Julia Barajas
explores how college students achieve their goals, whether they’re fresh out of high school, pursuing graduate work or looking to join the labor force through alternative pathways.
Published April 23, 2024 3:02 PM
A wall inside the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Why it matters:
East Los Angeles College’s Museum Studies Certificate Program is open to anyone in the Los Angeles Community College District. The program helps students secure internships at prestigious institutions, including the Getty museums, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This gives aspiring museum professionals a leg up in a competitive field.
The backstory: The program was established in 2020. College faculty hope to expose students to a variety of careers and compel them to think critically about how museums have engaged with community members — and how this can be improved.
What's next: This summer, current students will host the first Museum Studies Conference, giving community members a chance to learn more about the program.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in art history five years ago, Erin Aguilar struggled to establish a career in the art world — or even secure an internship.
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For Art History Students Vying For A Career, This Program Offers A Foot In The Museum Door
“Nothing was happening,” she said. “It was kind of disheartening.”
At a community arts center in Boyle Heights about two years ago, she spotted a pamphlet for a museum studies program at East Los Angeles College; she signed up. Now Aguilar is close to completing her coursework at ELAC, and she's an intern at the Getty, one of L.A.'s most prominent arts institutions.
ELAC’s Museum Studies Certificate Program consists of coursework in art history, library science, anthropology, and studio art. And, perhaps most importantly, the program guarantees an internship — a big deal in a competitive industry.
Exposure to new career options
Art history professor Surana Singh created the program with her colleagues at ELAC and at the Vincent Price Art Museum, which is housed on campus. They wanted to expose students to a broad range of career options.
ELAC launched the program during the pandemic. Some courses continue to be offered online, but about half of them are in person.
Dr. Surana Singh co-developed the museum studies program and teaches its capstone course.
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Brian Feinzimer
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When they look to the future, Singh said, art history students often envision museum and gallery curators, who, among other duties, oversee how art and artifacts are selected and displayed. Curators are important, she added, but there are many other roles that might be a better fit.
“Our goal is for students to find what their interest is through the readings, through the lectures, and then through the internship experience,” she said. “Maybe someone interns in a curatorial practice, and then they realize: ‘Oh! curation’s not for me’ — but they learn that withinthis environment, and then they can take that with them.”
Such was the case for Aguilar. When she first enrolled in the program, she was set on becoming a curator. Now that she’s been exposed to other career options, Aguilar has found that she’s more interested in archival and conservation work. “We don’t all need to be curators,” she said.
Many students in the program already have bachelor’s degrees, but not the career they envisioned.
ELAC student Jessica Ardon.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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ELAC student Erin Aguilar.
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Brian Feinzimer
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Sara Castro, who earned her bachelor's in history at Grinnell College in Iowa, also applied to ELAC following a frustrating experience in the art world.
To get her foot in the door, Castro worked in visitor services at a mid-size museum for about two years. But when she was ready to move forward, she hit a wall.
“It's so hard [to move up] in museums, unless you have a master's or Ph.D. or, like, eight years of work experience,” she said.
For her internship, Sara Castro worked at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Come fall, she will begin a master’s program in cultural studies at Claremont Graduate University.
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Courtesty of Sara Castro
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But before investing in graduate school, Castro wanted more information. “I just wanted to have the space to explore and learn about the different areas in museums,” she said.
ELAC enabled her to do that. In January, Castro was an intern in the National Gallery of Art's interpretation department. The internship covered her airfare and lodging. She also received two stipends, one for daily expenses and another for winter clothes. To help her and her fellow interns get settled, two Vincent Price Art Museum staff members also went along.
Some of her classmates are skilled artists. Others are “more like me,” she said. “[We] were, like: ‘How do you make art? What is it?’ That was really fun. It kind of got me out of my comfort zone, [and it] gave me a good perspective.”
