Data plays an essential role in understanding the needs of a community – but, currently, there is little to no data on the financial situations of LA-based artists. Inspired by the US Census, the Los Angeles Artist Census will gather financial, housing, and employment information on local artists to assess needs versus currently available resources. These statistics are crucial in helping to steer policy-making by allowing artists’ needs to be known to private and public funders.

This is an open invitation to the LA art community to discuss and answer the question: “What do we want to know about ourselves as artists and as a community?” This discussion is a call to artists to declare what data they are interested in knowing about their own demographics and is the first step toward creating a census questionnaire for and about LA-based artists.

Participants are encouraged to come with ideas, or simply listen and join in if inspired. For those unable to attend but who would like to contribute their ideas to the census questionnaire, please email them to: info@LosAngelesArtistCensus.com and they will be shared at the meeting and referenced during questionnaire drafting.

For more information, visit: www.LosAngelesArtistCensus.com

Tatiana Vahan is an artist living in Los Angeles. She received her MA in Aesthetics and Politics from CalArts in 2014 and has exhibited at 356 Mission Road, MDC Museum of Art + Design, the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, the Bass Museum of Art and Monte Vista Projects, among other spaces. She is the founder and organizer of bar-fund, a socially engaged public art project and artist-run initiative whose mission is to provide more financial opportunities for Los Angeles-based artists outside of the commercial gallery and private grant systems.