OUR ORGANIZATION
OUR MISSION
To engage with a diverse range of 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.
August 2025
Culture OC forges a community media partnership with the OC Theatre Guild. Via this partnership, Culture OC publishes stories written and edited by contributers selected and paid for by the Guild. This collaboration supports Culture OC's effort to celebrate and amplify the vibrant arts and culture scene in Orange County.
Fall 2024
Culture OC hosts its first Culture Club Presents experience. Through Culture Club Presents, donors are invited to join Culture OC writers at cultural events throughout the county. The first event was a private tour of the Hilbert Museum, hosted by founder Mark Hilbert and visual arts writer and Senior Editor Richard Chang.
Sept. 8, 2023
First stories written under the Culture OC masthead are published on cultureoc.org.
April 2023
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. Former Register/Voice of OC dance writer Kaitlin Wright joins the leadership team as a associate managing editor.
Spring 2020
Contributing writers Timothy Mangan and Laura Bleiberg are invited by the Library of Congress to include their articles in its Coronavirus Web Archive Collection. These stories were written for the our Decade Ahead series which also coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving their insights a unique perspective on issues confronting arts companies in the next decade.
January 2020
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.
Sept. 10, 2019
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 Orange County Register, Los Angeles 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.
Summer 2018
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.
Early 2018
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).
OUR HISTORY
OUR HONORS
18th National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
presented by the Los Angeles Press Club
Business, Music/Theater/Performing Arts | Broadcast (Radio, Podcast, TV, Streaming)
Business, Music/Theater/Performing Arts | Online (Content Exclusive to the Internet)
FINALIST
Paul Hodgins (Culture OC) with Maria Hall-Brown, Al Magallon and Kevin King (PBS SoCal)
Diversity in the Music/Performing Arts Industry | Online (Content Exclusive to the Internet)
FINALIST
Lola Olvera
Hard News, Music & Arts | Online (Content Exclusive to the Internet)
FINALIST
Richard Chang & Paul Hodgins
Music Critic | Any Media Platform (Broadcast, Print, or Online)
FINALIST
Timothy Mangan
67th Southern California Journalism Awards
presented by the Los Angeles Press Club
Culture News, Profiles | Online
1st PLACE
Cynthia Rebolledo
"Artist Alicia Rojas Honors Las Poderosas of Latino Health Access"
JUDGES COMMENT: "The writing evokes the scary early days of the pandemic, highlighting an art and oral history project that honors unsung heroes of that time."
Entertainment News or Feature (Over 5 Minutes) | Television/Film
1st PLACE
Paul Hodgins (with Maria Hall Brown, Al Magallon and Kevin King of PBS SoCal)
"Under the Baton: Pacific Symphony's Carl St. Clair," a collaboration with PBS SoCal
JUDGES COMMENT: "In 'Under the Baton,' the PBS SoCal team tells a rich story using animated interviews and a combination of recent and archive footage, all set to the soundtrack of the Pacific Symphony's own music. The final product is a delightful and well-told story."
OC PRESS CLUB EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS
Best Arts/Culture Review
Best Arts/Culture Story
HONORABLE MENTION
Ashley Ryan
Best Food/Restaurant Story
1st PLACE
Anne Valdespino
3rd PLACE
Cynthia Rebolledo
Best Music/Entertainment Review
Best Music/Entertainment Story
HONORABLE MENTION
Paul Hodgins
Best Round-up or Best Of
1st PLACE
Anne Valdespino
3rd PLACE
Richard Chang, Kristina M. Garcia, Paul Hodgins, Timothy Mangan, Eric Marchese, Anne Marie Panoringan, Ashely Ryan, Kaitlin Wright
The Real O.C. Award
2024 California Journalism Awards
presented by the California News Publishers Association
Fine Arts Writing / Reporting | Division 7
Food Writing / Reporting | Division 7
Music Writing / Reporting | Division 7
3rd PLACE
Timothy Mangan
Five Reviews of the Pacific Symphony as They Prepare for a New Music Director
"Prieto and Pacific Take the Fifth (Mahler’s, That Is)"
"Andrew Litton Throws His Hat in Pacific Symphony Ring"
"Shiyeon Sung Leads Pacific Symphony in Impressive Performance of Tchaikovsky"
"Tianyi Lu Leads Pacific Symphony in a Singing Account of Sibelius"
"St.Clair Opens His 35th Pacific Symphony Season with Nostalgic Agenda"
Profile Story | Division 7