been to make things free to make it accessible to all. And to be 100% inclusive. To cultivate creativity. Embrace culture. Engage communities. Be open to all performers, without judgement. To build confidence and provide a safe, non-judgemental platform to perform. Never to pander to socio-political agendas or pressure, and avoid tick-box-tokenism. To cultivate grassroots activities across the whole area. There are lots of people who talk a good story about 'community engagement' and 'social impact strategy' but how many have real hands-on experience? SOCIAL IMPACT STRATEGY - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IN 60 MINUTES I am delivering a powerful, informative and fascinating 60-minute talk to companies on Social Impact. It tells you all you need to know in 60 minutes. It will open your eyes and give you a new lens to see things through. Based on real experience. Nobody does anything like this. As social impact campaigns are a growing trend, isn't it better to know what resonates with consumers, communities and creates a positive impact upon society? Or you could just blag it? Get it wrong and the damage to the brand can take years to fix. (Fees apply, contact me to enquire.) https://lnkd.in/ermxpT2u #socialimpact #londonmayor My Social Impact CONNECT2 Community Engagement Creative Orchestra LONDON COMMUNITY ARTS CIC