Fostering creative collaboration between community-based organizations and artists

The Central Coast Creative Corps (CCCC) is an innovative grant program funded by the California Arts Council, awarding $140,000 to each of 23 year-long projects. Each grant allocates $100,000 directly to an artist to work in partnership with community-based organizations, including nonprofits, government agencies, and tribal governments. 

Funded by the California Arts Council, the year-long program connected local artists with community-based organizations across Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. 

The program’s goal is to invest in artists across disciplines who collaboratively address civic engagement, public health, social justice, and climate resilience across the Central Coast. Through these partnerships, artists and community organizations create impactful projects that respond to pressing regional needs. This program prioritized communities that demonstrated the highest levels of need as indicated by the California Healthy Places Index (HPI). Download and view the HPI maps of the most eligible areas in our six-county region.

Key resources from the project include an evergreen artist directory - a public resource to discover local artists, their community initiatives, and expertise. The CCCC also delivered professional development classes for artists across the Central Coast, fostering skills for sustained community impact.

Announcing 23 Community Partner Awardees

Congratulations to these twenty-three selected Community Partner organizations. Each will be awarded a $140,000 grant, to partner with an artist or artist team on a 12-month creative engagement to further community impact. Artists will begin September 1, 2023. Read the press release.

Program Administration

Central Coast Creative Corps is managed by the Central Coast Arts Coalition, a collective of six local arts agencies. The Program is funded by the California Arts Council, with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture serving as the Lead Administering Organization. The full collective includes:

Contact Us

Have questions? Need more information? Please feel free to reach out to us.

Projects are regional, so please indicate your county in the Subject Line of the accompanying form so we can direct your inquiry to the right person.

* Indicates a required field