As Nevada County’s umbrella organization for the arts, we serve as convenors, consultants, researchers, strategists, advocates, supporters, funders, promotors, policy wonks, and general arts and culture cheerleaders for our community.

We offer Arts Incubator, providing fiduciary oversight, financial management, and other administrative services to help build the capacity of cultural initiatives or emerging arts collaboratives who may not yet have their 501(c)(3) status. We offer grant making services and an artist relief fund; we offer pro-bono grant writing consulting; and lead creative sector emergency preparedness and disaster response. We engage in ongoing countywide cultural planning and evaluation, and regional and statewide peer learning and advocacy.

We manage the county’s arts directory and community arts calendar, and engage in ongoing promotion of the arts sector through multiple channels.

We administer two California Cultural Districts. Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District and Truckee Cultural District were redesignated by the State in 2023 for an additional five years, implying a tremendous responsibility to grow and sustain authentic grassroots arts and cultural opportunities, increase the visibility of local artists, nourish community participation in local arts and culture, promote socioeconomic and ethnic diversity, and work against by-products of placemaking such as gentrification, displacement, and racism.

We run multiple Arts Education programs; MUSE, a new widely distributed annual guide to arts and subcultures in Nevada County; an we are the Administering Organization for Upstate California Creative Corps, regranting 3.38m in state funds over 19 counties.