As someone who arguably views more emerging art than anyone else in the Southland, I'm pleased to report that the state of art in Los Angeles is, while not fully flourishing in market terms, remains compelling. This assertion is particularly surprising, given the anemic state of arts funding in Los Angeles, the fluctuations in the secondary art market and an expanding "global" fetishism. With L.A. no longer dismissed as New York's new age-y second cousin, LA artists now behave like the stepchildren who don't care if they are included in the will. LA artists can and do drive content nationally and internationally – and they know it.

This current climate is the result of many of the standard bromides: our proximity to the Pacific Rim, our diversity, current MFA crops – but I think the real reason for this aesthetic potency is that many LA artists operate outside a formal institutional, professional or gallery construct. This almost randomness of focus promotes the development of persistence, effort, and risk-taking (all crucial characteristics of purposeful artists) and underscores the value of non-profit arts organizations which provide a more useful community for these artists than the formal system they themselves have opted out of in recent years. Moreover, non-profit arts organizations become showcases for emerging talent, demonstrating flexibility unrealized within the commercial gallery system which then, in turn, "feeds" the larger art community's content. Gallery and Museum leaders are increasing viewing non-profit arts content with an interest unheard of in past years, and on occasion even signing these artists for exhibits in their venues.

Beyond a casual review of external research and survey data about emerging artists and "creative capital," I have learned that actually working with this crop of emerging artists is the most instructive metric and forecaster for LA's cultural trajectory. Interacting with them and recognizing their interests, skill-sets and cross-cultural impulses reinforces my own internal baseline data on the LA art scene, and, more importantly, reveals their intentions for, and impact upon our cultural life. Buoyed by small, localized artist communities across the Southland (fostered both independently and through organizations), emerging artists are seizing this moment to create their own cultural content that will hopefully encourage lagging civic and institutional support. In conclusion, if you believe that emerging artists are drivers of content, and of cultural and social change; if you believe that artists can and do make lasting impacts on the cultural and economic life of our shared community, then seek one out for a conversation about the "why" and "how" of their work, listen to their needs, and then send a check to your local arts organization.

Peter Mays, Executive Director
(OP ED originally published in THE magazine)