Want to compare ELAC’s program to others in California? Start here:
While students complete their internships, they’re also required to take a lab on campus. Singh’s capstone class meets every Friday on the third floor of the Vincent Price Art Museum. She and her students gather in the “Museum Learning Lab,” a room teeming with art books — everything from Kehinde Wiley to Richard Avedon to 1,000 Chairs. The course gives students time and space to reflect on their internships, and on how museums shape our views.
Singh and her students leave no issue unturned. Their conversations encompass everything from didactics (the labels that accompany art and artifacts) to museum hours.
Grounded in cultural studies — an interdisciplinary field that examines how culture is created, shared, and maintained — Singh’s capstone course pushes students to examine structures of power and how they’re reproduced. This includes conversations about who gets to be in museum leadership and how communities are represented. They also discuss the historical role of museums, how they can be problematic, and how they can be transformed.
Professor Singh with students in the capstone course. These students are currently interns at the Getty Villa, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and other institutions.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Located on campus, the Vincent Price Art Museum has permanent collection of fine art.
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Brian Feinzimer
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When Jessica Ardon, a Cal State Northridge graduate, was comparing different museum studies programs, this perspective drew her in. ELAC’s program, she said, delves deep into questions like: “How do you make a museum more inclusive?” and, “How do we mend wounds with people who've been excluded from these spaces?”
“I wanted to be part of that,” she said.
Ardon is also an intern at the Getty Villa. On a Friday morning earlier this month, she paired up for class discussion with a student who interns at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown L.A. Their conversation was grounded in an assigned TED Talk titled “We Must Decolonize Our Museum,” which encourages museum professionals to craft exhibitions alongside the communities they aim to represent — instead of bringing them on as consultants just as an afterthought. From there, Ardon and her classmate went on to discuss the ethics of exhibiting human remains; the implications of having a 16th-century Aztec headdress on display at a museum in Austria; and a book called Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts.
Want to dip your toes in museum studies? Here’s a taste of what ELAC students are reading and thinking about:
Singh’s capstone course also coaches students, so they can get the most out of their internships. At their respective work sites, all students are assigned a mentor. They help students craft résumés and cover letters. They also provide job interview tips and advice on how to build a career in the art world.
For Ardon, this part of the program has been especially helpful. Looking back on another internship, she regrets not taking a more proactive role in her learning. But, she added, it also helps that the mentors she and her classmates have been assigned are wholly committed to the experience. “They’re very much on top of it,” she said.
On top of sharing practical skills, Ardon said her mentor is always checking in. And if there’s someone at the Getty she’s too shy to approach, her mentor is happy to make an introduction.
For alumna Cicely Beltran, the professional relationships cultivated at ELAC have been longlasting. The museum studies program helped draw her back to the college after she quit over a decade before to raise her family.
ELAC alumna Cicely Beltran.
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Brian Feinzimer
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Growing up, Beltran walked past this David Botello mural almost every day. It's one of the many community art pieces that sparked her interest in art.
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Brian Feinzimer
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She continues to be in conversation with her former professors as she pursues a bachelor’s degree in art education at Cal State Long Beach. She’s also developed a strong bond with her colleagues at the Vincent Price Art Museum, where she works part-time as a guide. When she goes in for work, she said, “it does not feel like I'm going to a workplace . . . I'm going to a place with a real sense of community.”
Perhaps most significantly, the museum studies program helped Beltran reshape her own narrative, after so many years away from the classroom.
In her professor’s view, there was no gap in Beltran’s educational journey. Singh helped her see that “the whole time I was at home, raising my son, I was still researching art, writing about art, thinking about art, making art.”
“It was super validating,” Beltran said. “It made me feel like I hadn’t wasted all those years.”
The Sundance Film Festival begins for the last time in Park City, Utah, before heading to Boulder, Colo., next year. It's a bittersweet finale for the country's premier independent film festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1978.
