Initiatives
Partnerships in Creative Placemaking
Our initiatives are some of the most visible ways in which we support artist communities.
Tannery Arts Center
The Tannery Arts Center provides a sustainable, accessible, and vibrant home for the arts in Santa Cruz County. It includes 100 live/work lofts and 28 artist studios and a variety of arts venues and performance spaces such as:
Headquartered at the Tannery Arts Center, Arts Council Santa Cruz County partners with the City of Santa Cruz Economic Development and ArtSpace to provide programming, public art, and marketing support for the campus. We invite the public to experience this interdisciplinary and multicultural campus through the many classes, exhibitions, First Fridays, and events happening there.
Watsonville Center for the Arts
The Watsonville Center for the Arts is a dance and music collective space in downtown Watsonville. A project of Arts Council Santa Cruz County, we’re working with partners to enliven this space and create a local hub for arts and culture.
Watsonville Cultural District
We partner with Watsonville’s artists, arts organizations, elected officials, and residents to activate the area’s arts and culture community. Together, we’re growing a movement to uplift artists, connect artists to art lovers, expose youth to the arts, and connect families to arts and culture opportunities.
Central Coast Creative Corps
Central Coast Creative Corps was a regional grant program funded by the California Arts Council that supported 23 year-long projects across the six Central Coast counties. Each $140,000 grant included $100,000 directly for an artist working in collaboration with a community-based organization.
The program invested in artists across disciplines to partner with nonprofits, government agencies, and tribal governments on projects that advanced civic engagement, public health, social justice, and climate resilience across the Central Coast.
Central Coast Creative Corps was managed by the Central Coast Arts Coalition, a collective of six local arts agencies. The program was funded by the California Arts Council, with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture serving as the Lead Administering Organization.
Explore the projects: View the completed Creative Corps projects and learn more about the artists and organizations involved.
Central Coast Artist Directory: The regional artist directory remains available for artists, creative workers, and culture bearers across the six Central Coast counties to submit their information and connect with future opportunities.