Santa Barbara County Arts Commission

Hi all, be sure to check out Lompoc's Juneteenth celebration in Ryan Park this Saturday, June 19! From 11am-4pm, there will be music, DJs, food trucks, prizes, arts and crafts, and a bake-off competition! Families, children, adults are all welcome. A big thank you to Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP and their partner organizations for hosting this event!

Another free webinar offered next week for all California arts and culture nonprofits! CalNonprofits Webinar: Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) Friday, June 18, 2021 11:00 am - 12:00 pm... FREE! The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) is a relief program for employers from the federal government. Originally, employers could not apply for both the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) and the ERTC, so most nonprofits chose PPP. But now, receiving a PPP loan does NOT affect your ability to qualify for the ERTC. If your nonprofit experienced a reduction in quarterly gross receipts or had to modify operations due to various COVID-related regulations, you may be eligible for up to $33,000 per employee. That quickly adds up! And as a result of nonprofit advocacy, this is a payroll tax credit, which nonprofits and for-profits both pay so it’s a victory for nonprofits to have the benefit structured this way.

Sojourner Kincaid Rolle!

We are thrilled to announce that Emma Trelles has been selected to serve as the next Poet Laureate for the City of Santa Barbara. Trelles commences her two-year term today, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, as the recipient of the city’s Poetry Month Proclamation. Trelles is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and the author of Tropicalia, published by University of Notre Dame Press, which won the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, the first book prize to be awarded to a Latinx poet living ...and writing in the U.S. You can watch her induction ceremony as part of today's live City Council meeting at 2pm (link in bio). Her work has been published widely and anthologized in publications such as Best American Poetry and Best of the Net. Trelles has presented her poems across the country and received fellowships from CantoMundo and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. She is currently writing her third collection of poems, Courage and the Clock. Trelles teaches composition and creative writing at Santa Barbara City College. Since 2014, she's curated the Mission Poetry Series, featuring Latinx and diverse poets from Santa Barbara, throughout California, and as far away as El Salvador. Throughout my work curating, teaching, and writing poetry, I’ve also been committed to how my role as a poet can bring people together, said Trelles. The Poet Laureate program was established in 2005 by the City of Santa Barbara. The honorary position actively participates in ceremonial, educational and cultural activities in the community. As the official Home of the Poet Laureate, the Santa Barbara Public Library (Santa Barbara Public Library) is a major partner in the program. Trelles succeeds Laure-Anne Bosselaar, who has served as the city’s Laureate since 2019. Check out Trelles in action reading her work at the Jackson Wheeler Reading Series at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard (link in bio): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdTH7q1k79g

Learn more about the artmaking practice of Second District Arts Commissioner Jana Goldbloom Brody in an article by local writer Joanne A Calitri!

The Small Business Administration recently announced that the long-awaited Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) PORTAL will officially open on Thursday, April 8, 2021. For those interested, please register immediately for the SBA’s national webinar on SVOG that will take place on Tues., March 30, 2021 @ 2:30 4:00pm ET (5:30 7:00pm PDT): http://ow.ly/eAa250EaNK0 In connection with the program, SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman stated: Help is here for venue operators hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic...The SBA knows these venues are critical to America's economy and understands how hard they've been impacted, as they were among the first to shutter. This vital economic aid will provide a much-needed lifeline for live venues, museums, movie theaters and many more.

A reminder that the CA Arts & Culture Small Business Grant deadline has been extended to Friday, March 26 at 5pm. There is also an application support phone line staffed with real people: 866-759-5320 and several more folks available to help. Information below!

Join @countyofsb tonight (Tuesday, March 23) at 5:30 p.m. for a #COVID19 vaccine virtual Town Hall with Congressman Salud Carbajal, State Senator Monique Limón and Third District County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, featuring County Public Health officials who will provide an update on the status of the county's vaccination rollout plan and answer questions from community members. Please share widely! Spanish interpretation will be offered. To attend the virtual Town Hall, go to the link here or in our bio: bit.ly/COVIDvth Passcode: 286006, ID# 9297920 3041 or call toll free numbers shown on the flyer.

