The California Arts Council (CAC) awarded more than $72 million in grant funding during 2022—the biggest annual investment in the state’s arts and cultural fields in its 46-year history. The increase was supported by a $40 million one-time boost in the agency’s creative youth and arts education development programs.
During its final round of 2022 funding, announced in December, four San Luis Obispo County organizations received grants for youth education programs:
- Foundation for the Performing Arts Center received $57,000 to bring more than 12,000 Central Coast students to the PAC SLO to attend free matinee performances during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
- San Luis Obispo Museum of Art received $54,000 to provide guided exhibition tours, art activities, and transportation subsidies for K-12 students.
- Paso Robles Youth Arts Center received $38,000 to provide free visual and performing arts education to 100 at-risk students.
- Peoples Self-Help Housing Corporation received $36,000 to help its Camino Scholars Education Program incorporate art therapy and dance instruction at its learning centers.
“We are proud to be able to support the great work that California’s artists, culture bearers and cultural workers are doing within our communities as an indelible part of our state’s identity,” said Jonathan Moscone, CAC’s director.
Interested members of the public, artists, arts organizations, and community leaders are encouraged to visit the CAC website to learn about future grant opportunities. Notification of grant program guidelines, applications, and technical assistance opportunities also are published in a weekly e-newsletter, ArtBeat.
A state agency with the mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all, the CAC supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The CAC envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.