Fostering Appreciation of the Photographic Arts

The Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering appreciation and awareness of the photographic arts through a robust calendar of events and ongoing grant-giving programs. Entirely run by volunteers, PAC·LA is the largest nonprofit organization of its kind in the U.S. devoted to fine art photography. 

Engaging with Members and Artists

In addition to our educational, institutional and artist grants, PAC·LA offers events touching on all areas of the photographic arts. These include:

• Artist Talks

• Studio Visits

• Educational Programming

• Gallery Visits

• Private Collection Tours

• Curator-led Walkthroughs of Museum Exhibitions

• Travel Opportunities beyond Los Angeles

With few exceptions, events are open to the entire membership.

Contact Us

Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles
149 South Barrington Avenue, Suite 139
Los Angeles, California  90049

Membership
membership@paclosangeles.com

Events
events@paclosangeles.com

General Inquiries
info@paclosangeles.com

Board of Directors
Meet our Board of Directors

PAC•LA Major Grants:

• Las Fotos Project is an East Los Angeles community-based organization whose mission is to inspire teenage girls through photography, mentorship and self-expression. Year-round programs teach girls how to use cameras to explore their identity, build leadership and advocacy skills, strengthen social and emotional wellbeing, and become entrepreneurs.

• PAC LA has contributed funds to support the Analogue Sample Set, a project designed to preserve samples of each method of Analog photography creation. This important contribution to the global historic preservation of Photographic Arts was coordinated with the University of Delaware.

• The Stephen Reinstein Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in memory of our esteemed PAC LA Board member for students of photography at CalArts. Steve’s scholarship was supported by a generous matching grant form the Greenberg Foundation, Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser.

• Creating a photography-focused Artist In Residence Grant at the Huntington Library and Gardens. Huntington curator, Jenny Watts, chose Los Angeles-based artist, Mary Beth Heffernan to be the first recipient. Ms. Heffernan researched her project at the Huntington completing a photographic work available for view and purchase through PAC LA.

• A grant to The Autry Museum of The American West for the purchase of four prints from Harry Gamboa's "Chicano Male Unbonded" series. These prints were exhibited as part of the Getty Foundation's city-wide initiative, Pacific Standard Time LA/LA.

• In conjunction with Pacific Standard Time LA/LA, a grant to the Skirball Cultural Center for the exhibition, Surface Tension by Ken Gonzales-Day: Murals, Signs, and Mark-Making in LA. This exhibition featured more than 140 new photographs by Ken Gonzales-Day captureing the vibrant face of muralism and related practices, such as street art, graffiti writing, and sign painting, throughout the city of Los Angeles.

PAC•LA Supporting Grants:

• Major funding for the Aperture Foundation publication, Kwame Brathwaite: Black is Beautiful.The Skirball Cultural Center in coordination with Aperture, presented a show built on Brathwaite’s photographs featured in this book.

• Recurring grant to The Center For Creative Photography for scholarly research.

• Ongoing contributions to Venice Arts youth photography program.

• Support for the FOCUS conference, a convocation for emerging curators, furthering the understanding of photography.

• The Karen Sinsheimer Memorial Fund at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, designated for photography acquisition.

• The Medium Festival of Photography in San Diego for a lecture co-sponsored by Aperture.

Membership

Benefits of Membership

Since 2013, PAC•LA has offered annual single or couples memberships. We are an independent organization without institutional affiliation, a fact that affords us access to the entire photography community here in Los Angeles and beyond. Offering our members up to 50 events a year, we strive to make photography accessible to everyone from the interested newcomer to the seasoned collector.

As a member you will enjoy:

• Access to private collections

• Visits with artists in their studios

• Curator-led walkthroughs at major museums including The Getty, The Hammer, LACMA, The Huntington, and The Norton Simon

• Exclusive VIP passes to photography fairs worldwide - Paris Photo, Photo London, Photo San Francisco and others

• First looks at the newest gallery shows, often before they open

• Unique PAC•LA-designed photography-focused travel opportunities. PAC•LA destinations have included Chicago, Mexico City, Paris, Carmel, Kansas City and San Francisco

• Informative lecture programming

• A recurring PAC•LA curated photography show featuring favorite works collected by our members

• An annual holiday celebration

• Free guest passes upon membership renewal

• Seeing your tax-deductible contribution perpetuating the PAC•LA Arts Funding Initiative

  It’s simple to join online right here today by clicking one of the buttons to the left. If paying by check, please allow 30 days for processing.

Have a membership question? membership@paclosangeles.com

We welcome members to our events with the knowledge that we are guests at all venues, made available to us through the generosity of our hosts. Treating our hosts with the utmost respect and courtesy is a core value of PAC•LA, and is a condition of membership.

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Gallery Listings

A selected list of Los Angeles area photography galleries. >>