Honoring the festival's history: With a gala, the festival plans to pay tribute to the late actor and director, who died of natural causes in September. This year, the festival will screen films that got their starts at Sundance, including Little Miss Sunshine, which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2007 Oscars.
What else will be screened? The festival will also screen a remastered print of the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, in which Redford plays a champion skier. Over the years, Sundance has been a launching pad for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, The Coen brothers, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao and Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Sundance Film Festival begins for the last time in Park City, Utah, before heading to Boulder, Colo., next year. It's a bittersweet finale for the country's premier independent film festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1978.
With a gala, the festival plans to pay tribute to the late actor and director, who died of natural causes in September.
"Before he passed earlier this year, [Redford] shared with us this quote: 'Everybody has a story,'" says the festival's director, Eugene Hernandez. "This notion is such a great framing for a festival that has always been about finding and sharing with audiences the stories that come from all over the world."
This year, the festival will screen films that got their starts at Sundance, including Little Miss Sunshine, which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2007 Oscars.
The festival will also screen a remastered print of the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, in which Redford plays a champion skier. Redford was also a producer on this indie film.
"He would tell this story year after year about getting Downhill Racer made," recalls Sundance senior programmer John Nein. "It became a way that he understood the notion of protecting independence and protecting the artistic voice of a film. He often used that when he talked to emerging filmmakers, to relate to the struggles that they had in getting their films made the way that they wanted to."
Nein says one way to recognize that legacy is by programming 40 percent of the slate from first-time filmmakers. More than 16,200 films were submitted from 164 countries. Throughout the year, the Sundance Institute hosts labs and programs and provides grants and fellowships for independent filmmakers.
Over the years, Sundance has been a launching pad for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, The Coen brothers, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Another filmmaker whose career Sundance supported is Rachel Lambert, who says she was inspired by a film Redford directed: Ordinary People.
"It's a profound legacy a single human being can leave an entire nation's culture," she says of Redford. "It's remarkable."
Lambert will premiere her newest film, Carousel, a love story starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate.
Also showing at Sundance: documentaries about Chicano theater pioneer Luis Valdez, singer Courtney Love, tennis star Billie Jean King, and South African leader Nelson Mandela.
Among the features in competition is The Gallerist with Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.
Another is The Invite, with Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton. The Invite's producer, David Permut, has been faithfully attending Sundance since the late 1980s, when he was in the audience for Steven Soderbergh's breakout Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
"I never miss Sundance. I've been going every year since," says Permut. "I stay for 10 days, I'm not in and out like a lot of people from Hollywood when they're there with their film. I love the second week because it's basically cinephiles from all over the world."
Permut showed his first film at Sundance — Three of Hearts — in 1993. Last year, his film Twinless won the festival's audience award.
"I have 57 movies I want to see this coming Sundance," he says. "For me, it's about discovery."
Actress Hana Mana in <em>The Friend's House Is Here</em>. The film was smuggled out of Iran to premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
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Alma Linda Films
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Some filmmakers have gone to great lengths to get their work screened this year — including the Iranian film The Friend's House is Here.
The drama—set in Tehran's underground art scene — was shot under the radar of Iranian authorities. Amid the country's recent political turmoil, members of the film's crew had to drive 11 hours to smuggle the film over the Turkish border to get it to the festival. According to the film's publicist, the film's two main actresses were not heard from for weeks during Iran's recent unrest. The publicist says the women are now safe but have been denied visas by the United States to attend Sundance.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Pie 'n Burger cheeseburger, one of nearly 50 spots participating in Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, Jan. 25-31.
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jslander
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LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
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Topline:
The annual Pasadena Cheeseburger Week runs Sunday through Jan. 31, celebrating the burger's local origin story and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Lionel Sternberger is credited with inventing the cheeseburger in 1924 at his father's roadside stand, the Rite Spot, on what would become part of Route 66 along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.
Why it matters: Pasadena’s claim to the cheeseburger is a significant part of Southern California's food history, with direct ties to car culture and roadside dining.
