Our Mission

Barnsdall Arts is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing outstanding, affordable art programs to educate and enrich our community through celebration of the arts.

Our mission is to provide quality art education and exhibitions that nurture creativity, acquisition of artistic skills, and aesthetic appreciation of art. Our outstanding programs build community through access, engagement, excellence and equity.

Our History

Formerly Friends of the Junior Art Center (FOJAC), Barnsdall Arts was founded in 1968 by the group that built the Junior Arts Center (JAC) together with the City of Los Angeles in Barnsdall Art Park. FOJAC was incorporated in 1971 as the non-profit support group of the JAC. Over the years, the organization grew into an independent arts education provider and began to serve the greater community of Los Angeles County. Barnsdall Arts is now a premier independent arts education provider with extensive art program and exhibition offerings throughout Los Angeles. We offer an impressive array of core programs distinguished by excellence, imagination and rigor. In collaboration with educational, civic and cultural institutions, Barnsdall Arts incorporates the arts into the life of children, families and communities throughout Southern California.