Sacramento, CA (Feb. 14, 2023) - The City of Sacramento’s Office of Arts + Culture is starting 2023 off on a strong note. Since Feb. 1, the City has released 3 different opportunities for artists, including a call for a major sculpture on the waterfront.

“When I took office, I set out to make arts and culture a top priority for our city,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “These grants and arts opportunities are just the latest examples of how we are investing in our artists and creatives and putting art in the spotlight in Sacramento.”

City of Festivals Grant Program

At the beginning of February, the third round of applications for the City of Festivals grant program opened up. These grants are designed to support individuals or organizations that would like to put on an event within the city. Events must be consistent with family-oriented themes, support arts and cultural entertainment and activities, promote a healthier living environment, and enhance the quality of life in the city. The grant awards are balanced between each council district to ensure that every area of the city has an opportunity to take advantage of this program.

The City awarded $125,000 to support 27 city-wide and community events in the first round of applications. Staff are still finalizing grants from round two. A fourth round of grants is expected in May of 2023. Applications for City of Festivals are open until Feb. 28 at sacramentofestivals.com.

California Creative Corps

The Creative Corps program started on Feb. 6 for the Capitol Region. This project is funded by a $4.75 million award received from the California Arts Council in August of 2022. This program is providing funding to artists and organizations to increase public awareness related to water and energy, conservation, climate mitigation, public-health awareness around COVID-19, civic engagement, and social justice.

The Office of Arts in Culture will be doing extensive outreach to find creatives and nonprofits across the region to help execute the campaigns. The City will host a free webinar at 4 p.m. Feb. 15 to discuss this new outreach and engagement project campaign. There will also be in-person mixers across the Capital region which includes Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, Alpine and Solano counties. Sign up for email updates to stay up to date with the Creative Corps Capital Region program here.

Hanami Line Public Art Project & Ethel Phillips Elementary Mural Project

Two separate calls for artists that are part of the Clean CA CalTrans projects are welcoming artists to apply this February.

Professional artists are sought for a permanent installation at Robert T. Matsui Park along the Sacramento River waterfront. The park will soon be home to a 1.5 acre cherry blossom park, also called a Hanami Line, and this new artwork is one component of several going into improving the park. The application process is open to artists internationally, but artists within California, the Sacramento Valley region, and artists with a connection to Japanese culture and history will be given additional consideration in the panel review process, according to staff.

*An aerial rendering of the future Hanami Line at Robert T. Matsui Park.*

Applications for the Matsui Park project close on March 6. An online information session will be held on Wednesday Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Interested artists can learn more on the City’s website. Funding for this project also comes from the Sacramento Tree Foundation, UC Davis Health, and some private donations.

The other Clean CA project open right now is for artists to create a new mural at Ethel Phillips Elementary school. This mural is part of the 21st Avenue Beautification Project, which is designed to create a more welcoming and walkable environment along 21st Avenue between Highway 99 and the elementary school.

Artists — or a team of artists — can apply for the project at the Franklin Neighborhood Development Corporation website. Applications are due Feb. 22. A panel of community members and other artists will help select the final artist or team. The chosen artists are expected to obtain input on mural design from Ethel Phillips students.

Sacramento Film + Media Grant

*Photo credit: James Thorton III on the set of “Staffed”, produced by grant awardee Orchard Fort.*

The Film + Media Grant is designed to sustain and grow film and television production in the City of Sacramento. There will be six $10,000 production grants and two $5,500 post-production grants in 2023. At least 50% percent of the project must be filmed in the Sacramento region. In 2021 this program supported 12 film productions. Final numbers for the 2022 grant program won't be available until all projects are finished later this year.

Applications for the second round of the Sacramento Film + Media Grant open on Feb. 15. and the round two deadline is May 15, 2023. More information and details on the grant can be found at FilmSac.com.

Director of Convention & Cultural Services, Megan Van Voorhis summarized the city’s efforts: “We've worked hard over the last couple of years to work with other departments, focus our partnerships in the community, and strengthen our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The result has been a creative ecosystem with more support and more opportunities than ever before.”