Program areas at Create CA
Arts Now: Create CA's Arts Now program offers professional development and coalition building to arts advocates across California. The program has grown to serve 40 local coalitions of advocates in 26 counties across California, reaching approximately 3,870 parents, teachers, artists and other advocates in 2022. To make the program more accessible, Create CA now offers both synchronous and asynchronous training for Arts Now participants, allowing them more flexibility to fit the program into their own schedules. This year's Leadership Institute featured sessions such as "Models of Success from the Field", "Centering Youth Voice & Leadership in your Arts Now Coalition,X and "Arts Now Action Planning." Our program team continues to provide one-on-one technical assistance to participants outside of these group sessions. Each month, Create CA continues to host Arts Now Meetups - hour-long, informal meetings for Arts Now Leaders, Arts Now Ambassadors and any other local advocates looking to join the conversation. These meetings are a space for advocates to connect, problem-solve, share successes, and brainstorm strategies. Since opening these meetings up to the public (not just Arts Now program participants), we have had increasing attendance each month and topics of discussion have been wide ranging - including Proposition 28 implementation, funding opportunities for the arts in after school programs, building relationships with school board members, and speaking at school board meetings, among many others.
Other Programs: Create CA is in its fifth year of implementing a statewide public will campaign to influence decision-makers and increase access and participation in the arts. In 2022, Create CA reached over 1.5 million Californians, informing them about the benefits of a culturally-responsive arts education.The outreach mechanisms for the campaign include three areas: a ground game (posters, branded collateral), in-person and virtual events (conferences and webinars), and a digital media strategy (newsletter, social media). Create CA also partnered with SRI Education and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to release and disseminate their follow-up report to the 2007 "An Unfinished Canvas" report examining the state of arts education in California. The dissemination campaign included strategic ad buys in key markets and policy briefings for policymakers and other education stakeholders. The public will campaign continues to gain followers and supporters with our newsletter list now reaching over 17,500 individuals and social media followers topping 15,000. Top Five Program Accomplishments: 1.In 2022, Create CA helped secure approximately $4.6 billion in ongoing and one-time public funding for arts education. Following the historic passage of Proposition 28 in Fall 2022, Create CA organized educators, parents, artists and policymakers to ensure effective implementation of the landmark legislation. 2. Create CA?s virtual and in-person events - training sessions, workshops, meetups and conferences - served 3870 advocates and provided tools and strategies to increase access to and participation in arts education. 3. Create CA's public will campaign continued to gain followers and supporters reaching over 1.5 million Californians in 2022. The campaign educates the public about the benefits of a well-rounded education that includes the visual and performing arts. 4. Continuing to center students in our work, we reached over 2,300 students, including 18 youth activists through our intensive Student Voices Leaders leadership program, 125 students at Arts Advocacy Day, 2,000 students through our partnership with the GRID, and 203 students who participated in the Student Voices Challenge. 5. Create CA partnered with SRI Education and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to release and disseminate their follow-up report to the 2007 "An Unfinished Canvas" report examining the state of arts education in California.
Student Voices: The Student Voices program challenges students to creatively demonstrate the power of the arts across California. The 2022 Student Voices Challenge asked 7-12th grade students around the state to create works of art that respond to the following prompt: "How do the arts support mental health and cultural understanding?" This year, 203 students participated in the challenge and Create CA staff sent student works of art, and corresponding advocacy messages, to 509 school board members around the state. The Student Voices program helps students understand their role in changing schools for the better and supports them in crafting effective advocacy messages. On March 2, 2022, Create CA partnered with Creativity Matters to highlight the Student Voices program and student-led advocacy at the GRID, an event attended by 2,000 California public school students. The hybrid in-person and live-streamed summit gave students ages 13-18 an opportunity to explore their creative interests and passions. Through workshops, industry spotlights and performances, the GRID provided a pathway to personal transformation and career preparation for young people by expanding their understanding of why creativity is essential for the future job market. Working to equip students with skills to effect positive and sustainable change in their lives and communities, the primary objective of the GRID was to introduce young people to new ways of thinking about creativity, problem-solving and career pathways. In July 2022, Create CA partnered with the California State Summer School for the Arts, Hammer Museum, ACLU, Arts for LA and GENUp to produce an arts education advocacy training event engaging over 125 students. Create CA also served 18 Student Voices Leaders, all current 7-12th grade students in public schools around the state, providing in-depth leadership and advocacy training, facilitating collaborative learning and networking, and supporting each student in advocating to their school board members for increased arts offerings in their district. Each Student Voices Leader receives a stipend for their participation.