Perenchio Foundation
Perenchio Foundation

SUMMER OF ’28 — ONLY IN L.A.

A call for signature works, by Los Angeles artists, at the scale the world will see.

The Invitation

In the summer of 2028, the world will turn its attention to Los Angeles. The Perenchio Foundation invites arts and culture organizations across Los Angeles County to propose signature works equal to that moment: bold, iconic, and unmistakably ours.

Los Angeles has always invented the future. Here, artists work with light, code, sound, movement, and story at a scale few places on earth can imagine. When the world arrives, it should meet that Los Angeles.

Across the region, the City of Los Angeles and many partners will bring the summer into neighborhoods through watch parties and community celebrations. This call holds a complementary focus: a small number of signature performances, live experiences, and immersive works that tell the identity and creativity of Los Angeles, made by the artists who live and create here. We want audiences to leave joyful, hopeful, and united, and to carry a lasting image of who we are.

We are not doing this alone. The Perenchio Foundation and the Kohl Family Foundation are launching this call together, and we invite other foundations and donors to join us. For applicants, this means one concept can reach more than one funder. With your knowledge, concepts that move forward will be shared with funders who join this effort, so that the strongest ideas can attract the full support they deserve. Each funder makes its own decisions, and every co-funded project credits all who support it.

Key dates

Call released

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Last day to submit questions

Thursday, December 3, 2026

Deadline

Friday, December 11, 2026 at 1:00 pm

Concepts are welcome for review on a rolling basis before deadline

Decisions shared with all applicants

Monday, January 11, 2027

Meetings with invited applicants

January 12 - 29, 2027

Full proposals due

Monday, February 1, 2027

Awards announced and grant agreements issued

End of February 2027

What we seek

Signature quality and reach carry the greatest weight in our review.

  • A signature work, not business as usual. A project that would not happen without this moment, beyond the programming your organization already plans.
  • Reach and scale. Each project should reach audiences in the hundreds of thousands to millions, in person, online, and through broadcast.
  • Creativity found only in Los Angeles. Art that could not be made anywhere else.
  • Artists at the center. Los Angeles artists at the heart of the project, paid fairly for their vision and craft.
  • Access. Projects that welcome the broadest public at accessible prices and are open to people of all abilities. Earned revenue is welcome; art has value, and the organizations creating it should be sustained by it.
  • What endures. What the project leaves behind, such as a permanent artwork, a new composition, a recording, a partnership, or a new source of revenue that sustains your organization beyond 2028. Some work is meant for a single summer, and that is welcome too.
  • Readiness. A track record of producing projects at scale, the capacity to mobilize quickly, and, ideally, an investment of the lead organization’s own resources.

 

Only in L.A.
Only in L.A. means work that draws its power from this place: created here, with Los Angeles artists, and shaped by the city’s people, places, and stories. Not every element must originate here, but the result should be unmistakably Los Angeles.

A new composition premiered here qualifies naturally, as does an installation or digital experience shaped by Los Angeles’s streets, light, or communities. A performance of existing repertoire should show how it speaks of this region. Your concept should tell us why it could happen nowhere else.

Across the region, together
The summer of 2028 belongs to all of Los Angeles, not only to its major venues. We want art to meet Angelenos where they live: in neighborhoods, cultural venues, public spaces, and online. Together, the selected projects will reach across the county.

We encourage collaboration among organizations of different sizes, disciplines, and communities. What this city creates together will be remembered longest.

Eligibility

Organizations may apply alone or as the anchor of a collaborative.

  • Must be a nonprofit arts and culture organization based in Los Angeles County.
  • Must have an annual operating budget of at least $1 million.
    • This minimum reflects the scale of projects this call seeks. Smaller organizations and independent artists are essential to it, and we encourage them to join collaboratives as partners.
  • Artists engaged should be compensated.
    • We hope most of the artists engaged will live in Los Angeles County. We also understand that some projects are made richer by artists from a diversity of places, extending to other parts of the country and the world, and we welcome them.
  • Collaborative projects must be led by an anchor organization that meets the geographic and operating budget requirements above.
  • Partner organizations in a collaborative:
    • May be based outside Los Angeles County when their role is essential to the work. We hope most of the resources will support organizations and artists based in the region.
    • May be organizations outside the arts, when their role serves the artistry or helps it reach new audiences.

Additional Considerations:

  • Fiscally sponsored projects and artist collectives are not eligible to apply.
  • Planning grants are not eligible through this call.
  • Applicant organizations may anchor one concept, and may join others as a partner.

Process

Step 1: Concept – Every applicant submits a concept by answering a brief series of questions, and providing a one-page estimated budget. Collaborative projects should submit only one concept via the anchor applicant.

CLICK HERE FOR AN OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT FORM QUESTIONS

Step 2: Full Proposal – A small number of applicants will be invited to develop a full proposal, shaped through conversation with Foundation staff.

  • The Foundation anticipates making awards of $1 million or more.
  • Concepts are welcome on a rolling basis and reviewed by Foundation staff and the Board of Directors. With each applicant’s knowledge, concepts that move forward may also be shared with funding partners.
  • Grants to collaboratives are made to the anchor organization. Depending on the size and scale of the project, individual grants to each partner for its share of the budget may be considered to ease the administrative burden on the anchor.
  • Grants will be paid in installments tied to milestones agreed with each grantee.
  • A Perenchio Foundation grant does not confer any official designation associated with summer 2028; organizations may pursue such designations independently.

 

How to submit: Your concept must be submitted in GivingData by December 11 at 1:00 pm to be considered.

 

Questions: So that every applicant receives the same guidance, please submit questions through our online form by Thursday, December 3, rather than contacting staff directly. The more specific your question, the more helpful our answer can be.

If you encounter technical issues with the application portal, use the inquiry form below and select “Technical Difficulty” as the subject. Someone from our team will reach out within 48 hours.

Get in Touch


The world is coming to Los Angeles. Show it what only we can create.

What we seek

  • A signature work, not business as usual. An event or body of work that would not happen without this moment, beyond the programming your organization already plans.
  • Reach and scale. Audiences in the hundreds of thousands to millions, in person, online, and through broadcast, with work distributed across the county.
  • Creativity found only in Los Angeles. Work that could not be made anywhere else.
  • Artists at the center. Artists who live in Los Angeles County, paid fair fees for their work.
  • Access. Work that welcomes the broadest public at accessible prices and is open to people of all abilities. Earned revenue is welcome; art has value, and the organizations creating it should be sustained by it.
  • What endures. What the work leaves behind, such as a lasting work, a recording, a partnership, or a new source of revenue that sustains your organization beyond 2028. Some work is meant for a single summer, and that is welcome too.
  • Readiness. A track record of producing work at scale, the capacity to mobilize quickly, and, ideally, an investment of the lead organization’s own resources.

Signature quality and reach carry the greatest weight in our review.

Stay Connected

Perenchio Foundation: 800 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 840, Pasadena, CA 91101