Imagine28
Imagine28 - coming in early 2027 IMAGINE28 celebrates the exemplary artistic vision of local artists in Long Beach. This program will support public art projects that showcase and reflect Long […]
Imagine28
Showcasing Long Beach to the World
The IMAGINE28 Grants celebrate the exemplary artistic vision of local artists in Long Beach. This program will support public art projects that showcase and reflect Long Beach identity, history, and culture in anticipation of the 2028 Summer Olympics, including, but not limited to, live music events, public performances, murals, and workshops.
Imagine28 PROJECTS
FILM: Before the Flame
“Before the Flame” is a documentary film by Long Beach filmmaker Anthony Puente that uses the city’s most culturally significant restaurants as a portal into the communities that built Long Beach — capturing the stories of Cambodia Town, multigenerational Latino neighborhoods, and the working waterfront before Olympic-era development reshapes the city. The film will premiere at a free public screening at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine, 2030 East 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90814, during the Olympic period, December 2026 or early 2027, and will be made permanently available online as a free cultural archive.
LITERARY: Long Beach Lit Tour
“Long Beach Lit Tour” is a one-day, all-ages, multi-modal and interdisciplinary walking and bus tour celebrating the literary culture of our city with pop-up programming at five activation sites, including bookstores, libraries, and local eateries, featuring prominent local authors and writers. The tour will take participants past a temporary exhibition of pole banners featuring photos and quotes from Long Beach Youth Poets Laureate on 4th St. from Temple to Cherry; attendees may come for parts or all of the event.
CULTURAL: pinaypages
“pinaypages” is a series of intergenerational Philippine arts and wellness programs hosted at WAVE Studio Space in Long Beach, running August through December 2026. The project blends movement, music, and martial arts with social-emotional arts practices to create accessible spaces for healing and connection.
SCULPTURE: Blue Wave
“Blue Wave” is a permanent public sculpture by Long Beach artist Sonja Schenk, created with a special concrete made from recycled chips of blue plastic, a form of plastic capture that results in a bluish-tinted work that is both functional and beautiful. This public art piece will be made with direct community participation: residents will bring in plastic refuse to be cleaned, chipped, and layered into the sculpture, removing the harmful material from local waterways and confining it permanently within a lasting work of art. Composed from concrete slabs, each representing a unique community or cleanup event, “Blue Wave” will form a towering spiral that resembles an organic sea stack rock formation and will be situated at a public waterfront location in Long Beach.
DIY: The Long Beach Underground
Dirty Patti Presents: The Long Beach Underground is a free, all-ages community arts event celebrating Long Beach’s DIY creative culture through music, poetry, drag, performance art, artist storytelling, and an interactive zine created with local artists and writers. Leading up to the event, participating artists will be featured in short Artist Spotlight videos produced through The Dirty Patti Show, helping amplify local creative voices and build community engagement. The project connects young people and community members with the artists, stories, and creative traditions that continue to shape Long Beach while encouraging artistic discovery, creative participation, and future cultural storytelling initiatives.
CULTURAL: LBC Legacy: Black Excellence on the World Stage
The African American Cultural Center of Long Beach (AACCLB) hosts LBC Legacy: Black Excellence on the World Stage, a public art, cultural storytelling, and community engagement initiative that celebrates the African American individuals, movements, and achievements that have helped shape Long Beach’s identity, culture, and national reputation.
The project will feature the creation of one signature large-scale community mural and four large-scale public art window installations at the AACCLB Gallery located at the Expo Arts Center on Atlantic Avenue. Together, these highly visible public artworks will transform the exterior of the Cultural Center into a vibrant cultural destination that honors African American athletes, Olympians, musicians, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders whose contributions continue to influence Long Beach and inspire future generations.
