Frequently Asked Questions
The City’s Mural Ordinance is local legislation adopted by the Mayor and City Council related to existing murals and the creation of new murals in Los Angeles. The Mural Ordinance was established in order to: 1) Lift the 2002 ban on murals on private property, 2) Differentiate new and existing murals from current prohibitions that apply to outdoor advertisements, 3) Create a mural registration process, and 4) Increase public access to and community participation in the creation of original works of art.
More on murals below.
A nonprofit arts and cultural organization may apply for one artistic project or one operating project grant, and may also apply for an outdoor festival/parade grant.
More on grants below.
For information about the City’s Mural Ordinance and guidance on the mural registration process, please call the Public Art Division, DCA at 213-202-5544 or send an email to murals@lacity.org.
A Vintage Original Art Mural is a mural that existed or was created prior to October 12, 2013.
The Mural Ordinance defines an Original Art Mural as ” A one-of-a-kind, hand-painted, hand-tiled, or digitally
printed image on the exterior wall of a building that does not contain any commercial message. For definition purposes, a commercial message is any message that advertises a business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold.”
There are some fundamental requirements to consider before starting the registration process with the Department of Cultural Affairs. The property owner must sign the application certifying permission and accepting maintenance responsibility. There are various time, place and manner regulations to consider before choosing the site and creating the final rendering. A neighborhood involvement meeting is the initial part of the registration process to notify the community near the mural location. A 2-year covenant signed by the property owner, must be filed with the County Recorder’s Office to ensure the mural remain up for a minimum of 2 years. There is a registration fee of $60.00 for mural registration implementation.
Murals with documented proof of existence prior to October 12, 2013 are deemed Vintage Original Art Murals are considered registered murals by the Department of Cultural Affairs. The DCA manages a mural database which can verify the mural’s date of creation. However, murals that are not registered in the DCA’s mural database may register with a Vintage Art Mural Application. Property owners and artists are encouraged to register. There is no fee for Vintage Art Mural Registration.
Only single family residences located in Council Districts, 1,9, and 14 are eligible for mural registration.
Yes, however, approval is needed from the Department of City Planning’s Office of Historical Resources before mural registration with the DCA. To determine if the mural requires this additional review, please contact murals@lacity.org.
The property owner is at risk of receiving a Notice to Comply and inspection fee from Building and Safety.
Mural applicants receive a Notice to Proceed letter from the Public Art Division Director authorizing fabrication. If you would like more information on a mural project, such as legal status, please send an address and image to murals@lacity.org.
Please call our Public Art Division’s main line 213-202-5555. Email is preferred including background information, address, and an image of the mural to murals@lacity.org.
The Department of Cultural Affairs is working with each Council Office to provide funding for Council District-Specific mural related projects. To find your Council District representative, go to lacity.org/government/popular-information/elected-officials/city-council.
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No. Original Art Murals cannot contain any commercial messages or images, including logos. The Mural Ordinance defines a commercial message as any message that advertises a business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold.
A nonprofit arts and cultural organization may apply for one artistic project or one operating project grant, and may also apply for an outdoor festival/parade grant.
Eligible organizations must:
(1) be a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, or a charitable organization [such as a 501(c)6] that will partner with one or more arts partners to present an outdoor festival or parade
(2) have an emphasis on arts/culture in its mission statement (unless it is a 501(c)6 that partners with arts organizations for an outdoor festival or parade)
(3) be headquartered in Los Angeles County
(4) have a minimum of one year of prior arts programming within the City of L.A.
(5) have a prior annual revenue of at least $10,000
Individual artists can apply to either the Artist in Residence (AIR) grant program or the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship Program (COLA). AIR provides grants of up to $8,000 for an artist to provide a series of arts workshops to underserved population within the City of Los Angeles, along with a culminating event open to the public. The COLA program provides grants of $10,000 each to individual artists (or artist teams) to create new work at an exhibition or performance that will be curated by DCA.
The guidelines and forms for the AIR and COLA grants programs are posted on DCA’s website in the first week of September each year. The deadline for submitting a proposal for either grants program is the fourth Friday of October of each year.
DCA convenes discipline-specific peer panels of artists, arts administrators, educators, art enthusiasts, and other experts. Consideration is given to creating teams with demographics (appropriate for each category and reflective of the City) including: artistic expertise, gender, geographic knowledge, and cultural understanding. Peer panels are charged with reviewing all eligible proposals, discussing project worthiness, making comments, and assigning numerical scores. Individually, each panelist considers the applications in relation to Cultural Affairs’ goals and criteria and in comparison to other proposals. Panelists use DCA’s score-sheets for consistency and score each application up to 100 points. After individual review and consideration, the panelists gather for collegial discussion at one or more group meetings, wherein average scores are computed and final rankings determined.