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California

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $64,030,040 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in California.

In the most recent information (2021) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department, California...

  • Added 7.7 percent or $261.1 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 742,432 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $125.1 billion

Almost 47 percent of California’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while almost 25 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country:

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 249 participating museums in California.

An average of 21,725 students from 785 high schools in California participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

The NEA Big Read initiative generated 1,387 community events in the state, involving more than 104,176 adults and students.


California Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for California, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. Below are highlights of just some of Arts Endowment grantees and artists working in California. 

To find a list of grants awarded by the agency to California, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

Woman with long braided hair and purple flower over her ear dancing on stage with a long orange scarf

Dancing Outside the Box

From the son jarocho rhythms of Mexico’s Veracruz region from which her family hails to percussion styles from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil to the very American rhythm of tap, Vanessa Sanchez’s work as a dancer, choreographer, and founding artistic director of the dance group La Mezcla is born from deep engagement with the music and dance traditions of the Latinx and Afro-Latinx diaspora.
Read Magazine Article
Mia Ronn's sheer excitement at being declared 2022 POL winner

Poetry as Play: A Conversation with 2022 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Mia Ronn 

Jun 09, 2022
2022 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Mia Ronn of California talks to us about her Poetry Out Loud experience.
Read Blog
While a male-appearing dancer executes a move in the background, in the foreground a female-appearing dancer executes a leap.

ARP Grant Spotlight: JazzAntiqua

Apr 13, 2022
The Los Angeles-based JazzAntiqua Music & Dance Ensemble is helping its community learn about and reclaim the importance of jazz and jazz dance to the Black community.
Read Blog
Portrait of Asian man wearing a white shirt and gray sports jacket in front of brick wall.

A New, Fresh Light on Asian American Stories  

Producing artistic director of East West Players Snehal Desai talks with the NEA about the significance of the company’s founding mission of advocating for racial justice through transformative theater.
Read Magazine Article
Headshot of a man

Louie Pérez

Nov 01, 2021
Louie Pérez of the band Los Lobos, 2021 National Heritage Fellows, talks about keeping musical and cultural traditions alive and evolving.
Listen to Audio
Indian American woman in purple outfit dancing.

Bringing Joy and Upliftment

Rina Mehta, a disciple of 2009 NEA National Heritage Fellow Pandit Chitresh Das, shares why she practices the art of Kathak and the importance of the Leela Dance Collective, which she co-founded.
Read Magazine Article
dancers from AXIS Dance company, two of whom are seated in wheelchairs

Inside AXIS Dance Company: A Conversation with the Company

Oct 30, 2020
Four dancers with AXIS Dance Company talk about what it's like to dance with a physically integrated dance company and how it's changed their perspective on disability.
Read Blog
A man sits smiling on a porch step while a man plays guitar into a microphone while sitting behind him

Spontaneous Magic: Celebrating Roots Music with the Arhoolie Foundation

Jun 19, 2020
When Chris Strachwitz founded Arhoolie Records in California in 1960, it was clear that he had a different approach than most record producers.
Read Blog
Two dancers suspended against a side of a building with video projections in the background

From a Great Height: Traversing a Public Canvas with BANDALOOP

Jul 20, 2018
A look at the California-based vertical dance company BANDALOOP.
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Musician with white beard in white suit and hat holding small guitar.

Continuing the Tradition

A profile of 2016 National Heritage Fellow Artemio Posadas of the Bay area in California.
Read Magazine Article
Man in hat holding saxophone.

Charles Lloyd

2015
2015 NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd’s fierce improvisational skills and interest in fusing jazz with non-Western musical styles established him as one of the key figures in the expansion and furthering of the art form.
Go to profile
Headshot of a woman.

Ofelia Esparza

2018
2018 National Heritage Fellow Ofelia Esparza is a Mexican-American altar maker, or Chicana altarista, whose work is informed by a deep spiritual belief in the traditional process.
Go to profile
Headshot of a man.

Ramón "Chunky" Sánchez

2013
A musician, songwriter, educator, and activist, 2013 National Heritage Fellow Ramón "Chunky" Sánchez has become a cultural icon and leader of the Chicano community.
Go to profile
California Arts Council Director Craig Watson

Arts + Prison: Transforming Lives Behind Bars through the Arts

Aug 13, 2014
The California Arts Council received quite the Valentine's Day surprise from one of its fellow state agencies last February. The head of rehabilitation programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation called with a proposal: help coordinate an 18-month, $2.5 million Arts-in-Corrections pilot program in California state prisons.
Read Blog
Headshot of a man.

Michael Fields

May 04, 2018
California State Summer School for the Arts helps new generations of artists to shine.
Listen to Audio
Headshot of a man.

Randall Kline

Jul 10, 2020
Randall Kline of SFJAZZ takes us behind the scenes of Fridays at Five.
Listen to Audio
Portrait of woman.

Diane Rodriguez

Writer, director, and performer Diane Rodriguez discusses the challenges and joys she has faced throughout her career as a Chicana theater artist. 
Read Magazine Article
portrait of poet David Tomas Martinez

Art Talk with 2017 NEA Literature Fellow David Tomas Martinez

Dec 15, 2016
2017 Literature Fellow David Tomas Martinez’s poems have appeared in journals such as Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, RHINO, and the Oxford American. Sarabande Books published his first poetry collection "Hustle" in 2014, and will publish his second, "Post Traumatic Hood Disorder," in 2018.
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US Map

United States of Arts: California

Sep 29, 2015
In collaboration with the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Arizona as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
View Video

State & Regional Contacts

California Arts Council 
1300 I Street, #930
Sacramento, CA 95814
916/322-6555
TT: 916/322-6569
info@caartscouncil.com

Western States Arts Federation (Regional Arts Organization)
1743 Wazee Street, suite 300
Denver, CO 80202
303/629-1166
staff@westaf.org 

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