The School Proposes Master Plan to Energize and Transform Its Downtown LA Arts District Home

LOS ANGELES (January 26, 2012)—Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) has been named a finalist for support from ArtPlace, a private-public collaboration of nine of the nation’s top foundations, eight federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six of the nation’s largest banks. SCI-Arc’s grant application fosters the momentum created by the recent purchase of its historic 1907 building, proposing the creation of a community master plan that will energize and transform the community surrounding the school’s downtown Los Angeles Arts District home. Building upon the burgeoning role of the arts and artists in this industrial area of the city, SCI-Arc’s master plan will be set to attract and retain creative residents and businesses, and serve as a catalyst for long-term support.

ArtPlace supports creative placemaking with grants and loans, research and advocacy, and is expected to distribute $15 million in 2012. Last year, 34 organizations received a total of $11.5 million. As a finalist, SCI-Arc joins 128 other organizations in 68 cities working to transform their communities by driving vibrancy through investments in the arts. Selected projects represent the best of the more than 2,000 applications from across the country. Finalists were chosen for their potential to have a transformative impact on community vibrancy.

The 2012 ArtPlace grant recipients will be announced in May.  The full list of finalists can be found at www.artplaceamerica.org/2012finalists.

Participating foundations include Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Robina Foundation and an anonymous donor. In addition to the NEA, federal partners are the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council. ArtPlace is also supported by a $12 million loan fund capitalized by six major financial institutions and managed by the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Participating institutions are Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.

About SCI-Arc
The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is dedicated to educating architects who will imagine and shape the future. It is an independent, accredited degree-granting institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture. Located in a quarter-mile-long former freight depot in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, the school is distinguished by its vibrant studio culture and emphasis on process. SCI-Arc’s approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members—most of whom are practicing architects—work together to re-examine assumptions, create, explore and test the limits of architecture. SCI-Arc faculty and leadership have garnered more than 500 national and international design awards and recognitions, including Progressive Architecture awards, American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards, AIA Gold Medal awards, the Brunner award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Academy Award in Architecture, and the prestigious Jencks and Pritzker architecture prizes. SCI-Arc is ranked second in design and computer applications in the 2012 America’s Best Architecture Schools survey from DesignIntelligence, and #1 graduate and #2 undergraduate architecture school in Western U.S. SCI-Arc is located at 960 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. www.sciarc.edu.