In 2009 the WattsTowersArtsCenter celebrated “50 years of inspiring art.” Today it is being dismantled. Unthinkable? All WattsTowersArtCenter classes have been canceled. The Educational Coordinator/Art Instructor has been laid off. 6,000 youth are out of classes. The WattsTowers and the ArtsCenter provide a long and unique history of tireless community action and struggle in the history of Los Angeles. But they have proven time and again how vital the Towers are and how they have remained a symbol of hope, creativity, resistance--locally and internationally. Stand with community arts and with the communities that support the arts.

Please, write to:

Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa mayor@lacity.org

Olga Garay, Gen. Mgr. Dept. of Cultural Affairs: Olga.Garay@lacity.org

Councilwoman Janice Hahn: janice.hahn@lacity.org

Share the struggle. Spread the word.

Sign the petition: 'Watts Towers Arts Center Rescue' http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stopculturalgenocide

“As advocates for the preservation of Art and Culture, the undersigned request that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles City Council immediately remove the Watts Towers Art Center (WTAC) and the Charles Mingus Youth Art Center (CMYAC) from the city's list of art facilities that are slated for privatization. The Watts Towers Art Campus provides invaluable art education, cultural programming and open green space to under-served youth and community members as well as providing a cultural destination to the diverse national and international tourists that visit the SimonRodiaWattsTowers. Cultural Tourism is the leading industry in Los Angeles. Attracting over 300,000 visitors annually, the WattsTowers are designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark, California Historical Landmark and a Los AngelesHistoric-CulturalMonument. The Watts Towers Cultural Art Park needs to remain in the public domain. Please join us to stop Cultural Genocide by asking Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council to remove the WTAC and the CMYAC from privatization by signing your name below.”