Amador County Arts Council Awarded California Arts Council Jump StARTS, Creative Youth Development, and Arts Education Exposure Grants

Amador County Arts Council Awarded California Arts Council Jump StARTS, Creative Youth Development, and Arts Education Exposure Grants

State funds support arts education for junior high students, children younger than 6, and justice-impacted youth throughout Amador County.

[JACKSON, CA] – The California Arts Council has announced grant awards of $143,000 to Amador County Arts Council Arts Education programs in its second and final round of funding for 2022.

With this grant support from the California Arts Council, Amador County Arts Council will launch three new arts education programs to serve the youth of our rural community. These programs include three different grants from the state. The Creative Youth Development grant funds arts, music, dance, theatre, and traditional arts education for children younger than 6. The Arts Education Exposure grant provides two years of funding for junior high students to visit the Crocker Art Museum and create murals on their campuses. The Jump StARTS grant provides traditional arts education to the justice-impacted youth of Amador County.

The Amador County Arts Council board is thrilled to have this opportunity to expand arts education for rural kids. According to President, Alyssa Vargas (graduate of Amador High class of 2012) “When I attended Jackson Elementary and Jackson Junior High, we did not have any art classes. As a young student wanting to pursue art, the lack of art classes was discouraging and a source of concern during my time in Amador County School District. It fills my heart with joy to know that these kids will not have to experience this feeling, and will instead get to benefit from a diverse arts program. I look forward to seeing what these budding student artists will create!”

Amador County Arts Council was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with grant awards for its Cycle B programming totaling more than $41 million across more than 900 grants supporting nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state.

All told, the projected sum of grants to be awarded for 2022’s regular program funding cycle is more than $72 million—the biggest annual investment in the California Arts Council’s 46-year history, largely supported by the $40 million one-time boost in support for the agency’s creative youth and arts education development programs.

“The resilience and creativity of California’s arts and cultural field in these last three years has been remarkable,” said California Arts Council Director Jonathan Moscone. “We are proud to be able to support the great work that California’s artists, culture bearers and cultural workers are doing within our communities as an indelible part of our state’s identity.”

Cycle B’s programs include five funding opportunities for arts education and creative youth development, and related arts workforce development. Additionally, the cycle offered funding opportunities for administering organizations to regrant funds for folk and traditional arts and individual artists fellowship programs. Operational support for statewide and regional arts service organizations and networks was also available during this round of grant funding.

To view a complete listing of all California Arts Council Cycle B grantees by county, visit this link. For a complete listing of Cycle B grantees by organization, go to this link.

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Established in 1982, Amador County Arts Council is a 501c3 non-profit organization devoted to advancing rural creative freedom throughout Amador County, especially for youth and young adults. Amador County Arts Council is the designated Local Arts Agency and partner to the state of California and the California Arts Council, a state agency. Providing arts education, development, and resources to 100% of local public school students, Amador County Arts Council acts as a catalyst to sustain a culture of lifelong arts learning including intercultural advocacy, free art classes, free concerts, free arts directory, and free grant-writing support for local artists of all ages and arts organizations. Find out more at amadorarts.org. The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts. Members of the California Arts Council include: Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez, Chair; Consuelo Montoya, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke, Vicki Estrada, Jodie Evans, Ellen Gavin, Alex Israel, Phil Mercado, and Roxanne Messina Captor. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.