As Long Beach prepares to step onto the global stage for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, local culture, art, and community storytelling are taking center stage. The Imangine28 Grant Program funds groundbreaking local initiatives that preserve cultural heritage, engage diverse communities, and showcase Long Beach’s unique creative identity.
Here is a full breakdown of each grant category, what it supports, and the inspiring project awardees selected for FY27!
🎨 1. Public Art Projects
The Public Art Projects grant category supports individual artists and creative initiatives that bring visual, literary, performance, and interactive public art directly into Long Beach neighborhoods and public spaces.
Anthony Puente – Before the Flame
Genre: Film
Description: A documentary film using Long Beach’s most culturally significant restaurants as a lens into the communities that built the city, capturing stories across Cambodia Town, multigenerational Latino neighborhoods, and the working waterfront before Olympic-era development reshapes the region. The film will host a free public screening at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine in late 2026 / early 2027 and remain available online as a permanent, free cultural archive.
Nancy Lynee Woo – Long Beach Lit Tour
Genre: Literary
Description: A one-day, all-ages, multi-modal walking and bus tour celebrating local literary culture with pop-up programming at five activation sites (bookstores, libraries, and eateries) featuring local authors. The tour route includes a temporary pole banner exhibition featuring photos and quotes from the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate along 4th Street.
Jazlynn Pastor – pinaypages
Genre: Cultural Dance / Community Events
Description: Running August through December 2026 at WAVE Studio Space, this intergenerational Philippine arts and wellness series blends movement, music, and martial arts with social-emotional practices for community healing and connection.
Sonja Schenk — Blue Wave
Genre: Sculpture
Description: A permanent waterfront sculpture created using specialized concrete infused with recycled blue plastic chips. Residents participate directly by bringing in plastic waste from local waterways to be cleaned and incorporated, forming a towering, organic spiral sea stack that permanently sequesters plastic pollution.
Christina Elaine Vasquez — Dirty Patti Presents: The Long Beach Underground
Genre: DIY / Community Events
Description: A free, all-ages community event celebrating Long Beach’s DIY creative scene through music, poetry, drag, performance art, and an interactive zine created with local artists. Leading up to the main event, participating artists are highlighted in “Artist Spotlight” video features.
🏡 2. Neighborhood Grants
The Neighborhood Grants category funds grassroots, neighborhood-based festivals and events that bring arts, culture, and community celebration directly to residents.
Awardees & Projects:
- Long Beach Film Festival – Imagine Long Beach on Screen
- Genre: Film
- Description: A year-round public art initiative using film and storytelling to highlight Long Beach culture. Features include curated LBFF filmmaker blocks, community panels, an annual poster commission, and StoryLab,a free youth filmmaking program.
- Bixby Knolls Community Foundation – Salsa y Sabor
- Genre: Culinary / Community Event
- Description: Partnering with Rancho Los Cerritos, this festival takes place in October 2026 during Hispanic Heritage Month / Arts Month. Featuring music, dance floors, food, and hands-on workshops, tickets are free with RSVP (capped at 500).
🏛️ 3. Operating / Measure B Grants
The Operating / Measure B grant category provides substantial institutional support to established cultural organizations and non-profits to host large-scale, accessible, multi-year arts programming that elevates the city’s overall cultural infrastructure.
Awardees & Projects:
- African American Cultural Center of Long Beach (AACCLB) – LBC Legacy: Black Excellence on the World Stage
- Genre: Public Art / Murals / Community Events
- Description: A public art and cultural storytelling initiative honoring African American athletes, Olympians, musicians, artists, and leaders. Located at the Expo Arts Center on Atlantic Ave, the project will feature one signature community mural and four large-scale public art window installations.
- Art Theatre of Long Beach – THROUGH THE LENS: Long Beach on the Road to 2028
- Genre: Film
- Description: A multi-year community documentary project commissioning professional filmmakers, student artists, and residents to capture local athletes, venues, and partner agencies preparing for the 2028 Olympics. Features interim screenings in 2026–2027 and a major public premiere event in 2028.
- Able ARTS Work – Zine Fair
- Genre: Zine / Community Events
- Description: Hosted at their newly renovated, accessible headquarters, Able ARTS Work will present an inclusive Zine Fair featuring artist tables, workshops, partner booths, and zine trading for artists with disabilities, youth, and the broader community.
- Long Beach Opera – Acquaprofonda (Deep Water)
- Genre: Performing Arts / Opera
- Description: A free children’s opera presented in August 2026 at the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Honda Pacific Visions Theater. The opera uses immersive visuals to tell the story of a young girl named Serena, inspiring her community to tackle ocean plastic pollution. The production will provide educational materials to attending students and teachers.
We are looking forward to seeing these amazing proposals come to life and fill our streets with art. Make sure you follow these wonderful artists and organizations for news on their events and projects. See you there!
Learn more about Imagine28: https://artslb.org/imagine28/