FILM: THROUGH THE LENS: Long Beach on the Road to 2028
The Art Theatre of Long Beach hosts THROUGH THE LENS: Long Beach on the Road to 2028, a multi-year community documentary film initiative that captures the City of Long Beach as it prepares to host and participate in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. Through a competitive open-call process, the Art Theatre will commission professional filmmakers, emerging student artists, and community members to create short documentary films documenting local athletes, Olympic venues, and partner agencies in their journey toward the Games. The project will culminate in a landmark public screening event in 2028 at which all works are presented, and the top three filmmakers are recognized. Interim public events
throughout 2026–2027 will share the projects’ progress and build community engagement. This initiative aligns fully with the IMAGINE28 Grant goals by producing innovative, diverse, community-centered media arts programming that reflects Long Beach’s identity and elevates the city’s cultural presence on a global stage
DIY: Zine Fair
Able ARTS Work (AAW) is uniquely positioned to offer Long Beach an exciting,
accessible, and deeply community centered Zine Fair as part of IMAGINE 28. With our newly renovated Long Beach headquarters now serving as a creative home for artists with disabilities, youth, families, schools, and community partners, this project gives AAW the opportunity to open our doors in a new way and help showcase what Long Beach does best: bring people together through art, culture, storytelling, and inclusion.
The Zine Fair will serve as both a meaningful public arts experience and a perfect trial run for how AAW can use our building as a welcoming cultural hub leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our large community center, gallery spaces, and gated outdoor parking area allow us to host workshops, artist tables, partner booths, zine trading, and community gathering in one accessible and inviting location. This is not just an event taking place in Long Beach. It is an event that reflects Long Beach: creative, diverse, grassroots, inclusive, and full of people with stories to tell.
PERFORMING ARTS: Acquaprofonda (Deep Water)
Long Beach Opera (LBO) will present Acquaprofonda (Deep Water), a children’s opera, in August 2026 at the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Honda Pacific Visions Theater. The production uses immersive visuals and the aquarium’s marine environment to tell the story of Serena, a young girl who inspires her community to confront ocean pollution caused by a factory owner’s careless disposal of plastic waste. The opera models environmental stewardship, collective accountability, and community action.
All performances and activity sessions are free to the public. Educational materials aligned with the opera’s conservation themes will be provided to all attending students and teachers.
FILM: Imagine Long Beach on Screen
IMAGINE LONG BEACH ON SCREEN is a year-round public art initiative using film, visual art, and community storytelling to showcase Long Beach’s identity, history, and culture in anticipation of the 2028 Olympics. The project includes:
• Curated Long Beach Filmmaker Blocks during LBFF
• Year-round community screenings and panels
• StoryLab: free filmmaking program for youth & emerging creatives
• Annual LBFF Poster Commission from a Long Beach visual artist
CULINARY: Salsa y Sabor
Bixby Knolls Community Foundation (BKCF) will be partnering with Rancho Los Cerritos to present Salsa y Sabor. The festival will take place in October 2026 during Hispanic Heritage Month, which is also Arts Month.
Salsa y Sabor will take place on the grounds of the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site. The Rancho routinely presents concerts and festivals similar to the one proposed, often with stages, sound and lighting. The Rancho also holds regular hands-on workshops similar to the workshops we are proposing with this festival. We will employ a temporary dance floor, as well as tables, chairs, and booths.
Imagine28 Events
1 event found.
Events
About Imagine28
The IMAGINE28 Grants aim to:
- Encourage innovative, creative, diverse, and unique programming
- Provide free arts programming
- Support arts, cultural, and historical projects that meet community needs and wants, identifying target audiences
- Support local artists who have a successful track record of delivering programs that are well-planned and managed effectively
- Bolster new and upcoming artists looking to showcase their ideas
- Foster and promote hyperlocal representation and neighborhood pride leading up and during the Olympics
Applications closed June 12, 2026.