Who's participating: Nearly 50 restaurants are taking part, including Dog Haus Biergarten, Pie 'n Burger, the Taproom at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Magnolia House. There are also week-only specials, including Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen's chili cheeseburger pizza and Burrito Express' smashburger taco.
Why now: It’s a perfect opportunity to explore some of those Pasadena spots that you've been meaning to try (and a good way to fire up your palate before LAist’s citywide Tournament of Cheeseburgers later this year!).
Topline:
The annual Pasadena Cheeseburger Week runs Sunday through Jan. 31, celebrating the burger's local origin story and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Lionel Sternberger is credited with inventing the cheeseburger in 1924 at his father's roadside stand, the Rite Spot, on what would become part of Route 66 along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.
Why it matters: Pasadena’s claim to the cheeseburger is a significant part of Southern California's food history, with direct ties to car culture and roadside dining.
Who's participating: Nearly 50 restaurants are taking part, including Dog Haus Biergarten, Pie 'n Burger, the Taproom at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Magnolia House. There are also week-only specials, including Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen's chili cheeseburger pizza and Burrito Express' smashburger taco.
Why now: It’s a perfect opportunity to explore some of those Pasadena spots that you've been meaning to try (and a good way to fire up your palate before LAist’s citywide Tournament of Cheeseburgers later this year!).
Keep up with LAist.
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Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published January 22, 2026 5:00 AM
Henry Wilkinson spots an RV that his team of volunteers tallied in LAHSA's annual homeless count Tuesday.
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Jordan Rynning
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LAist
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Topline:
Volunteers are fanning out across the region tonight for LA’s annual homeless count to get a census of the unhoused population. But providers say it’s hard to count families because they usually aren’t living on the street.
Why it matters: Last year, homelessness declined overall in the region, but not for families with children. And service providers say even thatwas an undercount.
A hidden population: Families are more likely to be living in their cars, motels or doubled up in units. “There have been homeless counts in the previous years in which we don't see any families at all,” said Constanza Pachon, CEO of The Whole Child, an agency that serves families in southeast L.A. County. “We know they’re there. They’re our clients.”
Volunteers are fanning out across the region tonight for the last night of L.A.’s annual homeless count to get a census of the unhoused population. But advocates say there’s one population that’s especially hard to get an accurate count of: families.
Homeless services providers say that doesn’t work with families because families don’t usually experience homelessness out on the streets. Instead, they are more likely to be living discreetly in their cars, in motels or doubled up in suboptimal units.
“ We know they're there. Yhey're our clients. We see them when they come, and they are referred [to us] by the schools, by 211, by the faith community. We see them but not through the count,” said Constanza Pachon, CEO of The Whole Child, an agency that serves families in southeast L.A. County.
What is the situation for unhoused families in the LA area?
Last year, homelessness declined overall in the region, but not for families with children. And service providers say even thatwas an undercount. In the region where Pachon serves, the count estimated a total of 265 families experiencing homelessness, but the agency serves about 2,500 families a year.
“There have been homeless counts in the previous years in which we don't see any families at all,” said Pachon, whose agency is running a site for the count in East L.A.
Providers worry they’ll see more families struggling with homelessness with funding cuts to the services system. Pachon says they’ve been at capacity over the past year and have a running waitlist for families who need housing services.
Mark Hood, CEO of Union Rescue Mission, volunteered Tuesday night and walked 9 miles through downtown Los Angeles. He said he didn’t encounter any families, but his agency, which runs shelters, has been seeing a rising need among families with children.
“We have certainly, last summer and into the fall, seen more families come through our door,” he said.
Learn more about homelessness in LA
LA County launches new homelessness department: ‘The buck is going to stop with us’: The new L.A. County Homeless Services and Housing department takes the mantle from the embattled regional L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, which until now has overseen the funding and administration of homeless services across a county where more than 72,000 people experience homelessness on any given night.
