The library, in partnership with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, has established a residency program, Los Angeles Public Library Creators in Residence, designed to engage creative Angelenos from diverse backgrounds to produce new work that is informed or inspired by the Los Angeles Public Library’s collections and services, while also highlighting the impact of the library as a creative haven.

Creators from a wide range of disciplines — including but not limited to: artists, photographers, designers, architects, landscape architects, storytellers, filmmakers, poets, illustrators, cartographers, composers, writers, podcasters, and creators of any media — are invited to apply. Two will be selected based on the strength, originality, and relevance of past work and/or how the proposed project contributes to the Library’s broad mission of providing free and easy access to information, ideas and technology, engaging and inspiring the public, and interpreting critical stories from the collections it holds and the communities it serves.

The residency comes with a $20,000 award. This honorarium is for the creator’s time, including meetings, research, local travel, and for the creation and presentation of deliverables and promotion thereof. Additional support will be provided for materials and production expenses that may arise in the course of the project, and will be determined on a case by case basis. Selected individuals will have the opportunity to work closely with LAPL and LFLA staff, explore the Library's extensive collections, utilize its facilities, and participate in programs while developing and executing their own original projects.

The two inaugural Creators in Residence were photographer Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin and interdisciplinary visual artist River Garza. In 2022, they created bodies of work deeply rooted in community and identity, and both explored the Los Angeles Public Library’s network of 73 neighborhood branch libraries in the creation of their new works, which remain on view in the First Floor Galleries at the Central Library through summer 2023. You can learn more about their residencies by visiting this link.

Program Requirements

• Must be 18 years or older and a resident of Los Angeles County.

• Must be able to attend occasional meetings at the Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles.

• The Creator is expected to meaningfully and substantially engage with LAPL staff, collections, facilities, and programs to propose and develop an appropriate and original project that is inspired by the Los Angeles Public Library and in some way creatively contributes to or enhances the library's mission of providing free and easy access to information, ideas, and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.

• The project should result in some form of physical or digital output that becomes part of the library’s permanent collection and can be engaged with by the public.

• Selected creators agree to participate in interviews and other promotional or marketing requests relating to their work.

• The project is a part-time endeavor with a required commitment of 6 to 9 months. The schedule is somewhat flexible, but the Creator must be able to dedicate a substantial amount of time to creating a project of significant scope that will culminate or launch publicly in the Spring or no later than June of 2024.

• While this opportunity is geared towards individuals, collaborative or team-based projects will also be considered. In this case, the $20,000 honorarium would be split amongst the contributors, and one member of the group should be identified as the primary contact.

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Questions? Please contact creators@lapl.org

This program is funded by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles with an endowment provided by the Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund.