18th Street Arts Center | 449 followers on LinkedIn. Provoking public dialogue through contemporary art-making. | 18th Street Arts Center is the largest artist residency program in Southern California. Our mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art-making. 18th Street encourages contemporary artists from around the globe to create new work within a supportive environment. We provide artists with space and time to take risks in ways that further the development of their practices.