As ICA LA's 2024 Agency of Assets Youth Fellows wrap up their summer employment period, we thought it would be the perfect time to share some details about the program. Now in its fifth year, a cornerstone of the Agency of Assets (AoA) program is to place high school students from Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles into temporary paid positions at various arts organizations, each selected according to the student's interests. Spearheaded by ICA LA's Learning & Engagement team, the program also includes workshops, exploratory excursions, and one-on-one consultations for the youth, all aiming to develop the skills they need to enter the job market in the creative sector. 

Throughout the program, the Youth Fellows meet with artists, arts workers, and community activists to learn about various aspects of the field, including how to create a personal budget and write their own resumes. They even have a special outing to purchase workplace-appropriate clothes for their job placements. 

At the end of the employment phase, the Youth Fellows partner with a Los Angeles-based artist to organize an exhibition in ICA LA's Annex Gallery. In the past, Youth Fellows have worked with Tatiana Vahan and York Chang on Data (beta): the labor of looking, with Legacy LA on Reality Augmented, and Pamela Ramos on Agency of Assets x El Clasificado. This year, Youth Fellows will work with Lindsay Rose Medoff of SUAY on Fix the Future, a collaborative exhibition centered on the act of mending.

If you’d like to learn more about our Agency of Assets program, please visit our Youtube playlist featuring AoA Insights, recordings of past sessions with professionals in the cultural sector and now available for anyone looking for advice about how to enter the job market in the arts.

We look forward to sharing more information about our fall exhibition in upcoming newsletters, and in the meantime, we hope you'll join us in celebrating the work of our 2024 AoA Youth Fellows.

Happy Learning!
Team ICA LA

Agency of Assets x SUAY: Fix the Future 

Created by ICA LA Agency of Assets Youth Fellows and SUAY, a Los Angeles based closed-loop recycling hub, Fix the Future is an exhibition in ICA LA’s Annex Gallery exploring how to mend used garments, regenerate materials, and eliminate waste in a consumerist society.

Fix the Future envisions a world where mending is celebrated and every stitch is a step in the direction of a compassionate and connected existence. 

SUAY is a circular solution for the apparel industry that invests in extending the lifecycle of textiles while uplifting communities most impacted by textile waste and the systemic inequity of skilled manual laborers. SUAY’s vision is a world where manual laborers and their communities can thrive, and  their mission is to be a globally recognizable, trusted brand by building a new economy in solidarity and alignment with people and the planet.

Visit SUAY

ABOUT AoA

Established in 2016, Agency of Assets (AoA) is an acclaimed fellowship program offering youth development opportunities for high school teens through field trips; summer employment opportunities in the arts and culture sector; and collaborative art-making for an ICA LA exhibition. As part of the program, AoA Youth Fellows gain critical thinking skills and leadership experience while also receiving inspiration and motivation to explore careers in the creative field. AoA unfolds over several months in three principal phases:  

1. Exploration: AoA Youth Fellows delve into Los Angeles’s vibrant arts and culture landscape through a range of field trips that explore the city's history, diverse organizations, and communities.  
2. Employment: Fellows are placed in full-time paid positions with AoA’s Worksite Partners offering invaluable real-world experience over a 10-week summer period. Past Worksite Partners include: Tierra del Sol Gallery, dublab, Self Help Graphics, Levitt Pavilion, and Museum of Social Justice.
3. Engagement: AoA Youth Fellows collaborate with artists and/or organizations to create a final exhibition in ICA LA's Annex Gallery to synthesize the knowledge, perspectives, and experiences they’ve acquired through the program. 

Agency of Assets is organized by Asuka Hisa, Director of Learning & Engagement, with Alberto Keossian, Learning & Engagement Coordinator. Special thanks to Josephine Cosmosse, our 2024 Getty Marrow Learning & Engagement Intern. 

For more information on Agency of Assets, please contact [email protected].