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  1. Home
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  3. State Profiles

California

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $81,970,268 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in California.

In the most recent information (2023) 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 7.5 percent or $288.9 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 821,183 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $136.2 billion

Nearly 37 percent of California’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while almost 19 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2022 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. Over the last five years:

The Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 311 participating museums in California.

More than 20,796 students from 960 high schools in California participated in Poetry Out Loud.

The NEA Big Read program generated community events focused on reading outstanding American literature and involving more than 175,391 adults and
students in California.

The Shakespeare in American Communities program in California enabled schools to offer 17,076 children the opportunity to see live professional performances of Shakespeare, or to engage in educational programs


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. 

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

State Highlights

A man poses before a painting of two young men.
Fabian Debora
Sep 17, 2024
Meet 2024 National Heritage Fellow and acclaimed Chicano muralist Fabian Debora.
Listen to Audio
From left to right: three women and one man stand in front of a step-and-repeat that has “SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL” and “JFI” written in various places.
Grant Spotlight: Jewish Film Institute 
Jul 12, 2024
Marcia Jarmel, director of filmmaker services at the Jewish Film Institute, spoke with us about the history of the annual film festival, the evolution of the Filmmaker in Residence Program, and the importance of film in advancing Jewish storytelling.
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.
Read Blog

State & Regional Contacts

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

Creative West (Regional Arts Organization)
1743 Wazee Street, suite 300
Denver, CO 80202
303/629-1166
wearecreativewest.org 

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