California counties must jump through new hoops to get homelessness funds: Despite California’s large recent investments in homelessness, encampments are still rampant on city streets. But cities and counties already are chafing under tightening requirements they worry will make it harder to access crucial state funds without directly improving conditions on the street.
How an overloaded homelessness system left this LA family living in their car: Many Los Angeles families have struggled to find housing over the past several months as options dry up. And now it could get even harder in the face of a county proposal to cut homeless services funding in order to close a deficit.
Where to watch the Rams, Eddie Izzard does Hamlet, a birthday party for Marion Davies, ecolearning in the Sepulveda Basin and more of the best things to do this weekend.
Highlights:
The Rams are selling $10 tickets to watch the NFC Championship Game at SoFi stadium, and fans are already snapping them up.
Eddie Izzard stars in an acclaimed solo performance of Hamlet at The Montalban.
DineLA comes to Grand Central Market with $15 lunch menus and $25 dinner menus.
Comedy legend Margaret Cho comes to The Wallis for what she says will be her "most blistering and brutally honest show yet."
I have been LOVING how green everything is. The regrowth post-fires is nothing short of inspiring, and you can check out some of these hikes over the weekend to see for yourself. Another way to take advantage of the outdoors is by booking a free guided tour of the new 101 Wildlife Crossing. They’re coming up throughout the spring, so check the site for available dates to book.
But I know, I know, there are football playoffs to watch, too. So FINE: Here’s your watch party rundown for the Rams, who are one win away from the Super Bowl. What a year for L.A. sports…
If music is more your thing, Licorice Pizza has your listings for the weekend. It’s National Association of Music Merchants week down in Anaheim, and one of the coolest annual NAMM events is always the She Rocks Awards on Friday, hosted this year by the Bangles’ Vicki Peterson and Stitched Up Heart frontwoman Mixi Demner. Also on Friday, 112 is at the YouTube Theater, Dan Deacon plays the Teragram, Aaron Lee Tasjan is at McCabe’s in Santa Monica and Living Colour with John 5 is at the Observatory. And right at Licorice Pizza, Tenacious D’s one and only Kyle Gass performs with his band on Friday to celebrate the release of their new concert album, Live in Palmdale.
Finally, on Saturday, you can check out Ground Control Touring’s 4th Annual Abortion Access Benefit Series at the Lodge Room. Seahaven is performing Winter Forever in full at the Teragram, and Grammy-winner Arooj Aftab is at the Bram Goldsmith Theater.
Olive & June x Frankie's on the Park Galentine’s Mani Party
Saturday, January 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 712 Montana Ave., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Juliette Group
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It’s almost Galentine’s Day, so get primped at a family-friendly manicure party hosted by Olive & June and Frankie's on the Park on Montana Ave in Santa Monica. Moms, kids and tweens will enjoy complimentary polish changes, playful press-on customization and exclusive giveaways from the hip polish brand.
Eddie Izzard in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Through Saturday, January 31 The Montalban Theatre 1615 Vine Street, Hollywood COST: FROM $97; MORE INFO
Eddie Izzard is truly a one-of-a-kind performer. From her comedy roots to taking on Shakespeare, Izzard has always been ahead of the curve. This version of Hamlet is here at the Montalban following runs in New York and London; it received a New York Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance, as well as a nomination for the New York Drama League’s Distinguished Performance Award. Izzard says, “I have always gravitated towards playing complex and challenging characters and Hamlet is the ultimate. This is a production for everyone, a timeless drama with an accidental hero. Selina, Mark and I want audiences to see and hear an accessible, touching, tragic and dramatic Hamlet.”
Altadena + Leimert Park Art Walk
Threads of Unity: Celebrating Creative Kinship in the Spirit of George Washington Carver Sunday, January 25, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. In front of KAOS 4343 Leimert Blvd., Leimert Park COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Explore the links between Altadena and Leimert Park’s Black communities with this celebration of art and ecology. Featuring rhythmic drumming and movement, a rootspeak workshop, and an interactive art activity by an Altadena-based artist, the event will highlight Altadena’s recovery from the Eaton Fire. There will also be a panel featuring Black Altadena community leaders.
