Arts Council Santa Cruz County announces Spring Grant awards of $40,000 to five arts organizations and 21 artists throughout Santa Cruz County. Supported projects span the full diversity of our county’s creative culture, from African dance and drum festivals in Santa Cruz to folklórico dance in Watsonville, from participatory workshops to support for purchasing new glass blowing equipment. This is the third round of funding announced by the Arts Council since July 2022, making a total of $301,928 in arts support this fiscal year. For a full list of grantees, visit artscouncilsc.org/current-grantees.

Funding decisions were based on Artistic Excellence, Project Design & Planning, and Equity & Accessibility for project grants, and Artistic Commitment, Impact on Artist / Organization, and Management & Planning for professional development grants. "It’s exciting to support our deeply creative community and contribute to the incredible projects and professional development activities that will be taking place this year," says Grants Program Manager Tamara Liu.

This year, the Arts Council’s grantmaking priorities focused on awarding funding to historically underfunded constituencies, including Watsonville-based artists and artists of color. Through intentional outreach and support, 60% of grants to individuals were awarded to artists of color and 44% of organizational grants were awarded to organizations led by and engaging people of color - an increase of 10% compared to the two prior years. Overall, grant awards to Watsonville-based artists and organizations grew to 31%, an increase of about 6% over the two prior years.

“While we always want to fund more projects than we can, we’re proud to express our organization’s commitment to equity through our grantmaking, and support such a diverse array of projects and artists across the county,” says Executive Director Jim Brown.

The Arts Council’s grants program is funded through grants received from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the County of Santa Cruz, and City of Santa Cruz. The Grants Committee, which made recommendations for approval by the board, is composed of majority BIPOC community volunteers with diverse arts backgrounds. Grants Committee volunteers contributed many hours reviewing more than 330 applications this year, and the Arts Council is grateful for their service.