News

Inside Out Community Arts was recently featured in an article on

Click here to read how one observer found inspiration in our dynamic programming!

--

Also...

recently stopped by to visit Inside Out's Neighborhood Arts Project. To experience NAP for yourself and read what our youth leaders have to say, click here!

--

The Possibility Project (formerly City At Peace-LA@IOCA) was recently covered by

in preparation for their phenomenal show "Way Out of Nowhere". Click here to read all about it!

--

More Fun Things to Do:
For a calendar of events in LA (including ours, of course!), check out ExperienceLA:

Justmeans is the world's leading source of information and connections for people doing business better.

Inside Out welcomes our new Executive Director, Varina Bleil.

It is with tremendous delight and gratitude that I offer my first official introduction as the new Executive Director of Inside Out Community Arts. Like every child who steps into the care of an Inside Out arts program, I too have a story to share with you. The accompanying letter from Gary Tokumori, Inside Out’s newly elected and dedicated Chairman of the Board, will give you a bit more information about my professional background and appointment, but I would like to share why being brought onto the leadership team of an organization that celebrates and utilizes the arts to develop life skills and inspiration for inner-city youth is important to me.

It started with a bow. A young gentleman stood, hands clenched at the edge of a make-shift stage at the Los Angeles Juvenile Detention Center. On any other day this gentleman (we’ll call him Daniel) would be wearing an orange uniform and fighting a prison sentence of 54 years to life. At the time I was one of the Artist Volunteers responsible for supervising the creation of this theatrical piece with male juvenile offenders. I did it in my spare time. I had a completely separate career securely in place in the film and television industry and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. As the audience cheered, Daniel fled from the stage before the other performers had finished their bows, and used my body to shield himself from anyone who might see his uncontrollable tears. It was the first time I saw so up close the ability of the arts to turn something intangible into a reality for our community’s underprivileged and underserved. In Daniel’s case it was a little thing called “praise.” And that was it. Something deep inside me had irrevocably changed.

For almost a decade now I have personally witnessed story after story of young lives empowered through the profound ability of arts education to serve as a medium for social change. The enormity of what I saw inspired me to dedicate my life to shepherding this effective public service in order to reach more lives, engage more families, and inspire more hearts in our local community. I could not imagine a better place from which to see this vision through than at Inside Out, whose work has become a beacon in this field.

Alongside my strong commitment to the mission and values of Inside Out, I bring a solid background in arts programming, nonprofit development, and research in best practices of both quality arts education and nonprofit management. I am honored to take the helm of such an acclaimed organization that has enjoyed a high level of social impact and expansion for over fourteen years, and my goal is to broaden that trust and involvement throughout the community.

I look forward to working closely with you and so many other wonderful people who have helped make Inside Out’s programs as impeccable and impactful as they are today. Thanks so much for all you do in support of Inside Out. It is an honor to work with such a devoted constituency and a privilege to serve this vital and important institution.

Please feel free to reach out to me at any time and stop by for a visit of Inside Out Community Arts! I very much welcome your input, insight, requests, and support. You are an important part of this exciting new chapter and together we can expand the lives of our youth, who are all of our future.

In service to youth,
Varina Bleil
Executive Director
varina.bleil@insideoutca.org
310-397-8820 x110

Download the PDF version of Varina's Letter here: Message from Executive Director, Varina Bleil