DineLA at Grand Central Market
Through February 6 317 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A. COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
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Courtesy DineLA
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Just as you’re winding down dry January and doubling down on those fitness New Year’s resolutions, it’s time again for DineLA. Over the next few weeks, we’ll feature some of our favorite deals happening, starting with Grand Central Market’s offerings, which include $15 menu items at favorites like Lucky Bird, Maple Block, Moon Rabbit and Mizon.
Brains On! LIVE
Saturday, January 24, 12:30 p.m. House of Blues 400 Disney Way #337, Anaheim COST: LAist 15% discount with Code BRAINS; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Brains On!
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Popular kids’ podcast Brains On! brings their show on the road for a live all-ages event at the House of Blues in Anaheim. The afternoon is full of magic tricks, dance moves, out-of-body experiences, mystery sounds and even a game show, making learning about science interactive and fun. LAist readers get a 15% discount with the code BRAINS; to "unlock" the discount, you need to click on the lock button at the top of the screen, which will open a window to put in the code.
earth dwell/ers school
Saturday, January 24, 12 p.m. Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve 6350 Woodley Ave., Van Nuys COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The Sepulveda Basin.
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Robert Gauthier
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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The Sepulveda Basin is home to many native bird and plant species that we often just pass by in our daily city lives. Earth dwell/ers school exists to teach about the unique environment of the L.A. River by combining the social and political history of the area with nature talks, food and birdwatching. With all the greenery out now, it’s a great time to join this exciting event, which includes a talk on oak tree decomposition and leaf decay, a sound guide and “ecopoetic snacks inspired by the winter landscape and the animals that live within it.”
Happy Birthday, Marion!
Sunday, January 25, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Annenberg Community Beach House 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Marion Davies lived a life of scandal and intrigue, starred in silent films and was a legendary figure in Old Hollywood. Channel a little of your own Marion energy at her annual birthday party, hosted at the Annenberg Community Beach House. The festivities include live music with Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys, a chance to learn some 1920s dance steps and a chat with Lara Gabrielle, author of Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies. You can also tour the Marion Davies Guest House and time-travel to the glam Hollywood beach escape of the 1930s.
Margaret Cho: Choligarchy
Friday, January 23, 7 p.m. The Wallis 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills COST: FROM $10 (SOLD OUT, WAITLIST AVAILABLE); MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Wallis
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Margaret Cho has always had a take-no-prisoners approach to her comedy shows, and this night at the Wallis will be no different. "This will be my most blistering and brutally honest show yet! Let’s tear down racism, homophobia and sexism with all that we have. We have to fight for what we have now, because if we wait any longer, it might be too late to save ourselves,” says Cho. Laugh, cry, get it all out with one of the original groundbreaking women in the comedy scene.
Echoes of History: Inspiring Civic Action and Building Democracy
Friday, January 23, 9 a.m/ to 6 p.m. Japanese American National Museum 100 N. Central Ave., Arts District COST: FROM $50; MORE INFO
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John Rudoff
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Japanese American National Museum
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If we don’t study history, we’re bound to repeat it. The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum presents the symposium, Echoes of History: Inspiring Civic Action and Building Democracy. Hear from experts speaking about how we can create a lasting democracy, including Agnès Callamard of Amnesty International, Robert Evans of the Behind the Bastards and It Could Happen Here podcasts, contemporary artist Glenn Kaino and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen at the day-long symposium. The event also includes complimentary admission to the exhibition MONUMENTS at MOCA, a mobile “banned bookmobile” presented by Bloom Wild Bookshop and a participatory musical performance by Great Leap featuring artist-activist Nobuko Miyamoto. The talks will also be live-streamed virtually for $25.
