our organizatioN
Our Mission
To engage with Orange County’s artistic and cultural communities at every level by publishing news and critical analysis to encourage interest, participation, fellowship and dialogue.
OUR Vision
To provide the best possible arts and cultural journalism to Orange County, raise awareness of the area’s cultural richness and diversity, and strengthen the future of our field.
OUR HONORS
16th NATIONAL ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALISM AWARDS​
Theater Feature
3rd PLACE
Eric Marchese, “Stage Door Closes Its Doors, For Now”
written for Voice of OC
​
Diversity in the Film Industry
FINALIST
Paul Hodgins, “Triumph Over Adversity Festival Brings Dynamic New Talent to O.C.”
written for Voice of OC
OC PRESS CLUB EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS
​
Best Feature Story
3rd PLACE
Anne Marie Panoringan, “Panoringan: Finding New Foods by Living the Buy Nothing Lifestyle”
written for Voice of OC
Best Round-Up or Best Of
1st PLACE
Richard Chang and Jessica Choi, “A Vibrant Korean Community is Thriving in North O.C.”
written for Voice of OC
Best Arts/Culture Story
1st PLACE
Paul Hodgins, “Hodgins: O.C. Arts Groups Emerge From Pandemic With New Ideas and Strengthened Resolve”
written for Voice of OC
2nd PLACE
Richard Chang and Kim Pham, “‘Yellow Submarine Rising’ Gives Asian American Artists a Platform to Speak and Shine”
written for Voice of OC
Best Arts/Culture Review
1st PLACE
Timothy Mangan, “London Symphony Orchestra Performs Blockbuster Program at Segerstrom with Mixed Results”
written for Voice of OC
2nd PLACE
Paul Hodgins, “A Conductor on the Rise Reveals Her Gifts”
written for Voice of OC
3rd PLACE
Timothy Mangan, “Pianists Team for an Evening of Music for Two Pianos at Soka”
written for Voice of OC
HONORABLE MENTION
Richard Chang, “Review: OC Museum of Art’s Opening Exhibitions Delight, Confound, Engage”
written for Voice of OC
​
Best Music/Entertainment Story
3rd PLACE
Richard Chang, “Danny Elfman Percussion Concerto Makes Its North American Premiere in Orange County”
written for Voice of OC
Best Health/Wellness Story
2nd PLACE
Anne Marie Panoringan, “Panoringan: Food As Medicine – Cooking With MaxLove Project’s Fierce Foods Academy”
written for Voice of OC
Best Religion Story
1st PLACE
Hosam Elattar, “OC Muslims Hope For a More ‘Normal’ Ramadan as They Gear Up for the Third Celebration Since COVID”
written for Voice of OC
OUR HISTORY
Sept. 8, 2023
April 2023
Spring 2020
January 2020
Sept. 10, 2018
Summer 2018
Early 2018
First stories written under the Culture OC masthead are published on cultureoc.org.
The Arts & Culture team announces the transition to publishing stories on their own independent nonprofit news platform, Culture OC, under the fiscal sponsorship of OneOC.
Contributing writers Timothy Mangan and Laura Bleiberg are invited by the Library of Congress to include their articles in its archive for their stories written for the our Decade Ahead series. These stories coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving their insights a unique perspective on issues confronting arts companies in the next decade.
Former Register visual arts writer Richard Chang joins the leadership team as a senior editor. Chang was a contributing writer for Arts & Culture at Voice of OC when he was tapped to take on this editing role.
Anne Marie Panoringan joins the team as a columnist, writing bi-weekly about the burgeoning food scene in Orange County.
The first Arts & Culture story at Voice of OC is posted. It wins a 2019 National Arts Journalism Award.
Hodgins and Janssen begin assembling a team of top working arts journalists in Orange County. Many of them formerly worked for the Register, LA Times and OC Weekly. Their expertise also helps us train the next generation of arts writers as they work with interns, some of whom have joined their ranks as contributing writers.
With arts coverage diminishing in Orange County, Paul Hodgins and Heide Janssen, both former arts journalists at The Orange County Register, join forces to develop a news platform to showcase arts journalism in Orange County. In the process of seeking out advice from a variety of sources on the best way forward, they’re invited by the publisher of Voice of OC to join their nonprofit newsroom and post stories under their masthead.
Arts journalism has been on the decline, both locally and around the country. As of early 2018, the two major newspapers that cover Orange County (Los Angeles Times, The Orange County Register) have no full-time arts/culture staff. A third major paper that covered the arts closes in 2019 (OC Weekly).