Community Empowerment
South Los Angeles neighborhoods are home to an abundance of artists, educators, businesses and culture bearers; all treasures with a wealth of cultural knowledge and experience.
These neighborhoods have been subject to systems and structures that reinforce inequality and negative outcomes related to housing, criminal justice, the environment and the economy.
We use the power of community collectively sharing stories through highly visible art to call attention to local issues, uplifting visions for a better future, that inform policy decisions and create change.
Fremont Healthy Culture Hub
A collaborative community-led project located at the Fremont High School Wellness Center and Community Garden integrating arts and cultural healing strategies as complements to health services.
Local healers, artists, and cultural health practitioners engage the community in workshops.
Increase the sense of belonging among members of the community through their involvement in the project.
Engage the community in key policy objectives to improve outcomes related to the social determinants of health.
“LA Commons wants us to *all* participate in workshops, and let us lift each other up in the process. It allows us to be a part of the community.”
- Fremont Resident
Partners
Leimert Park Cultural Hub
LA Commons partners with local community members, organizations and businesses to engage African Diaspora arts and cultural strategies to create a sense of belonging, uplift healthy activities, and activate community participation. The year-round work happens monthly at the Leimert Art Walk and culminates in the annual Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks on the last Sunday in June.
African diaspora practices carry the community into the future
Empower the connection across generations
Engage and uplift local cultural treasures
The exchange of knowledge provides affirmation and healing
“I got out of my comfort zone, which helped me find new ways to express myself and be part of my community”
— Resident
Partners
We Are the Harvest
We Are the Harvest is a call to reconnect with the land, the harvest land with each other.
Organized by LA Commons with support from Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide, We Are the Harvest is a community engagement initiative centered around uplifting agriculture, activism, and connection to land in South LA and beyond. Through spaces like community gardens, we can enhance mental wellness, reconnect people to the land, build community and uplift local food production.
Community Tapestry & Stories
In the spring of 2024, artists Michelle Glass and Terrick Gutierrez led South LA community members in dye and storytelling workshops. The artwork created was transformed into a tapestry of community stories, featured here.
The tapestry will be viewable at the California African American Museum from September 18, 2024 - March 2, 2025 as part of their exhibition, World Without End: The George Washington Carver Project.
Map
Explore various community food hubs in South LA with this interactive map! Each pin represents a community garden, urban farm, or community organization. Every location plays an important role in supporting food sovereignty and bringing connection to our neighborhoods.
Click on each pin in the map to see details about each food hub.
Artists
Michelle Glass is a Chicana artist with Indigenous Yaqui and Hopi Roots, through her community and earth-based art practice she stands alongside BIPOC communities to reclaim our ancestral histories and deepen our connections between the land, water ways, and each other.
Terrick Gutierrez is an LA-based interdisciplinary artist, creative technologist, activist, storyteller, and curator. In many ways, his work is a visual autobiography that reflects the struggle and resilience of his youth. In other ways, his work is imaginative, exploring and celebrating the beautiful richness of Blackness.
“The harvest-themed workshops have truly ignited my passion for gardening and deepened my awareness of how I can nurture and support Mother Earth.”
— Willie James Thomas, Artist and workshop participant
