1 David Yakobson
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 10:47 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Jesse Zwick; Lana Negrete; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: City Council 9/5 agenda item 16-B: Arts Commission -- Julia Carnahan
EXTERNAL
September 9, 2025
To: Mayor Negrete and City Council members
From: Zina Josephs
RE: Agenda item 16-B -- Arts Commission appointment
I urge the City Council to appoint Julia Carnahan to the Arts Commission.
Julia has served on the Arts Commission's Public Art Subcommittee, so she is familiar with the work of the Commission.
She has also worked with the Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Museum of Contemporary Art, UCLA World Arts & Culture, Yale University, the Brighton Festival (UK), the Vienna Festival, and the Paris Opera.
Trained as a musician, for the last 20 years she has served on the board of Sounds Like LA, a Santa Monica nonprofit that provides mariachi instruction to students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
I feel that Julia Carnahan's extensive background and expertise would greatly benefit the Arts Commission.
Thank you for your consideration.
Zina Josephs
(former Arts Commissioner, 1998-2002)
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Joe Pertel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 8, 2025 9:21 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Barry Snell; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 16(B) - Arts Commission
EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
I am writing in support for the appointment of Julia Carnahan to the Santa Monica Arts Commission.
Julia has served on the Arts Commission’s Public Art Subcommittee for the past two years and sits on the Advisory Board of the Santa Monica Great Park Coalition.
Julia has collaborated with world-renowned artists including Peter Sellars, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Julie Mehretu, Anish Kapoor, Elias Sime, and Vijay Iyer. She was part of the 1990 and 1993 Los Angeles Festival, which grew out of the LA84 Olympic Arts Festival. For over 20 years, she has served on the board of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a Skid Row-based theater collective, and on the board of Sounds Like LA, a Santa Monica nonprofit bringing free world music education to students in SMMUSD and LAUSD. In collaboration w/ Peter Sellars (UCLA Distinguised Professor of the Arts) she also helped launch and lead an important arts-based center in the Department of World Arts &.Cultures at UCLA.
I have known Julia for many years. She's a Sunset Park resident and just a wonderful person.
Regards,
Joe Pertel
Sunset Park
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Susan Jain
Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 10:19 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis; Council Mailbox; Sofia Klatzker; Jenny Rogers; councilmtgitems Cc: Sofia Klatzker; Jenny Rogers
Subject: re: 16B: Julia Carnahan to fill Opening on the Arts Commission Dear Esteemed Council Members,
As Chairperson of the Santa Monica Arts Commission, I respectfully urge the Council to appoint Julia Carnahan to the open seat on the Arts Commission.
A Sunset Park resident, Julia has served on the Commission’s Public Art Subcommittee for the past two years, where she has consistently elevated our work with her deep cultural insight and unmatched expertise. I have also had the privilege of working alongside her in the international nonprofit arts field for more than three decades, and I can say without hesitation: Julia Carnahan is among the very best.
Trained as a musician, Julia has built an extraordinary career as a producer of arts and cultural programs.
Her projects span leading institutions across Los Angeles and around the globe—including LACMA, UCLA, Getty, MOCA, Cal Performances, the LA Philharmonic, Hammer, AltaSea, JACCC, the Brighton Festival (UK), Yale, the Vienna Festival, and Paris’ L’Opéra—and she has collaborated with such worldclass artists as Peter Sellars, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Julie Mehretu, Anish Kapoor, Hua Wenyi, Elias Sime, and Vijay Iyer.
In Los Angeles, Julia contributed to the landmark 1990 and 1993 Los Angeles Festivals, expanding the legacy of the LA84 Olympic Arts Festival. For the past 20 years, she has served on the boards of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a groundbreaking Skid Row–based theater collective, and Sounds Like LA, a Santa Monica nonprofit that provides world music education to students in SMMUSD and LAUSD. At UCLA, she co-founded and led the Boethius Initiative, a socially engaged arts center housed within the Department of World Arts and Cultures.
In the coming months, three seats will open on the Arts Commission. Julia’s intellect, professional expertise, and unwavering commitment to community and environment make her my top and strongest recommendation. Her appointment would bring invaluable leadership and vision to the Commission at a pivotal moment.
With gratitude,
Susan Jain, PhD
Chairperson,
Santa Monica Arts Commission
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Sanjeev Jain <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 1:46 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; councilmtgitems; councilmtgitems Subject: Agenda item 16-B -- Arts Commission appointment
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and Esteemed City Council members,
I strongly urge the City Council to appoint Julia Carnahan to the Arts Commission.
Julia has served on the Arts Commission's Public Art Subcommittee, so she is familiar with the work of the Commission.
She has also worked with numerous arts organizations including Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Museum of Contemporary Art, UCLA World Arts & Culture, Yale University, the Brighton Festival (UK), the Vienna Festival, and the Paris Opera.
Trained as a musician, for the last 20 years she has served on the board of SYMO now known as Sounds Like LA, a Santa Monica nonprofit that provides mariachi instruction to students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
I feel that Julia Carnahan's extensive background and expertise would greatly benefit the Arts Commission and our community at large.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sanjeev Jain
23-year Santa Monica resident
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: CS Lim <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 4:01 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; councilmtgitems; councilmtgitems Subject: Agenda item 16-B – Arts Commission appointment
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and esteemed City Council members,
I write in strong support of the appointment of Julia Carnahan to the Santa Monica Arts Commission. I have collaborated with Julia on presenting film programs in the Los Angeles metropolitan area over a span of 30 years.
This took place while I was Co-Head of Public Programs and Exhibition at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and in my recent capacity as an independent film curator on projects with the UCLA Boethius Institute and the Getty Research Institute.
Julia will bring creativity, intelligence, and an arts producer’s practical knowledge and experience to the Commission. She has worked with the some of the best-known artists in the US and the world, and will deeply understand what it takes to make culture matter for the Santa Monica community.
It will be a win for Santa Monica to have Julia on the city’s Arts Commission.
Thank you,
Cheng-Sim Lim
Delegate (Asia)
San Sebastian International Film Festival Spain
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025
Item 16-B
September 9, 2025