SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Arts Council (CAC) is accepting proposals from qualified nonprofit arts organizations interested in providing arts services promoting healing and well-being as part of California’s Arts in Corrections (AIC) program. Organizations of all sizes are encouraged to submit programming proposals for up to $100,000 per proposed institution by Monday, November 24, 2025.  
 
The Request for Proposals (RFP) announced today seeks to contract with qualified Coordinating Organizations to provide AIC programming that broadens the art and cultural disciplines of institution workshops. A list of art discipline priorities is available within the RFP guidelines to assist organizations in preparing their proposals. 

About the RFP Process 

Read the Request for Proposals and download available attachments on Cal eProcure where they are posted and available. 

Webinar and Q&A Resources 

The CAC will conduct a webinar on this RFP on Friday, November 14 at 10:00 am PDT. Interested parties must register online to participate in the webinar. For those unable to attend, the webinar will be recorded and published online. 

Questions regarding this RFP may be submitted through a public inquiry process to CAC at  Procurement@arts.ca.gov before 5 p.m. PDT on Friday, November 14, 2025. All questions and responses from the webinar and the RFP process will be made available to the public no later than Monday, November 17, 2025, at 5:00 PM PST. 

The final deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, November 24, 2025, at 3:00 pm PST. 

About Arts in Corrections 

Arts in Corrections is a partnership between the CAC and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) designed to have a positive impact on the social and emotional well-being of people experiencing incarceration, promoting healing and interpersonal transformation both inside and outside of the boundaries of their institutions. 
 

The program upholds the following values: 

• People experiencing incarceration deserve dignity and respect. 

• Policies should dismantle the root causes of incarceration. 

• Community-based interventions reduce harm and make communities safer by replacing state-sanctioned systems of retribution and punishment. 

• Individual and collective accountability for harm, and the healing of trauma, can create a more safe and just society for all. 

California’s Arts in Corrections program is made possible by funding from the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at CDCR. Services provided span the full spectrum of art disciplines, with organizations offering instruction in visual; literary; media; performing; and cultural, folk, and traditional arts. 

Since the program’s re-launch in the 2013-14 fiscal year, CDCR’s investment has increased from $2.5 million in the first two years to an $8 million annual commitment. As of June 2024, arts programming is provided at 31 state adult correctional facilities. 

For more information about the program, including a list of all current Coordinating Organizations, visit the California Arts in Corrections website. 

About the California Arts Council  

The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts. 

Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Leah Goodwin, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Dorka Keehn; Phil Mercado; Nicola Miner and Richard Stein. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov. 

Media Inquiries Only: 
Kimberly Brown 
Public Affairs Specialist 
kimberly.brown@arts.ca.gov 

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The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, visit https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. To read this announcement in Spanish, please use the website’s Google Translate tool by clicking the “Translate” link in the upper righthand corner of this page. 

El Concilio de las Artes de California se compromete a aumentar la accesibilidad de sus contenidos en línea. Para obtener ayuda con el idioma y la accesibilidad, visite https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. Para leer este anuncio en español, utilice la herramienta Google Translate del sitio web haciendo clic en el enlace “Traducir” situado en la esquina superior derecha de esta página.