LACHSA Foundation

10/12/2026

The LACHSA Foundation is so grateful to each and every person who has helped us to fulfill our mission. One of the many ways we support LACHSA is through the management of scholarships for its student artists, including the Kathy Beth Kantor Memorial Fund Scholarship.

This endowed fund was established in memory of photographer Kathy Beth Kantor by her father, Dr. Edward Kantor, and generously supported by relatives and friends of the Kantor family. The interest/dividends from the endowment are used to award scholarships to student photographers to support their work in the field.

Today we showcase one of the 2026 recipients of this scholarship, LACHSA Visual Arts Senior Natalie Madrid. In her own words, Natalie shares what these funds mean to her and her future as an artist:

“This scholarship will definitely give me the opportunity to take more photos and to continue my passion of photography. It allows me to boost my education, helping me focus on the arts and to really focus on what I desire. Equally how it’ll boost my career too, guiding me from the start of my career, even giving me the support that I need. This reminds me of the countless opportunities that I’ll have in college because of this scholarship. I’ll be able to be dedicated to my art and focus on my studies.”

Congrats, Natalie!

10/09/2026

October is filled with music! 🎶

Save these dates and join us at LACHSA for these inspiring concerts hosted by the Music Department.

Stay tuned for more LACHSA student events, and visit lachsa.net/boxoffice for the latest on tickets and more details!

10/06/2026

Before founding the high-energy indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums, Michael Fitzpatrick ('88) was a LACHSA student artist studying studio engineering and songwriting at LACHSA with longtime collaborator and fellow alumni, James King.

Now Fitz is a music icon, whose band’s infectious sounds have earned them major-label releases, festival stages, and a devoted following.

With his global impact, Michael’s LACHSA roots are still baked into everything he does.

Catch the full story: https://lachsafoundation.org/alumni-spotlight-michael-fitzpatrick

10/02/2026

On September 15th, a new mural was unveiled along the I-110 corridor in South Central Los Angeles as part of the Clean California Beautification Project.

"South Central Strong," created by LACHSA alumni and artist Moses Ball, features 9 portraits of community figures and everyday heroes, including urban gardening activist Ron Finley and recent LACHSA Visual Arts alum Elle Munda.

You can see this mural for yourself at Colden Avenue and Flower Street.

We're so proud to see LACHSA alumni collaborate and immortalize local stories in the LA artscape!

Learn more about the unveiling here: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-7/district-7-news/d7-cleanca-i110-beautification-mural-southcentralstrong

On Sept. 15, 2026, CalSTA, Caltrans and the City of Los Angeles Dep...

10/01/2026

LACHSA's admissions season is open, and the LACHSA Foundation is spreading the word as part of our mission! You can help, too!

As part of its outreach services, LACHSA invites your students to a Glimpse of LACHSA: Art Workshops at their school site this coming Saturday, October 3rd from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

LACHSA is specifically targeting outreach to students and families in the local communities across LA County and those who don’t always readily have access to the arts. These workshops are open to students or families who would benefit from an audition-prep workshop. Additional on-site support for completing the LACHSA application will be available as well as on-site tours.

Students and families must register here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/mu9jnvr

Additional Details:
Students get to select one (1) workshop and learn from LACHSA's professional artists and current students on what to prepare! LACHSA will also have a parent presentation available in English and Spanish with Q & A from students and optional tours.

LACHSA's amazing Principal, Dr. Vartanian will be there to greet everyone at the start! ✨️

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM (optional tours: 11:30AM - 12PM)
Where: LACHSA Campus (5151 State University Drive Building #20, CA 90032)
Who: Current 7-9 graders and their parents/guardians

09/18/2026

Last Spring, LACHSA Visual Arts alum Elle Munda reflected on how LACHSA shaped her, and what became possible by being in an environment that pushed her to find out.

Her words are a perfect reminder of what we celebrate this National Arts in Education Week: that a dedicated, intentional arts education doesn't just train artists. It builds stronger, more confident, more fully-realized human beings.

The LACHSA Foundation works every day to support the exemplary level of access and opportunity LACHSA offers to student artists from across LA County. Join us in moving our mission forward at: www.LACHSAFoundation.org.

09/17/2026

It is true that every week at LACHSA is an arts in education celebration. LACHSA is a unique, regional center in public education, specializing in five arts disciplines. And it has been serving LA County's student artists for 40+ years!

This National Arts in Education Week, we celebrate how unique LACHSA is. Because arts education isn't a single subject. It's five entirely unique creative worlds. Students explore these worlds every school day for 3 to 4 hours (or more!) in the afternoons. They also have opportunities to collaborate across disciplines because every student at LACHSA is an artist.

DANCE: Student artists learn through an intensive four-year pre-professional dance program that develops and grows physicality, technical prowess, emotional and spiritual well-being, confidence, kinesthetic awareness, and creativity. Dancers learn and perform with a concentration on foundational Ballet and Modern dance techniques, classical ballet and contemporary dance repertoire, and an array of cultural dance forms. Dancers are also offered creative expression through performance opportunities and choreography studies, improvisation, and production design in order to develop their artistry and their own physical discipline that professional careers demand.

