The arts’ other saving graces

The article on the lasting effect that the 2008 Great Recession had on the arts in Los Angeles [“How the Arts Fared After the ’08 Crash,” Nov. 4] did a good job delineating many of the mitigating factors that helped organizations survive but omitted probably the most important one: leadership.

Thor Steingraber rightly credited the quietly consistent support of Los Angeles County, where I served as executive director of the Arts Commission from 1992 to 2017. In a fortuitous move, the county had doubled its grant support for arts organizations right before the recession, and only reduced that support by 9% over the worst economic years.

The program, which funds close to 400 organizations, is now restored to its pre-recession level of $4.5 million. This was entirely due to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who recognized the critical role arts and culture play in the L.A. economy as well as its spiritual vitality. He also arranged a loan from the county to cover the L.A. Opera’s deficit — a loan that has been repaid in full. I witnessed members of numerous private boards of directors step up financially, when it would have been easier to step away. That’s leadership.

Laura Zucker Sherman Oaks

The assessment of the arts and cultural scene in Los Angeles after the crash of 2008 has one glaring omission: The arrival downtown in 1998 of the Colburn School for Performing Arts and the subsequent launch of its Conservatory in 2003, which competes today with the very top echelon of such programs nationally and internationally. The Colburn has collaborated with the L.A. Phil, the L.A. Opera, LACO and many other arts organizations in L.A.

It is a good neighbor, providing free or low-cost tickets to top-f light musical and dance performances throughout the year and creating strong arts programs with many of the Title 1 public schools in its neighborhood. The school will also create significant new performing arts capacity downtown with a major facility designed by Frank Gehry. To have talented young people thriving in the very heart of the Grand Avenue of the Arts, is a great thing for L.A. and for the world of music and dance.

Jennifer Diener Los Angeles