Forward together
California Arts Council puts equity and community at center of new strategic framework process
Community is at the center of all we do at the California Arts Council. And growing our community, giving voice to our community, learning from our community, and fostering belonging within our community are at the center of our newest planning project.
In 2014, the California Arts Council adopted a strategic plan built upon four pillars to provide goals, objectives, and implementation steps. This strategic plan has guided our work over the past five years, focused on growing and stabilizing our work and ensuring that the arts were recognized, celebrated, and supported in communities across the state.
Since 2014, the CAC has experienced rejuvenation and growth, thanks to the support of our community of organizations, artists, youth, activists, and elected officials. We’ve increased our grant offerings from five programs to 18; our ranking of per capita arts funding from 50th of all 50 states to now 26th; and if Governor Newsom’s proposed arts funding increase is approved, this year the state’s ongoing investment in the arts will grow from just $1 million annually in 2013 to more than $26 million this year.
At the same time, California has endured some of the biggest natural disasters in its recorded history. New and significant community traumas have positioned the ever-pervasive problem of racial inequity front and center, garnering national attention for our state. We face a housing crisis unmatched by anywhere else in the country.
The impact of recent events has heightened the collective consciousness and sense of urgency and duty to address California’s most critical issues — things like diversity, access, and inclusion; emergency preparedness and response; and healing of our communities.
The impact of these recent events has heightened the collective consciousness and sense of urgency and duty to address California’s most critical issues — things like diversity, access, and inclusion; emergency preparedness and response; and healing of our communities.
We are a different California than we were in 2014, and a different California Arts Council.
To best uplift our communities through culture, creativity, and the arts, it is important to have an updated and relevant strategic vision to guide our work across the state of California. That said, we’re excited to announce the development process of our 2020 strategic framework.
This strategic framework will be the CAC’s roadmap for the next five to seven years as a guiding principle to align our mission of advancing California through the arts and creativity with our aspiration of making the arts an accessible, equitable reality for the diverse state of California. It will be a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action, priorities, and policies for the CAC. (The CAC includes both appointed Council Members and the state agency staff.)
We are a different California than we were in 2014, and a different California Arts Council.
This strategic framework process is an extensive effort — one that is sought to meaningfully solicit voices from all communities across the state and that will result in a framework that is bold and innovative with a forward-thinking approach.
We believe it is imperative to develop this strategic framework through an equity lens to represent all residents of California. This process will allow us to address societal and cultural inequities through engaged residents of California and through national and global inspiration fitting for a state with the world’s fifth largest economy.
In order to achieve this, the planning process has been broken down into five distinct phases, led by Nolfo Consulting, Inc. in partnership with 3fold Communications. Principal consultant Dr. Tamu Nolfo, PhD. brings to this project both her expertise and lived experience in communities facing inequities to bear in her pursuit of social justice through institutional and systems change. For more than two decades, she has been engaged in power-building efforts to synergize resources, facilitate equity-oriented decision making, and turn advocacy into outcomes.
We kicked off in February with a brainstorming session among staff, followed by a thoughtful work session for our Council members at March’s business meeting in Sacramento.
It’s a busy nine months ahead and, true to our intention to put community at the center of all that we do, we encourage each of you to get involved.
There are many busy months ahead and, true to our intention to put community at the center of all that we do, we encourage each of you to get involved. There are multiple opportunities for members of the public to lend their thoughts, experience, and creativity to this project:
Telephone think-tanks
To lift up the voices of individuals and communities who have been historically marginalized and underserved, two telephone think tanks will be offered, one with an urban focus and one with a rural focus.
Register for the Urban Areas Think Tank
Register for the Rural Areas Think Tank
Stakeholder surveys
To further gain insights from stakeholders, the CAC will be distributing an online survey. This survey will also be available via mail.
Take the survey now
Sign up to receive the survey by mail
Haga esta encuesta ahora
Vision videos
Your voice matters: Show us your personal vision for arts, culture, and creativity in California in a video submission using your own words to answer guiding questions.
Video Submission Guidelines
Instrucciones para enviar su video
It is our intent that as many new voices as possible are heard as a part of this process. Think about who you may know — particularly those we may not — and invite them to help us develop our new strategic framework. There’s a seat at the table for anyone with a rooted interest in the future of arts, culture, and community in our state.
The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. Learn more at arts.ca.gov.
