IAA-USA proudly received a proclamation from the City of Los Angeles establishing April 15th to be an annual day of the celebration of the arts in Los Angeles. We applaud their support of IAA and artists around the world.

“Cultivate” 2023 World Art Day exhibition

A lively discussion featuring Bedri Baykam, Artist and Past President IAA, Qathryn Brehm, Artist and Executive Director, Downtown Art Walk and Jack Rutberg, owner and director of Jack Rutberg, Fine Arts, Los Angeles.

 An International Celebration of Art Created by International Association of Art (AIAP-IAA) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Find out how World Art Day 2023 was celebrated in other countries!

Bedri Baykam, Past President of the International Association of Art and recipient of the Annual Art Award, discusses his work and the role that the International Association of Art plays in the future of art in the world.

Jack Rutberg at the Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts Gallery, Los Angeles for World Art Day, 2023 after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Larry Namer, Co Founder of E! Entertainment TV Networks speaks at the World Art Day Celebration in Los Angeles at the Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts Gallery.

The city of Los Angeles has declared April 15, the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, World Art Day in Los Angeles.  The day is also marked on the UNESCO calendar. It is a world-wide celebration of art created by the International Association of Art (IAA) to celebrate the work of all artists and to recognize the profound importance of art to inspire and enrich the lives of all human beings. Engagement in the arts helps us feel more connected to others.  Whether experiencing them as an artist or observer, the arts can make us feel less isolated in the world. They help us forge new social connections and to perceive the world around us in novel ways, enriching our lives.  

As the US Headquarters of the International Association of Art, Los Angeles received a proclamation from the City of Los Angeles establishing April 15th to be an annual day of the celebration of the arts in Los Angeles as is done annually world wide.

The first World Art Day was observed in 2012. The date of April 15 was chosen to honor Leonardo da Vinci, recognized as a champion of freedom of expression, tolerance and brotherhood. Da Vinci is also celebrated for works that elegantly illustrate the influence of art on a wide range of human endeavors. 

The newly elected World Executive Committee, with IAA-USA President, Kathe Madrigal.

The IAA was born in Beirut in 1948 at the Third General Conference of UNESCO when the director was charged with discovering “what obstacles of a social, economic, or political order lay in the path of artists in the practice of their art.” The IAA became an independent organization in 1954 and declared a UNESCO partner. Its membership is spread over five continents divided into four regions (Latin America, Europe-North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Arab States). The Los Angeles chapter is IAA’s first in the United States. Artists such as Miro, Braque, Delaunay, Moore, Calder, among many others, have contributed to the growth of the group. At its core, the IAA is all about freedom of expression, artists’ rights and the role of the artists in society.