The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and the city of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs has joined several international cities that have been chosen for the World Cities Culture Forum’s Global Leadership Exchange Program.

The WCCF exchange program tackles global issues including culture as an expression of democratic participation, providing access to creative space, addressing risk at cultural institutions and allocating funding that supports diverse art forms.

For the next two years, participating government and creative leaders will work to find innovative solutions to challenges in the creative sector, including inequity and economic hardship intensified by COVID-19.

L.A. joins an 18-city collective with Amsterdam, Austin, Barcelona, Chengdu, Lagos, Lisbon, London, Melbourne, Milan, Montreal, New York, Paris, Stockholm, Sydney, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich in the project. The Leadership Program is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Google Arts and Culture.

The L.A. County Department of Arts and Culture and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs will have a principal role in two projects – a multi-city cultural data mapping exchange to share best practices in data collection and mapping cultural assets, activities and participation to support arts and culture; and a “Cultural Olympiad” two-way exchange between Los Angeles county and city and their Paris counterparts to embed frameworks for cultural equity and inclusion in the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

The goal is to exchange ideas to strengthen support for culture. Arts and culture are increasingly understood by major cities around the world not only as an important sector, but also as a way to support beneficial outcomes and address local and global challenges, from climate change to tourism to public health.

“Cultural mapping helps us understand how our resources can be more equitably distributed throughout Los Angeles County,” said L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis, 1st District. “It is particularly important as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color and devastated economic and social progress within the creative sector.”

The exchanges will bring WCCF member cities together to set the groundwork for policy and action as a global, cities-led cultural network.

The network will identify best practices in cultural asset mapping, creating a supportive foundation for cities to improve and enhance support for culture, especially as they support the arts’ role in cross-sector policy development and pandemic recovery.

A public session will be held virtually for the cultural data mapping exchange in December. An in-person exchange will be explored for the Paris/LA Cultural Olympiad in 2022.

For information, visit worldcitiescultureforum.com.