Programs
Find Your Creative Opportunity
When we all have the resources we need to create something amazing, Santa Cruz County becomes a place where creative expression thrives. Explore all of our programs and discover the right opportunity for you to leave your artistic legacy in our community.
Fuel Your Work with Financial Resources
Get the support you need to make your artistic dream possible. Every year, we distribute over $200,000 directly back into our community’s artists, arts organizations, and creative projects.
Get started on funding your next project. Learn more about our grant opportunities.
Arts Education
For schools and educators: find the resources you need to make Santa Cruz County’s classrooms a more creative, igniting educational space. Every year, we work to bridge the arts education gap for 20,000 students from North to South County.
Share your skills to ignite an artistic experience for local students
Share Your Voice Through Creative Platforms
Visual Arts Network
The Visual Arts Network is a curated directory of over 300 artists living and working in Santa Cruz County. Here you’ll find creators of all kinds — from painters and sculptors to woodworkers and glass blowers. Each artist has their own page where you can learn about their process & their creations and connect with them directly. Search by name, location or medium, explore all the artists, or meet featured artists .
Open Studios
Connect with new supporters and share your latest work with old friends. Be one of the 300 artists to throw open your doors and welcome in the community during Open Studios. Every October, we turn Santa Cruz County into a giant art tour that directly supports local artists through more than $700,000 in art sales.
Meet your creative neighbors
Tannery Arts Center
Tap into a creative live/work ecosystem at the Tannery, where hundreds of artists thrive and create on a daily basis. You can visit artists in their inspiring studio space. Support local creatives at our Spring or Winter Art Markets. Move your body in a new way in some of the best dance classes in the county. Explore curated art exhibits by local youth and drop in for a performance at the Colligan Theatre. Visit working artist studios, take a dance class, attend a performance, explore kid’s art and join in the Spring and Winter Art Markets.
Explore our community’s artistic hub
See how we celebrate the San Lorenzo River through the arts
