Alternative Art Incubators: Cultivating collaboration and innovation in Los Angeles public art practices

This manuscript will examine how the creation and production of innovative public art in Los Angeles (LA) might be cultivated through the concept of an "Alternative Arts Incubator" that blends the collaboration, experimentation and multi-disciplined practice of alternative spaces with the strategic paradigm for sustainability and artist exposure at the core of arts incubators. The research methodology includes an analysis of three LA-based non-profit arts organizations: LACE, 18th Street Arts Center, and LA>< ART. A comprehensive exploration of public art is contextually grounded by critics Miwon Kwon and Claire Bishop and a detailed dissection and examination of the complex and provocative arts ecology of LA is viewed through the lens of critic Mike Davis. From these analyses, a new approach with the capacity to foster and support inventive and vibrantly active public art practices is proposed.