Soprano Renée Fleming will host the June 14 summit at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

(Los Angeles) March 7, 2024 — With the world renowned soprano Renée Fleming as advisor, advocate and host, LA Opera is collaborating with Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District; the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and Healing Arts, an initiative of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and the World Health Organization, to present the annual Los Angeles County Arts and Health Week Summit, taking place on Friday, June 14, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Ms. Fleming will introduce the daylong summit, joining local community leaders and organizations to showcase the ways in which the arts support wellbeing, and how they enrich our lives at all ages.

This year’s summit will highlight recent research in the field, and—through conversations and participatory experiences—will explore the foundations and futures in arts and health.

“It's incredibly exciting to be in the third year of this initiative, with the discoveries and scope expanding each time we gather,” said Ms. Fleming. “Every year we learn more about the enormous potential of arts in health, and we find new ways that the entire community can benefit. We’ll look at the current state of this booming field of neuroarts, and we’ll discuss the practical and policy impacts of this work. There couldn’t be a more perfect place for this than Los Angeles County. The great cultural institutions here, the medical and scientific communities, visionary civic leaders, and an eager public are all committed to sharing what they know and forging innovative partnerships. I can’t wait for June.”

“I am proud to lead the effort in proclaiming Arts and Health Week in the County of Los Angeles for the third year in a row,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “There is evidence that the arts are effective in promoting healing and wellness—strengthening individuals and communities. To that end, I remain committed to advancing cultural equity and inclusion so that everyone, no matter what zip code they live in, can experience the healing magic of the arts.”

“At the Department of Arts and Culture, we are increasingly engaged in cross-sector collaborations utilizing the arts to advance equity and positive outcomes across areas of civic life including education, youth development, justice reform, and health and recovery," said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture. "I am very proud to be a key partner, for the third year, in the Arts and Health Week Summit. It’s an opportunity to increase visibility of the power of the arts, build networks, share models and data, and expand our collective ability to integrate arts, culture, and creativity—as a health and healing modality—into the civic and social infrastructures of the diverse communities we serve."

The 2024 LA County Arts and Health Week Summit was made possible, in part, with major support from The Music Man Foundation. LA Opera Connects is deeply honored to be an inaugural recipient of a 2022 Meredith Willson Award, which provides general operating funds for Connects community and education programs across Los Angeles County and supports the company's work to permanently change the way music in embedded in our schools, health care system and community.

"There's a grand shift happening in the way the scientific community and society in general see the critical connections between the arts and well-being," said Sarah Lyding, Executive Director of The Music Man Foundation. "Thanks to the dedication of Renée Fleming, LA Opera and LA County, learnings from the Arts and Health Week Summit have the potential to positively impact generations of people."

Additional participating individuals and organizations will be announced at a later date.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The company also offers a multitude of online content via its LA Opera On Now digital offerings, which launched in 2020.

The Arts and Health Week Summit is presented through LA Opera's Connects department, dedicated to educational programming and community engagement, which are as integral to the company's artistic identity as mainstage productions and Off Grand performances. LA Opera Connects currently offers 29 different programs experienced by more than 135,000 people each season. These broad-based engagement programs reflect the vibrancy and diversity of Los Angeles, reaching people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County.

Generously supported by Emanuel Treitel Trust, The Green Foundation and The Music Man Foundation, among other key supporters, LA Opera Connects offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people of all ages throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

LA Opera Media Contact
Marlene Meraz
Director of Communications
mmeraz@laopera.org
213.972.7554

LA Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.