Hands-on experience and education in the arts set students up for economic success. Wondering how? The arts and culture sector contributes $174.6 billion (yes, billion) dollars to California’s economy. That's more than the agriculture and construction industries combined. And 1 in every 10 California workers is a creative worker. Check out and share @Create_CA’s Student Pathways flyer at https://createca.org/student-pathways/ #ArtsEdRebuilds

CA Relief Grant Deadline Extended! Applications are now due March 26, by 5pm. Galleries, artist-run LLCs, and arts and cultural organizations: you are likely eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in grant relief funding through the state of California. There is a call line (866-759-5320) staffed with real people who can help you figure out if your organization or business is eligible to apply. Please share widely with businesses, artists, and organizations you think may qual...ify to apply! Link here and in our bio: https://careliefgrant.com/arts-and-culture/ See the link in our bio and list below for specific tax codes that are eligible: "Round 4, The Arts & Cultural Program, will support California eligible nonprofit cultural institutions defined as registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities that satisfy the criteria for a qualified small business, but with no limitation on annual gross revenue, and that are in one of the following North American Industry Classification System codes: (A) 453920 - Art Dealers (B) 711110 - Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters. (C) 711120 - Dance Companies. (D) 711130 - Musical Groups and Artists. (E) 711190 - Other Performing Arts Companies. (F) 711310 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with facilities. (G) 711320 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without facilities. (H) 711410 - Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (I) 711510 - Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers. (J) 712110 - Museums. (K) 712120 - Historical Sites. (L) 712130 - Zoos and Botanical Gardens. (M) 712190 Nature Parks & Other Similar Institutions" CA Relief Grant Page: https://careliefgrant.com/arts-and-culture/

2020 Responsive Works Awards: "Esencial," acrylic on wood with gold leaf, by artist Chanté Glover (@copper.raven.studio). Describing the inspiration behind their work, Glover writes: "This piece was created in honor of essential workers, all people who I’ve known and admired in my life; the farmer, musician, teacher, the housekeeper, the activist and mother. This piece connects to my evolving larger body of work through both the mediums used incorporating slivers of gold leaf... & wood grain, as well as centering triumphant women and non-binary people of color as my main subjects." Chanté Glover (they/them or she/her) is a multimedia artist. They derive inspiration from both the natural world, and exploring the many threads that connect and uplift us in community and humanity. Learn more about Chanté and their practice at: https://www.copperravenstudio.com/ Over the next few weeks, we are featuring the work and practices of 20 local artists who were chosen as recipients of the 2020 Responsive Works Award by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. Created during the spring and summer of 2020, the artists’ works speak to the importance of individual and collective resilience and creativity during volatile and uncertain times. The awards were underwritten by the @sbbowl Foundation’s 2019 Arts Subsidy Fund. We encourage artists to visit our emergency resources page for more information about national recovery funds by discipline and to check back for additional grant opportunities. Image Credit: Chanté Glover, Esencial, acrylic on wood with gold leaf, 2020.

As we get close to the one year mark of Safer-At-Home orders and pandemic in California, almost 80% of students have reported worsening mental health. Art can help: research shows that hands-on arts education helps strengthen students' social-emotional learning and mental health and can decrease students' stress and anxiety. Learn more or share this arts & social-emotional learning video (featuring @maceopaisley) with teachers, principals, school board members, and your community! http://ow.ly/JJ3450DT6cj #ArtsEdRebuilds

A reminder to galleries, artist-run LLCs, and non-profit arts and cultural organizations: you are likely eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in grant relief funding through the state of California. Applications are due Tuesday, March 23. There is a call line (866-588-7323) staffed with real people who can help you figure out if your organization or business is eligible to apply. Please share widely with businesses, artists, and organizations you think may qualify to apply! S...ee the link in our bio and list below for specific tax codes that are eligible: "Round 4, The Arts & Cultural Program, will support California eligible nonprofit cultural institutions defined as registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities that satisfy the criteria for a qualified small business, but with no limitation on annual gross revenue, and that are in one of the following North American Industry Classification System codes: (A) 453920 - Art Dealers (B) 711110 - Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters. (C) 711120 - Dance Companies. (D) 711130 - Musical Groups and Artists. (E) 711190 - Other Performing Arts Companies. (F) 711310 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with facilities. (G) 711320 - Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without facilities. (H) 711410 - Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (I) 711510 - Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers. (J) 712110 - Museums. (K) 712120 - Historical Sites. (L) 712130 - Zoos and Botanical Gardens. (M) 712190 Nature Parks & Other Similar Institutions" CA Relief Grant Page: http://ow.ly/RVTn50E2oFz Image Credit: Western States Arts Federation