Nearly 1,100 arts and culture projects receive funding in support of agency’s mission to advance California through arts and creativity

Sacramento CA— Grants totaling $16,376,475 have been awarded to nonprofit organizations and units of government across California, the California Arts Council announced today. A total of 1,080 grants will be disbursed to fund work in alignment with the values of the California Arts Council, heralding the arts as a societal cornerstone that unites and builds community, and embracing diversity as a source of vibrancy for the state of California.
This year, the California Arts Council offered opportunities for funding in 14 unique grant program areas, fostering safe and healthy communities, arts learning, and equitable access to the arts. The total award amount increased by more than $1.3 million over last year’s investment.
“To show support for these organizations—the ones who inspire and make those crucial connections to creativity and culture within our communities-it’s a confirmation of our faith in and gratitude for that vision,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. “This is without a doubt the most fulfilling aspect of our work as Council Members each year, to recognize those doing real, organic work to make a difference for the people of California.”
“Our state is the most creative state in the country, by far. There’s no shortage to the hunger for arts and culture experiences. Governor Brown and our legislators have shown through a continued steady increase in funding that they understand and share that appetite,” said Anne Bown-Crawford, California Arts Council Director. “We’re honored to offer our support for these programs that promote what can only be described as essential to our way of life in California.”
The California Arts Council’s grant programs are administered through a multistep, public process. Following an open call for applications, all submissions are adjudicated by peer review panels made up of experts from the arts field. Based on panel recommendations and available funds, the Council voted on grant awards at public meetings in Merced on April 18 and Nevada City on June 7, 2018.
Interested members of the public, artists, arts organizations, and community leaders are encouraged to visit the California Arts Council’s website to learn about future grant opportunities as details become available. Applications are currently being accepted for the Arts and Accessibility program, in partnership with administered in partnership with the National Arts and Disability Center.
Notification of grant program guidelines, applications, and technical assistance opportunities will be also published in the California Arts Council’s weekly e-newsletter, ArtBeat. Subscribe at http://arts.ca.gov/news/artbeat.php.
Fiscal Year 2017-18 Grant Programs and Awards
Artists in Communities: Artists in Communities (formerly Artists Activating Communities) supports sustained artistic residencies in community settings, demonstrating that artists are integral to healthy communities and that the arts are a societal cornerstone that brings people together, builds community, and fosters social progress. It centralizes artists and their artistic processes as vehicles for community vitality. Projects are artist-driven, and engage community members as active participants.
Number of Grants Awarded: 71
Total Investment: $955,967
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Arts Education
Four Arts Education grant opportunities were offered for the 2017-18 fiscal year:
Artists in Schools: The Arts Education: Artists in Schools program supports projects that integrate community arts resources-local artists and nonprofit arts organizations-into comprehensive, standards-based arts-learning for PreK-12 students during the school day. Applicants’ projects must take place during regular school hours at the school site, and should address the unique circumstances of the school environment.
(Note: The Artists in Schools program is administered on an alternative grant schedule in accordance with the school calendar year. 2018 Artists in Schools grants were awarded on June 7, 2017.)
Number of Grants Awarded: 131
Total Investment: $1,817,939
2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Professional Development: The Arts Education: Professional Development program awards $2,500 to support nonprofit arts organizations and teaching artists to plan and deliver Professional Development in arts integration to educators and administrators. Professional Development projects should be designed to cultivate student learning in, through and/or about the arts. The Professional Development project can stand alone or can be in conjunction with an Artists in Schools project at the school.
(Note: The Professional Development program is administered on an alternative grant schedule in accordance with the school calendar year. 2018 Artists in Schools grants were awarded on June 7, 2017.)
Number of Grants Awarded: 22
Total Investment: $55,000
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Exposure: The Arts Education: Exposure program supports attendance at performances and exhibitions for students who may have limited access to these experiences.
Number of Grants Awarded: 113
Total Investment: $1,492,858
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Extension: The Arts Education: Extension program supports arts education programs for PreK-12 students that operate after school and during the summer, on school sites, in artistic venues, and in community settings. The intention of this program is to offer young people sequential, hands-on training in artistic disciplines, including dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.
Number of Grants Awarded: 169
Total Investment: $2,307,877
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Arts and Public Media: The Arts and Public Media program supports multiplatform nonprofit media projects that demonstrate a clear approach to building public awareness and support for the arts. The program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s vision to create a state where the arts are a central component of daily life and accessible to all, reflecting contributions from all of California’s diverse populations and fostering civic engagement.
