about

Leigh Ann Hahn has had her finger on the pulse of Los Angeles art and culture for over 3 decades.

She pioneered Grand Performances programming as Associate Director/Director of Programming curating and overseeing all aspects of planning, producing coordinating and facilitating arts and culture events for the Grand Performances based at California Plaza with as many 70 events each year. Her programming encompassed not only Global/World music, it also included, theater, poetry, performance art, family programs, lectures, dance and the ever bubbling alternative/underground scenes and sounds of the city, thanks to her deep engagement with Los Angeles. Her innovative participant/observer approach not only brought the sounds of the world to Los Angeles, but also showed Los Angeles to itself. Hahn’s cross cultural collaborations have influenced Los Angeles artists and musicians for a generation. She has shared her award-winning international reach with Los Angeles based artists, poets, musicians, dancers and theater artists, enriching their practices through residencies, workshops, salons and lecture series.

Leigh Ann has curated, programmed, envisioned, tour managed and produced thousands of concerts, festivals, showcases Her mentorship of countless young artists is acknowledged through the Department of Arts and Culture’s Performing Arts internship program for many years and most recently has included weekly Covid response zoom meetings for newly unemployed and under employed arts administrators from with invited guests and industry leaders.

Because of Hahn’s efforts Grand Performances was an early adaptor to digital platforms, bringing music and culture into homes before anyone had heard the word Covid through her expertise producing streaming content. In addition to her tenure at Grand Performances, from 2000 - 2008, Hahn managed and staffed 7+ stages for the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. She values and assists in constructing work that tells stories of our shared humanity, embraces and encourages parity, bravery, grace, compassion and risk-taking.

One of her most important strengths is in the creative conceptualization and production of programs that tell complete stories from unexpected perspectives with equal respect for audiences, artists, the producing institution, those participant’s histories and futures. As such, Leigh Ann’s curatorial voice has played a critical role in developing the creative arts scene in Southern California.