REDCAT facts for kids
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| Address | 631 W. 2nd Hope St. Los Angeles, United States |
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| Type | Theatre, gallery, art center |
| Capacity | 270 (est.) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2003 |
| Architect | Frank Gehry |
The Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is a cool place in downtown Los Angeles, California. It's an arts center where you can see new and exciting visual art, performances, and media art. REDCAT is part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall building. It opened in November 2003. The center is named after Roy O. Disney and his wife, Edna. It helps the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) share its art with people in Los Angeles.
Contents
What REDCAT Offers
REDCAT offers many different types of art programs. These include:
- Visual Arts
- Performing Arts
- Film/Video
- Music
- Conversations
About the Building
The art center has a large gallery space, which is about 3,000 square feet. It also has a flexible theater that can seat between 200 and 270 people. This theater is called a "black box" because it can be set up in many ways for different shows. There is also a lounge, cafe, and bar area for visitors.
How REDCAT Started
The Idea for REDCAT
When the Walt Disney Concert Hall was being built in the 1990s, Roy E. Disney had an idea. He was the son of Roy O. and Edna Disney. He wanted the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), located in Santa Clarita, to have a place in downtown Los Angeles.
The Walt Disney Company and Los Angeles County helped with money. Frank Gehry, the architect who designed the Concert Hall, was asked to design REDCAT too. His own children had gone to CalArts. Roy E. Disney and his wife, Patty, also gave their own money. They named the center after Roy E. Disney's parents, Edna and Roy O. Disney. Roy O. Disney helped build The Walt Disney Company with his younger brother, Walt. After Walt's death, Roy O. Disney made sure CalArts was built.
A Place for New Art
In the early 1990s, Steven D. Lavine was the president of CalArts. He wanted REDCAT to be a place where artists could try new things. He also wanted it to be a public space where artists and the community could connect. Lavine thought of the Cottesloe Theatre in London as a good example for its experimental art.
CalArts wanted to help the local community. They also wanted to be part of bigger conversations about new types of art and performances. The goal was to show Los Angeles residents new and exciting art more often. Before REDCAT, these kinds of events only happened sometimes, like during the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival.
Leadership and Growth
In 1999, Harvey Lichtenstein, who was in charge of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, helped plan REDCAT. After the events of September 11, 2001, it was hard to find a leader for REDCAT. But then, Mark Murphy was hired as the first executive director.
Murphy noticed that Los Angeles needed more art spaces that combined different art forms. Places like the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Walker Art Center did this well. In 2003, Eungie Joo was hired to lead the gallery space. At first, the theater and gallery worked separately. They had their own projects, artist programs, and public events. Later, Clara Kim and Ruth Estévez also served as gallery directors.
A New Chapter
In 2018, both Ruth Estévez and Mark Murphy left REDCAT. The role of Executive Director of REDCAT became a more important job at CalArts. This person now reports directly to the CalArts President. This new leader also helps manage all of CalArts' partnerships with other art places around the world. This helps CalArts share its art even more widely.
In 2019, João Ribas became the new leader. He was the former Director of the Serralves in Portugal. He became the first CalArts Vice President for Cultural Partnerships and Executive Director of REDCAT. This new leadership brought REDCAT back to its original idea. It is now a place where different art forms come together. Both performing and visual arts are now under one leader. Multiple curators work as a team to help the public experience new and experimental art.
