ARTS COUNCIL OF KERN

Grants
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Recent Grants Search
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Grantee Map
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Programs Evaluation Plan
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Collective
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Learning Center
Why the arts?
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CAC Publications & Reports
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DREAM Magazine
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Programs
Arts in California Parks
Arts in California Parks helps to nourish, educate, and inspire individuals and communities.

Arts in Corrections
A partnership with the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, designed to have a positive impact on the social and emotional well-being of people experiencing incarceration. www.artsincorrections.org

California Creative Corps
A media, outreach, and engagement pilot program designed to support communities statewide following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Creative Economy of California
Building a resilient future for California’s creative economy.

California Cultural Districts
Highlighting some of the thriving cultural diversity and unique artistic identities within local communities across the state. www.caculturaldistricts.org

Poetry Out Loud
Igniting student potential through the power of poetry. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, administered statewide by the California Arts Council. www.capoetryoutloud.org

California Poet Laureate
The Governor’s advocate for the art of poetry. Visit www.capoetlaureate.org.

California Teen Poet Laureate
COMING SOON: State legislation supports the development of the state’s first Youth Poet Laureate program.

Individual Artists Fellowship
Through a network of regionally based Administering Organizations, the Individual Artists Fellowship program will continue to recognize, uplift, and celebrate the excellence of California artists practicing any art form.
About
About Us
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Racial Equity Statement
We believe that racial injustice is the most pervasive and entrenched form of injustice permeating the institutions and structures that everyone must access. Read our Racial Equity Statement.

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Support the Arts
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Keep Arts in Schools Fund
Support creativity in California’s classrooms by donating to the Keep Arts in Schools Voluntary Contribution Fund on your state tax return.

Arts License Plate
Proceeds from the California Arts Plate support arts programming across California.

Grantee Database

Grant Year

2023-24

Grant Program

State-Local Partnership

Award Amount

$66,600.00

Project Description

With support from the California Arts Council, ARTS COUNCIL OF KERN, with local artists, will use the transformative power of the arts to address the needs of community, and enhance the wellbeing of at-risk groups through:

Celebrate Kern Arts – a five-district visual arts exhibition and community arts event.

ARTWalk – a free, monthly event at low fee to artists and free to nonprofit arts organizations that brings together a diverse array of arts and attendees.

Educational workshops held in our facility and in isolated areas around Kern County.

Community Arts Grants – funding for organizations and artists, especially geared toward underserved populations.

Poetry OUTLOUD – We have three enthusiastic teachers signed up already for the fall.

Digital archiving of the ACK’s history for the last 46 years in preparation of the upcoming 50th anniversary.

Organization Summary

Community Grants and Partnerships: Offer funding and technical assistance to nonprofit arts groups, schools, and collaborations to boost arts access, advocacy, and education.

Arts in Corrections (AIC): Provides art classes (visual, literary, media, performing) for incarcerated individuals to foster self-awareness. A partnership between the CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Arts Council.

COMMON GROUND: Grant-supported “first people’s” arts workshops, celebrations, and exhibitions. Builds community engagement primarily for underserved populations by underrepresented artists, sharing indigenous art forms through storytelling, visual, and performing arts.

Arts Education: This countywide program expanded significantly in 2025 and is a 2026 focus. Offers arts integration classes for teachers (classroom and after-school) at the ACK Learning Center. Artists’ Catalog available for schools to choose classes.

ACK Gallery: Reopened in 2024-25, hosting four shows with five planned for 2025-26. Features Celebrate Kern Arts with cash prizes for artists in each of the five supervisorial districts.

ART WALK – First Friday: Monthly, dynamic, public event in downtown Bakersfield for original visual and performing artists to showcase their work. A feature of First Friday and open five days per week, Makers Markets showcases local arts and crafts for sale, rotating artists every quarter.

Art4Rehabilitation (A4R): Arts programming for Kern’s juvenile justice system. Reduces violence, distress, and recidivism while promoting creative economy jobs and education. Offers internships with ACK and other arts organizations.

Community Mural and Public Art Programs: Collaborates with entities like Caltrans and City Parks to enhance graffiti-prone areas. Includes community surveys and commissions vetted artists for large public art projects (32 muralists on the roster).

Literary Arts: Features the Poet Laureate, Stories on the Sidewalk (historical plays in downtown Bakersfield), and First Friday open mic sessions. Increased spring recruitment for POETRY OUTLOUD is improving high school teacher interest to work with motivated students..

Grantee Database