LA County Opens First Artist Residency To Engage With Unhoused Communities, RV Encampments

Calling all Los Angeles County-based artists — you have one week left to apply for the Pathway Home Artist Residency and leave your mark on L.A. by creating healing-centered art to engage with the region's most vulnerable people.

The selected artist will be invited to a first-of-its-kind nine-month residency with a $50,000 budget starting in April.

They’ll be tasked with developing practical tools and guidance for integrating arts, culture, and creativity throughout Pathway Home projects, particularly for unhoused people and those affected by RV encampments.

About the project

The residency is part of the L.A. County Department of Arts and Culture efforts to use the arts as a way of addressing homelessness.

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In a September 2022 motion by county supervisors Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger, officials were instructed to develop the project to “support creative and low-cost beautification interventions in hot spot areas to deter re-population of RV encampments.”

The artist will work with the Department of Arts and Culture, the Board of Supervisors, the county Homeless Initiative, and the Department of Public Works as a contractor.

They will receive a $40,000 artist fee and have another $10,000 available for other expenses, including materials, printing, equipment, mileage, and parking.

Their ultimate goal is coming up with a “toolkit” of promising practices for incorporating culture and creativity in encampment resolutions. The artist can also make recommendations on ways the county can use arts to support unhoused people and address the homelessness crisis.

Who can apply

They’re looking for professional artists and other creatives who live or work within L.A. County.

Applicants should be prepared to prove their experience creating artwork or arts programming with public engagement and participation over the past seven years.

The county is also looking for artists who’ve worked with diverse communities in the past five years, including unhoused people, formerly incarcerated people, foster youth, people with disabilities, veterans, and people struggling with substance use disorders or mental illness.

Teams or artist collaborations are welcome to apply. This is not a full-time position, so they can work on other projects throughout the residency.

The application is open until 5 p.m. Feb. 20 and the residency will wrap up on Jan. 31, 2025.