Steven Dziekonski has recently been appointed as the new CEO of HOPE Center for the Arts. With 35 years of service as a secondary school arts administrator, department head, and music educator, Dziekonski will lead HOPE’s mission of transforming the lives of intellectually disabled adults through the arts.

Read more here.

After more than ten years as a youth services librarian, Allison Tran has taken on the role of the City of Mission Viejo Library and Cultural Services Supervisor. She loves seeing residents engaging in the arts as part of their daily lives, and looks forward developing even more opportunities for the community to do just that. 

Read more here.

48th District Congressional Art Competition Winner Kei Shimabukuro

Congresswoman Michelle Steel presents high school student Kei Shimabukuro with a certificate honoring her as winner of the 48th District Congressional Art Competition while ArtsOC VP & COO Patrick Brien presents her with the first place check. Kei’s artwork is currently on display along with other winners in the tunnel connecting the congressional offices with the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Read more about the Congressional Art Competition here.

A new sculpture is on display at Aliso Viejo Ranch, having been donated by internationally renowned local artist Jon Seeman. “Onward,” a seven foot tall by seven foot across abstract steel artwork, represents the history of Aliso Viejo Ranch, which has been designated as a site of historical significance by the Orange County Historical Commission.

Orange County has over 1,100 works of art in public places. ArtsOC maintains a searchable database on SparkOC.com.

https://www.sparkoc.com/public-art/

This benefit evening recognizes and celebrates the arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons in the OC community whose significant contributions during the past year, or over the course of a lifetime, have notably impacted the arts in Orange County. For tickets and more information, visit https://artsoc.org/events-and-programs/orange-county-arts-awards/

Requesting Submissions for “In Memoriam” at Arts Awards

ArtsOC customarily devotes a portion of its annual Arts Awards event to remembering those who passed during the prior year. This year's event is on October 18, and we invite you to submit for our consideration individuals who contributed to our OC arts community as artists, arts leaders, arts educators, and arts patrons. Please share with us a sentence or two about them and their affiliations and, if possible, an image. Send to rstein@artsoc.org.

We acknowledge with respect our presence on the ancestral lands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians - Acjachemen Nation and the Tongva People.