The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture (SBCOAC) received the highest score in the California Arts Council’s 2026 State-Local Partnership evaluation, making it one of the state’s top-performing arts agencies.
The designation comes with $75,000 in state funding for the coming year. The money will help sustain the Office’s work, including Poetry Out Loud, a youth poetry recitation program it coordinates with the City of Santa Barbara Poet Laureate program.
As one of the California Arts Council’s partners, SBCOAC connects the state with the region’s artists and cultural organizations, helping them access funding, training, and other resources. Agencies are assessed on four criteria: equity and accessibility; arts programming and services; community engagement and social impact; and organizational management and leadership.
Its work spans community initiatives, from government gallery exhibitions and public art projects to research on the creative economy and planning for the region’s cultural sector. SBCOAC also operates through a shared partnership with the City of Santa Barbara, an arrangement dating to 1987 that allows the two governments to coordinate arts efforts.
SBCOAC has helped bring millions of dollars in additional investment to the region. Among its accomplishments are a $4.75 million California Creative Corps grant, for which it served as lead applicant for a six-county Central Coast collaboration, and a $100,000 Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative award secured in partnership with the City of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara was one of four U.S. cities chosen for the latter.
The California Arts Council distributed nearly $24.6 million across the state in its latest funding round. Santa Barbara County organizations received more than $250,000, including Ensemble Theatre Company, Ballet Folklorico Imperial, Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Boxtales Theatre Company, and Flamenco Arts Festival, among others.
“The California Arts Council simply could not do our work without our state and local partners,” said Danielle Brazell, the council’s executive director, in a press release. “We have partners in each of our 58 counties, and they are, in a sense, our offices on the ground. They ensure that we are serving the community in the way in which the community wants to be served.”
For more information about the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, see sbac.ca.gov
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