Programs
The California Arts Council offers direct programming in a variety of areas through special federal, state, and local community partnerships.
Learn more about our programs by reading the information and visiting the websites linked below.
Arts in California Parks logo.
Arts in California Parks
Arts in California Parks offers two distinct programs— Arts in State Parks and Grants Program for Local Parks—supporting artists, culture bearers, California Native American tribes, and communities creating art installations and programming across California’s parks to foster community connection and well-being.
In 2024, more than $2.8 million was invested to support 31 projects in local parks across California. To learn more about the local and state Arts in California Parks projects, click here.
Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship
The Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship pairs a cohort of emerging arts administrators with arts and culture organizations dedicated to equity and community engagement for a 12- month paid fellowship in various regions across California.
Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship logo
AIC, 2019. Photo by Peter Merts.
Arts in Corrections
Arts in Corrections is a partnership between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Arts Council 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.
California Cultural Districts
The California Cultural Districts program promotes 14 state-designated districts, highlighting some of the thriving cultural diversity and unique artistic identities within local communities across the state. From larger, urban areas to uncharted rural locations, each district helps grow and sustain authentic arts and culture opportunities, increase the visibility of local artists, and promote socio-economic and ethnic diversity through culture and creative expression.
California Creative Corps
The 2021 State Budget included $60 million in one-time funding in the General Fund for the California Arts Council to implement the California Creative Corps pilot program, a media, outreach, and engagement campaign designed to increase: (1) public health awareness messages to stop the spread of COVID-19; (2) public awareness related to water and energy conservation, emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery; (3) civic engagement, including election participation; and (4) social justice and community engagement. In the fall of 2021, the CAC worked with a panel of community stakeholders statewide to develop the program guidelines for competitive grants, providing economic support to artists, ambassadors, and cultural workers, serving all 58 counties.
The applications for Administering Organizations (AOs) to regrant program funds opened in the spring of 2022. The pilot program ended on September 30, 2024. For more information about the California Creative Corps and program grantees, click here.
Poetry Out Loud (POL)
Poetry Out Loud is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state arts agencies that celebrates the study of great poetry and dynamic recitation. With the support of California Arts Council State-Local Partners, California students compete at the county level before sending their top participants to Sacramento to determine the state champion who will represent California in the national competition in Washington, D.C. each spring.
California Poetry Out Loud, 2019. Photo by Israel M. Costales.
Gathering of California Poets Laureates, 2018. Photo by Farah Sosa.
Poet Laureate
The California Poet Laureate is a Governor’s appointee whose mission is to advocate for the art of poetry in classrooms and boardrooms across the state, to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists, and to educate all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced our great state through creative literary expression over the course of a two-year term.
Youth Poet Laureate
In 2019, California passed legislation to develop the state’s first Youth Poet Laureate program. Information coming soon.
Poetry Out Loud, 2019. Photo by Israel M. Costales.
Individual Artists Fellowship logo
Individual Artists Fellowship
Through a network of regionally-based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program recognizes and celebrates the excellence of California artists practicing any art form.
