The San Luis Obispo County Arts Council is pleased to announce that 23 community-based organizations have been selected through a competitive, regional call to receive $140,000 grants as part of the Central Coast Creative Corps Program, a pilot grant program funded by the California Arts Council.
These grant awards will fund 23 Community Partner grantees to work with central coast-based Artists and Culture Bearers for one year.
Grantees were selected by a panel of central coast artists and community leaders with experience working in their geographic regions with the selection being balanced to ensure: geographic distribution across the six partnering counties, including equitable fund disbursement based on county population and community need based on the CA Healthy Places Index (HPI); a range of organizational missions and objectives; and a range of approaches to collaboration.
Central Coast Creative Corps Community Partner grantees include Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley; the Coastal Watershed Council; Housing Matters; Esperanza Community Farms; Safe Ag Safe. Schools; The Village Project, Inc.; El Sistema USA/Salinas, Inc; Costanoan Indian Research Inc.; the San Benito County Clerk-Recorder-Elections; Lumina Alliance; RACE Matters SLO County; Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP); Nyeland Promise; LULAC Colonia Council; Lucha Inc.; the County of Ventura; Santa Paula Latino Town Hall; the Barbareño Chumash Tribal Council; Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, Inc. (CHCCC); Family Service Agency; Freedom 4 Youth; Awakening Giantz; and Blue Sky Sustainable Living Center. All grantees are based in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties with an intentional focus on serving populations that demonstrate the highest levels of need, as indicated by the California Healthy Places Index.
The goal of the Central Coast Creative Corps is to uplift the creative workforce and improve community health outcomes. It is investing in Artists across disciplines to collaborate with selected Community Partners for twelve months on producing sustained outreach and engagement initiatives addressing one of the following four priority areas as identified by the California Arts Council: (1) public health awareness messages to stop the spread of COVID-19; (2) public awareness related to water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery; (3) civic engagement, including election participation; and (4) social justice and community engagement. Grant funds will be used by the Community Partners to engage an Artist or Artist Collective, for one year from September 2023 to August 2024.
Of the funding award, $100,000 will go directly to the Artist for their work on the campaign; with $20,000 allocated for artist-community relations, supplies and materials, and other costs incurred for production and/or implementation; and $20,000 for the organization for program administration.
“We are all inspired and humbled by the amazing work that the 150 organizations that applied to the Central Coast Creative Corps are doing across the Central Coast Region. The 23 organizations selected represent a diverse group of organizations- from their geographic locations, organization/budget size, and missions- this group represents a broad spectrum of the incredible work done by nonprofit and government agencies across the six-county region. We look forward to working with them over the next year and seeing what is possible when artists work with these organizations and the impact it has on our. communities,” says Hannah Rubalcava, Grants & Contracts Manager, Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, lead administering organization for the Central Coast Creative Corps.
To ensure the best possible experience for everyone, grantees will receive support throughout the duration of the program. The first phase of the grant period will be dedicated to building a foundation for a successful working relationship between the Community Partner and the Artist. Community Partner. grantees will have access to the Central Coast Artist Directory, where regional Artists have registered expressing interest in participating in the Central Coast Creative Corps. This searchable, public-facing, online Directory includes Artists’ resumes, media or medium, years of artistic practice, geographic location, area of geographic interest, work samples, and community engagement experience.
Grantees may select an Artist or Artist Collective from the Directory, or work with an Artist they may already be affiliated with. The Central Coast Artist Directory can be visited at www.centralcoastartists.org.
The Central Coast Creative Corps is shared and administered by county-designated arts agencies from all six counties. They work cooperatively to support program administration and serve as primary partners, service providers, and communication conduits in their respective geographies. This program is part of the California Creative Corps, developed by the California Arts Council in partnership with the State legislature. California Creative Corps is an economic and workforce recovery pilot program to support pandemic recovery and the environmental, civic, and social engagement of California’s most disproportionately impacted communities.
“We are thrilled to support R.A.C.E. Matters and Lumina Alliance as our county’s partnering organizations with the Central Coast Creative Corps. Artists are changemakers in their communities and the resulting collaborations will surely demonstrate that,” said Jordan Chesnut, SLO County Arts Council Programs Director.
More information about the Central Coast Creative Corps can be found at www.centralcoastcreativecorps.org/. Spanish-language assistance is available.