LA's arts community sees $14 million in fire relief

Burned-out studios, charred archives and warped sculpting tools. Hundreds of artists not only lost their homes in the Los Angeles-area fires but also their livelihoods and bodies of work.

In the weeks after the fires, a coalition of arts organizations rushed to collect more than $14 million now being disbursed among some 1,700 artists and arts workers, including ticket takers and museum security guards.

The Getty-led initiative attracted donors from around the country and the world, said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation.

"Everyone recognizes that Los Angeles has really become one of the major art cities in the world, renowned for its innovation, for its risk-taking, and above all, for the diversity of the artistic community here," Weinstein said.

Losing her home and her studio

The Center for Cultural Innovation administered the fund, delivering grants of up to $10,000 for recipients who range from architects to visual artists and musicians.

More than three-quarters of beneficiaries were affected by the Eaton Fire and the rest by the Palisades Fire.

The majority of artists are concentrated in Altadena, a hub for creatives seeking community and housing that's relatively affordable for L.A.

Kati Rediger lost the Altadena home she had been renovating for two years, along with an adjoining studio for the fabrication and production design company Buddy System she runs with her creative partner Eileen Seton.

When Rediger moved into the renovated house in December, she and Seton were still elated from having finished a prop mastering job for their first feature film.

The Altadena-based Buddy System fabrication and production design team works on photo shoots and film sets.

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Marco Walker

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The blaze not only destroyed the house and studio, but also the Altadena school attended by Rediger's son and Seton's daughter.

As a grant recipient, Rediger said the emergency funds will enable Buddy System to build back their "kit" which includes cutting boards and carving knives.

"For us as fabricators, you can't do the work without the tools and the materials," Rediger said. "So the immediate relief for us is just actually being able to work."

After a spell with relatives in Denver, Rediger is back in L.A. in a rental, eager to make plans to rebuild the family house and studio in Altadena and take on new jobs with Seton.

Eileen Seton and Kati Rediger design and fabricate props for their firm Buddy System.

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Buddy System

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"It's kind of like a little nudge," Seton said. "Like it's okay to want this, to do this together, against the odds."

Keeping artists in SoCal

The emergency fund "was a signal to our arts community," Weinstein said. "We care. You matter. And we want to keep you here in Southern California."

Recipients have been using the funds for "first and last month's rent and to replace things that they lost in their residence," Weinstein said.

"It was also for some studio space to try to gain a sense of normalcy by going back to their artistic practice," she said.

The window to apply for this fund closed on February 18. But more resources for creatives can be found here.