FY 2026-2027 APPLICATION CYCLE TIMELINE
- Guidelines Available – April 1, 2026
- Technical Assistance Workshop – April 8, 2026
- Application Open – April 15, 2026
- Application Deadline – June 12, 2026 by 5PM
- Panel – July 7-9, 2026
- Grant Award Notification – July 2026
- Grant Award Disbursement – August 2026
- Program Implementation Period – August – December 2026
- Final Report Due – January 15, 2027
Eligible projects include:
- Visual Arts
- Costume Design
- Performing Arts
- Audio Arts
- Literary Arts
- Media Arts
- Multidisciplinary or Interdisciplinary Arts
- Culinary Arts
- Folk and Traditional Arts
- Folk and Traditional Arts are, ultimately, passed on from one generation to the next and express a collective wisdom, rather than a unique personal aesthetic.
About the Grant
IMAGINE28 looks to unite Long Beach’s community, civic, arts, and business leaders to deliver neighborhood-rooted multicultural arts activation zones during the Olympics, setting a model for future city-wide cultural planning. These projects may include, but are not limited to, live music events, public performances, murals, and workshops. Programming is expected to take place between August 2026 – December 2026.
Awardees are expected to participate in monthly cohort meetings that will aid in crafting the next iteration of this program in FY 2026-2027. A joint communications plan will also be developed for the implementation of this grant program.
Grant Award Amounts
- Public Art Projects: $10,000
- Neighborhood Grant: $12,500
- Measure B and Operating Recipient Grant: $20,000
Applicants may only apply for ONE (1) Arts Council for Long Beach IMAGINE28 grant category:
- Public Art Projects
- Neighborhood
- Measure B and Operating Recipient
Imagine28 Grant Application FAQs
Is application assistance available?
ArtsLB staff is available on a limited basis to offer guidance and clarification in preparing your proposal. Contact staff ahead of the deadline to ensure you can be accommodated at (562) 204-6104 or grants@artslb.org.
Will applicants be given feedback on their proposals?
Arts Council staff documents the comments of grant review panels for its records and to share with applicants, upon request. Comments are available to applicants following the announcement of grant awards. To receive panel comments contact: grants@artslb.org or (562) 204-6104.
What is the Conflict of Interest policy?
- No active member of the Arts Council for Long Beach Board of Directors or staff shall sign a grant application.
- No staff or board member of an applicant organization shall serve on the review panel for the category in which the organization submits an application.
- Any grant panel member who has a potential conflict of interest must disclose it to Arts Council for Long Beach (and the other review panel members) prior to the panel review by completing a conflict of interest form.
Is the application process confidential?
The Arts Council for Long Beach grant review process is an open and independent process. During the grant panel review and following approval processes, the merits of the proposals and the accomplishments of the artists and organizations are thoroughly discussed. Applications will be compared to other proposals within the same category as well as appraised within the context of the applicant’s arts or cultural discipline or field. Results will not be confidential.
Are the grant awards taxed?
Fellowships and grant awards may be subject to tax regulations. Arts Council for Long Beach cannot advise recipients about tax deductibility of all or any portion of a grant. Applicants should obtain counsel from a licensed tax consultant or a local Internal Revenue Service office.
How will the grant award payments be disbursed?
IMAGINE28 Public Art Projects payments are made in two installments. A payment schedule will be established in the contract of 70% disbursement upon signing contract and submitting financial documents with the last 30% upon completion of the final report.
What are the contract requirements?
Contracts are sent to grantees after the Arts Council receives its contract from the City of Long Beach. Contracts require grantees to:
- Acknowledge Arts Council for Long Beach and the City of Long Beach by using designated logos on published materials
- Meet all other requirements established in the contract, including deadline and reporting requirements.
How are submissions accepted?
All applications must be submitted online through the application form linked on this page.
- All submitted files must be named in the following format:
- Format: Applicant-Name_Document-Name
- Examples:
- ArtsLB_IMAGINE28-Project-Proposal-Documentation
- ArtsLB_Budget
- All artistic documentation must be submitted as one (1) PDF file with embedded links to videos and audio files. Please contact the Arts Council for Long Beach if you need assistance with this or other technical assistance at least two weeks before the application deadline. Other file formats will not be accepted.
What if my application is incomplete?
Any omission of a required component of the application may be grounds for disqualifying an application.
What if I miss the application deadline?
New or revised application information will NOT be accepted after the deadline.