Monday, June 29, 2026

County Seeks Artist to Turn Altadena’s Fire Memories Into a Living Archive

Applications for the two-year, Mellon-funded residency close Monday at 5 p.m.

A Los Angeles County arts residency that will guide Altadena residents in transforming their memories of the Eaton Fire into community artwork and a permanent digital archive is accepting applications from artists through 5 p.m. on Monday, June 29.

The two-year Artist-in-Residence position is the public-facing center of a county initiative called the LA County Cultural Climate Commons: Community Memory Lab and Living Archive, funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It is aimed at a community where the January 2025 fire destroyed thousands of homes — and where, the project’s organizers say, cultural memory was also at risk.

The open call was issued and managed by the county’s Department of Arts and Culture. It is part of the broader Cultural Climate Commons initiative, led by the LA County Library in partnership with the department, the Altadena Library District, the Los Angeles Public Library and their foundations.

The residency runs from September 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028, according to the county’s call for artists. It carries an artist fee of $100,000 and a $40,000 materials budget, for a maximum contract of $140,000.

The selected artist will develop about 12 healing-centered workshops for Altadena residents and others affected by the January 2025 fires, the department said, with the resulting work added to a new LA County Library digital archive. The artist will also run an open call for Altadena-based artists to digitize their work, and will connect the Altadena effort to a parallel one in Pacific Palisades led by the Los Angeles Public Library.

“One thing we’ve learned over time, especially in the wake of the January 2025 fires, is that arts, culture, and creativity are a vital part of community recovery—helping us process grief, preserve civic memory, commemorate the significance of place, sustain cultural identity, and support social connection,” Kristin Sakoda, director of the Department of Arts and Culture, said in a statement announcing the grant.

Nikki Winslow, district director of the Altadena Library District, said in the same announcement: “The Eaton fire devastated our beloved Altadena, but it hasn’t broken its spirit. Every person has a story, and every story has a place.”

The district’s buildings survived the fire with minimal damage, and its main branch reopened March 4, 2025, as a hub for recovery resources.

Applicants must live or work in Los Angeles County and have at least five years of relevant experience within the past 10. Applications are submitted through the county’s SurveyMonkey Apply portal, at apply-lacdac.smapply.io/prog/call-for-artists-Cultural-Climate-Commons. Inquiries go to Jacqueline Pimentel, a program specialist in cross-sector initiatives, at cross-sector@arts.lacounty.gov. The solicitation number is ARTS-CS-RFP-26-143.