California for the Arts

ICYMI: Cheech Marin, legendary actor, arts collector, cultural icon, and California Arts Council 50th Anniversary honoree, shared his support for stronger public investment in arts and culture.

Arts and culture do more than enrich our lives. They foster belonging, preserve heritage, power local economies, and strengthen communities.

Yet California ranks just 35th in the nation in arts funding, leaving too many communities without equitable access to the cultural resources they deserve.

Arts and culture are essential civic infrastructure. Investing in creativity is investing in stronger, more vibrant communities across California.

We are calling on the Governor and the legislature to fund the CA Cultural Districts, a mandated program that will have $0 dollars if it goes unfunded by June 30.

What happens when communities lose access to arts and culture?

ICYMI: On CAP Public Radio’s Insight, Julie Baker joined host Vicky Gonzalez to discuss the role public investment plays in ensuring creativity isn’t limited by geography, wealth, or access to philanthropy.

Arts and culture strengthen local economies, preserve identity, support wellbeing, and create places where people gather, connect, and imagine what’s possible.

When public investment disappears, access disappears too. Rural communities, historically underinvested communities, and artists shouldn’t have to rely on philanthropy or personal wealth to participate in California’s creative future.

Arts and culture are a public good. They are essential civic infrastructure. As California’s budget decisions take shape, we continue to make the case that public investment in creativity means investing in communities.

Listen to the full episode: https://www.capradio.org/news/insight/2026/06/08/shasta-county-election-results-california-arts-council-funding-summer-reading-preview/

This week, our member stories take us to the Central Valley, with Melissa Fidis, the current reigning Mrs. Kern County.

Melissa’s art story started in the fourth grade, when an art teacher took interest in her, and her art abilities bloomed. “ They entered me into a competition at my local library and voila. I was addicted to art.”

Join Melissa as a member of California for the Arts and California Arts Advocates because your story has power, too. Together, we can shape CA’s creative future.

Join or renew today: https://bit.ly/m/caforthearts-caartsadvocates-member

As California’s budget decisions come into focus, arts champions across the state have been showing up, calling legislators, sending letters, organizing their communities, and using every platform available to make one thing clear: investment in arts and culture is an investment in California’s future.

In Sacramento, that call took shape in the community - with phone banks and op-eds and showing up and hearings - and now with video testimony. Artists, cultural workers, and creative entrepreneurs gathered to speak with one voice on behalf of the communities they serve and the creative infrastructure California depends on.

Thank you to Allison Gillbreath, Artistic Director of Valkyrie Theatre Group; Melissa Muganzo, entertainer, entrepreneur, and choreographer; Bridgett Rex, artist and cultural leader; Janine Mapurunga, social practice artist; and Diana Argueta, Operations Director at CLARA and local actress, for lending your voices to this moment. Special thanks to Richard Falcon and Teatro Nagual for opening your space and helping organize this act of collective advocacy.

Their message is simple: California’s creative future requires public commitment. We are also urging the Governor and Legislature to include critical arts investments in the final budget.

This is not new spending. The California Arts Council’s budget has remained flat at $24 million since 2019 while the state budget has nearly doubled. Without action, the Cultural Districts program will lose funding after June 30. The Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, established in 2023, has already demonstrated both demand and impact. California’s AI-driven growth should strengthen human creativity, not leave it behind.

Invest in the artists.
Invest in communities.

▶️ $5 million for Cultural Districts through the California Arts Council
▶️ $10 million for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund

📞 Call your legislator today: https://secure.everyaction.com/IsPhlmpbKkK1OLB_Am6qgg2 Remind them that art work is real work and an essential service to every community in California.

“California has an opportunity to lead by demonstrating that arts funding is not charity. It is public infrastructure,” shares Faith J. McKinnie, the founding director of Black Artist Foundry, an organization that supports Black artists across California through funding, professional development, advocacy, and public programming.

Last month, the California Arts Council presented the first-ever sector-specific strategic plan, “California’s Future Is Creative: Strategies for Cultural Resilience, Economic Growth, and Global Leadership,” bringing together state leaders, agency partners, creative economy experts, artists, advocates, and cultural leaders to present the plan’s six key recommendations and what the next steps are for implementation.

Watch the full recording: https://youtu.be/P8LTr1Gg_SM?si=-NN8r_33KPmjgFni

The recent Governor’s May Revise excluded critical arts funding, so we are continuing to call for a $50 million investment in the California Arts Council and $40 million for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund to sustain arts jobs. Take action today: https://www.caartsadvocates.org/take-action