Visual Communications Receives a 2021 California Arts Council Grant

Today the California Arts Council announced 441 grant awards totaling $13,046,887 in project and operational support for nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state of California. Visual Communications is grateful to be a recipient of the 2020-21 Arts & Cultural Organizations General Operating Relief Award.

An additional grant program, providing support for individual artist fellowships, is slated for approval by the Council at its meeting on August 25, increasing the total award amount for the 2020-21 fiscal year to a projected $14,463,000 across approximately 600 grants.

Organizations were awarded grants across five different program areas prioritizing small organizations with a focus toward nurturing and healing our communities through the arts; keeping the doors of our arts and cultural institutions open; protecting jobs in the creative field; and preserving our cultural heritage, our stories, and our culture bearers. Successful applications aligned closely with the agency’s vision of a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.

“The California Arts Council is proud to support the work of each of these organizations within their communities, and to recognize the resilience and dedication of every applicant during this unprecedented time,” said California Arts Council Executive Director Anne Bown-Crawford. “We look forward to the opportunity to bring even more support to the field in 2022, with two grant cycles and much more funding available, thanks to the Legislature’s boosted investment and belief in arts and culture as a means for positive social change.”

The California Arts Council’s grant programs are administered through a multistep, public process. Following an open call for applications, submissions are adjudicated by peer review panels made up of experts from the arts and cultural fields and representative of California’s diverse geography; racial, ethnic, and gender identities; perspectives and knowledge. Based on panel recommendations and availability of funds, the Council voted on grant awards at a virtual public meeting on July 20. The final vote for the remaining grant program for FY20-21 will take place on August 25.

Click here for more information about the California Arts Council Grant Awards.