Randy Cohen

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University is bringing arts leaders, advocates and policymakers together on Thursday, Nov. 7, to discuss ways to make the arts more visible and accessible in the community.

The Arts and Culture Symposium will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in CLU’s Lundring Events Center. The event, which is part of All About the Arts Week at the university, is designed to encourage discussion and partnership among institutions and provide them with the latest techniques for engaging audiences in the creative process.

Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts, and Jerry Yoshitomi, an independent cultural facilitator and consultant, will give the keynote addresses.

Cohen is one of the most noted experts in arts funding, research and policy as well as the use of arts to address community-development issues. He publishes the National Arts Index, an annual measure of the vitality of the arts, and the two premier economic studies of the arts industry. He led the development of the National Arts Policy Roundtable, collaborated on a White House report on arts programs for at-risk youths, and worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project study.

Yoshitomi has led many discussions about innovation in the arts for foundations, public agencies and artists. The Oxnard resident assisted with a national initiative to improve the lives of artists, helped the Wallace Foundation launch a program to encourage broader participation in the arts, and chaired a national task force for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. He served on the policy-setting council of the California Arts Council for four years and is the former executive director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles.

The symposium will include two breakout sessions, an overview of arts opportunities, breakfast, lunch and a reception in the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art.

CLU is sponsoring the event in partnership with regional arts organizations. It is part of the university’s effort to promote arts education and cultural opportunities in the region. All About the Arts Week kicks off Nov. 2 with the 2013 Arts and Learning Symposium organized by CLU’s Graduate School of Education. Other events include a theatre arts department production of “As You Like It,” the “Southland: Drawings from Southern California” show in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture, and the “Resonating Images II” exhibit in the Rolland Gallery.

Admission is $25. RSVP by Nov. 1 to Sharon Nelson at 805-493-3150 or smnelso@callutheran.edu.