The Music Center unveils renovated plaza — and a $12-million gift for access to the arts

The official opening of the Music Center’s new “Plaza for All” on Wednesday morning will have an additional jolt of good news: a $12-million gift to help make the arts more accessible to Los Angeles County residents. The gift, from philanthropist and former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski and her Ring-Miscikowski /The Ring Foundation, will be used as seed money by the new TMC Arts Fund, which aims to broaden the Music Center’s reach. The TMC Arts Fund will serve as an umbrella division under which all of the Music Center’s “programming pieces,” developed outside of the resident companies, will live, Moore said, including Grand Park events, community engagement activities, education, public concerts and more. It will allow us to not only expand on our current programming, but will also serve as research and development for innovation and new programs that help us find new ways of sharing this incredible, new public resource that we have at the Music Center — this new space — with all people across the county.” The Music Center contributed an additional $2 million to the TMC Arts Fund, which brings the programming seed money to $14 million.