April 23, 2025
To the Mayor and City Council of Redondo Beach:
The Redondo Beach Cultural Arts Commission has been meeting and discussing some topics that we feel need to be addressed in the Strategic Plan and given some attention.
The Public Arts Commission has now evolved to become something greater by taking on the name Cultural Arts Commission. As a Cultural Arts Commission, first and foremost, we would like to provide Arts (all varieties) focus grants and opportunities to offer our community.
Now that Cultural Arts Commission exists (and is no longer solely the “Public Arts” Commission), we would like to refine and define how it is that we can best serve our city. We believe it is important to seek action upon the conclusions of our discussions, to continue to have Redondo Beach progress as a modern city, without falling behind its other comparative local cities. The Commission believes that, most importantly, Redondo Beach should make arts and cultural arts a priority consideration in all areas of City planning. Redondo already has a beautiful Performing Arts center, but we have ideas both big and small that boost the arts and integrate the community with culture and art for a better future.
Our immediate recommendations:
1. Olympic Games: Make the Arts a priority at the forefront of Olympics-related plans, programming, events and promotions; Can be a way to attract travelers and visitors to the Olympics to the City of Redondo Beach to help boost the local economy and create/enhance world-wide reputation of Redondo as an arts destination.
2. Determine feasibility of adding artworks to public transportation (trolleys, buses, etc.).
3. Develop an Art Hub, a place where artists can gather as a cultural art center, inclusive of multiple art forms.
4. Create a Digital Art Map of all the public Art in Redondo Beach for online discovery.
5. Consider creation of a Local Choir.
6. Initiate discussion of the possibility of creating a world-class museum, in the mold and level of the Tate Modern in London at the site of the former AES Power Plant. The world-renowned Tate Modern was likewise established in a disused power plant and has become a major landmark. With the dangers of the recent fires made manifest, the Getty Villa Museum has expressed concern regarding the safety of their current location. The shuttered AES Power plant could be transformed into a safe alternative for these collections. Making the Power Plant into a museum can reduce the number of large residential buildings and transform the area into a spectacular example of reuse of an existing resource dedicated to the Arts. The Commission is of the opinion that a museum is an easier “sell” to the stakeholders than a shopping center or a park alone, and would enrich our community, children and businesses. Alternatively, the South Bay Galleria could serve as a site for this space.
With the Olympic Games just three years away, the Cultural Arts Commission believes we should be preparing for Redondo Beach to resume its place as a destination town, on the international stage, with arts and culture at the forefront. From its origin, Redondo Beach has been a destination beach town, with people trekking from Los Angeles and all over the world to visit the Redondo Beach Pier, beach and waterfront.
Postcards of Redondo were then sent back home to show the beauty of this city. Today, Redondo Beach remains a luxurious and relaxing beach city and community. We believe that with efforts like putting artwork on the trolleys and buses, working together as a community for revenues from ongoing events and creating an artistic environment for both our visitors and communities, we will be able to attract travelers from the Olympics which could help boost the local economy.
All of these ideas are a big undertaking, but we are fortunate to already have some cultural infrastructure into which we can tap: the beautiful Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, ceramic, art and dance classes, karate & martial arts classes, galleries, BeachLife Music Festival, etc., to name but a few. There are nearly 50 part time staff (pool, employed as needed, reimbursed by clients) in the Cultural Arts Division of the Community Services Department, which can be a useful labor resource. Pushing for larger scale projects like these can create jobs for artists, those interested in the arts and those just beginning their own exploration of the myriad forms of Art.
We, the Cultural Arts Commission of Redondo Beach hope you receive this letter and respond in support of our ideas for the growth of Redondo Beach as a Culture and Arts hub in the County of Los Angeles.
Thank you,
Cultural Arts Commission
The City of Redondo Beach