THEATRE: Young actors, directors, technicians, and designers learn through a multi-level, continuous curriculum, with a scope and sequence that offers beginning to advanced techniques in acting, voice, movement, dance, stagecraft, history, design, production, and literature/criticism. They then take these techniques to the stage where they perform in the art of theatre in full stage productions or showcases where they tell stories that move people, guided by working professionals with artistic integrity and shared standards of excellence.

CINEMATIC ARTS: Student filmmakers write, direct, shoot, and edit original work, building the technical and creative skills of real industry practitioners. Student artists become the next generation of visual storytellers, content creators, media innovators and digital disruptors. Students use state-of-the-art technologies in camera, lighting, and sound equipment, as well as industry standard post-production editing and color grading software every school day to develop their personal visual storytelling knowledge and artisry.

VISUAL ARTS: Painters, sculptors, photographers, designers, and digital artists develop a personal voice and a professional portfolio across four years of serious, intentional study. A foundation of basic skills and theory begins each artist's journey before they advance to a diverse curriculum that offers classes that include Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Ceramics, New Genres, Graphics, Illustration, Fashion, and Animation. Then, this incredible work is shown in a contemporary gallery space for the world to witness their extraordinary talents.

MUSIC: Vocalists, instrumentalists, composers, and producers train at a conservatory level. They study music theory (classical and jazz) training from music fundamentals to advanced harmony, perform in large and small ensembles (instrumental and vocal), an opera workshop, and study music technology along with film scoring and commercial music. The Music Department offers many performances where these musicians play and create alongside peers who share the same passion and drive on the LACHSA campus and in some of Los Angeles' most prestigious venues.

5 departments. 1 regional public high school. 100+ teachers, administration leaders, and teaching artists. 550 student artists who come here every day because they are serious about their craft.

That is what arts education looks like when it is fully supported by the community, offering access and opportunity for students to grow as artists, as learners, as human beings. And this is why the LACHSA Foundation works every day to move our mission forward and support every talented young artist who walks through these doors.

Learn more about how you can donate or support our mission at: www.lachsafoundation.org/ways-to-give

09/16/2026

Join LACHSA's Cinematic Arts Department THIS Friday, September 18th as they host their annual 64 Hour Film Festival at the Antonovich Amphitheatre!

This exciting annual event is exactly as intense and impressive as it sounds. Student filmmakers collaborate across every stage of production, from writing and directing to cinematography and editing, with one goal: bring a story to life from scratch in just 64 hours.

And here's what makes it truly special: it's an all-school effort. Cinematic Arts students welcome their fellow LACHSA student artists to collaborate on parts of their filmmaking. Music students score the films. Theatre and dance students perform in them. Production and design students provide essential support. Visual arts students design the posters, end credits, and graphics.

This National Arts in Education Week, there is no better reminder of what an exemplary arts education makes possible than watching these student artists show up for each other and deliver an extraordinary artistic short film.

Let's show up for these student artists! Order your tickets today or donate more than the ticket price. Net proceeds advance the exemplary arts education at LACHSA.

When: Friday, September 18th @ 7:30pm
Where: LACHSA's Antonovich Amphitheatre (5151 University Dr. Los Angeles CA 90032)
Tickets: https://lachsa.ticketspice.com/64-hour-film-festival-2026

09/15/2026

We are so excited to share that LACHSA Visual Arts ('95) alumni, Moses Ball, will unveil yet another mural today as part of the Clean California 1-110 Beautification Project led by CalTrans and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

"South Central Strong" will be unveiled at 11am at Colden Avenue and Flower Street at the 110 Freeway. The mural recognizes South Central L.A.’s struggles with issues such as child trafficking as well as the community’s underlying strength and resilience to combat those issues. Artist Moses Ball seeks to bring everyday community heroes to light with portraits of figures such as Ron Finley, an urban gardening activist known for The Ron Finley Project. Other important themes representative of the human condition are also featured, including a mourning mother, fatherhood, the guardianship over younger siblings, and the guidance of elders, among other archetypes.

Moses also collaborated with recent alumnus, Elle Munda (LACHSA Visual Arts '26) for the mural where she is depicted as a dancer. Elle represents a child who has been protected, loved, and supported—growing up safely and reaching for her dreams.

Speaking for the project, Daniel Tarica, General Manager, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs said, "The three artists selected for these commissions—Moses Ball, Mister Alek, and Bodeck Luna—represent excellent examples of the talented artistry that we have here in Los Angeles. Creativity is central to our city's identity, and murals like these give our artists the opportunity to share their creative vision and beautify our cityscape. Simultaneously the work inspires the public and connects our communities to the region's rich and diverse cultural history."

LACHSA's impact is everywhere you turn - through the brilliance
of its student artists, the creative innovation of its programs, and the global achievements of its alumni.