Number of Grants Awarded: 16
Total Investment: $247,683
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Cultural Pathways: The Cultural Pathways program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s commitment to serving the needs of an increasingly demographically complex California, and the belief that a healthy arts ecosystem reflects contributions from all of California’s diverse populations. The program provides two years of operating support and a host of technical assistance and professional development activities to small, new and emerging organizations rooted in communities of color, recent immigrant and refugee communities, and tribal or indigenous groups.
Number of Grants Awarded: 56
Total Investment: $410,768
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
JUMP StArts: JUMP StArts supports high-quality arts education and artist(s)-in-residence programs for youth engaged in the juvenile justice system. Activities may take place in classroom, after-school, social services, or incarceration settings. The proposed project must be designed and developed in partnership between an arts organization and a juvenile justice/social services entity. The project should demonstrate significant planning and should reflect a collaborative relationship between the partnering organizations.
Number of Grants Awarded: 46
Total Investment: $1,443,862
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Local Impact: The Local Impact program supports community-driven arts projects for small and mid- sized arts organizations. The program fosters equity, access, and opportunity for historically marginalized communities by cultivating community participation in art making, learning, and exposure. Projects provide access to arts participation and/or representation of and by the community identified in the application. Historically marginalized communities include specific ethnic and tribal groups, LGBTQ+, individuals with disabilities, low-income and rural communities, and immigrants and refugees.
Number of Grants Awarded: 133
Total Investment: $1,906,764
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Organizational Development: The Organizational Development program (formerly the Consulting strand of the Professional Development and Consulting program) builds nonprofit arts organizations’ capacity for success through small grants to support consulting services.
Number of Grants Awarded: 102
Total Investment: $494,225
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Professional Development: The Professional Development program (formerly the Professional Development strand of the Professional Development and Consulting program) builds arts organizations’ capacity for success through small grants to support professional development activities.
Number of Grants Awarded: 29
Total Investment: $27,453
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Reentry through the Arts: Reentry Through the Arts is rooted in the California Arts Council’s belief that the arts are a powerful vehicle for positive change in people, communities and society. Grants support high-quality arts programs for people who have been convicted of a criminal offense and have served time in correctional institutions. Projects must have the arts as a central component of a holistic and integrated approach to reentry that also identifies other community-based support services, including, but not limited to, job skills training, job placement, mental health and wellness, drug treatment, and/or case management.
Number of Grants Awarded: 15
Total Investment: $513,703
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
State-Local Partnership: The State-Local Partnership program fosters cultural development on the local level through a partnership between the California Arts Council and local arts agencies throughout the state. State-Local Partners enable the creation, presentation, and preservation of the arts of all cultures to enrich the quality of life for all Californians.
(Note: The State-Local Partnership program is administered on an alternative grant schedule. 2018 grants were awarded on September 19, 2017.)
Number of Grants Awarded: 52
Total Investment: $3,092,924
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Statewide and Regional Networks: The Statewide and Regional Networks program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s commitment to supporting arts service organizations reflective of California’s diverse populations. The program provides general operating grants for arts service organizations’ networks with regional or statewide reach.
Number of Grants Awarded: 43
Total Investment: $773,415
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Veterans in the Arts: The Veterans in the Arts (formerly Veterans Initiative in the Arts) program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s desire to address the needs and improve the lives of California’s veterans through the arts. The program seeks to increase equity, access, and opportunities for veterans to participate in quality arts programming that is sensitive and responsive to their unique experiences. Grants support projects by nonprofit arts organizations, local arts agencies, and veteran’s assistance agencies to reach veterans, active military, and their families.
Number of Grants Awarded: 34
Total Investment: $456,037
2017-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF)
Creative California Communities and Research in the Arts, two of the California Arts Council’s grant program categories that run on two-year cycles, awarded funding during the 2016-17 fiscal year:
2016-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF) – Creative California Communities
2016-2018 Grant Recipients/Project Descriptions (PDF) – Research in the Arts
In addition to the programs listed above, the California Arts Council achieves its mission of California’s advancement through the arts through other grant initiatives. During the 2017-18 fiscal year, the Arts Council invested $70,000 in its California Cultural Districts program, a pilot program aimed at leveraging the state’s artistic and cultural assets; $150,000 in its Arts and Accessibility program, administered in partnership with the National Arts and Disability Center; and $160,000 to support California Poetry Out Loud, a statewide initiative through the National Endowment for the Arts that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. The California Arts Council also administers the state’s Arts in Corrections program through an interagency partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.