Contact:
Eduardo Robles
eduardo@caforthearts.org
Director of Communications
916.520.6049 ext.102

For Immediate Release

California Celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month 2024 and the Impact of the Arts and Humanities in Our Civic Life

October 1, 2024—(Sacramento, California)—The California State Library, California for the Arts, California Humanities, and the California Arts Council join thousands of humanities and arts organizations, learning centers, and heritage sites across the nation to celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month throughout October. We will carry this message to all of California through information and activities that honor the efforts of artists, historians, teachers, and cultural groups working to make the arts and humanities a familiar part of everyday life.

Everyone in the community is encouraged to participate in what has become the country’s largest annual collective celebration of the arts and humanities. The following special events are planned for National Arts and Humanities Month across California:

• The California State Library will host a passive program all month long in Gillis Hall at 914 Capitol Mall in Sacramento. The program will debut at the Sacramento Archives Crawl on Saturday, October 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, click here. Additionally, a limited tour for the public is being offered on Tuesday, October 22, at 10 a.m. Space is limited; please register here.
• California for the Arts will host A Deep Dive Into the 2024 Elections! webinar on Wednesday, October 9, at 12 p.m. RSVP for free here. Additionally, CA for the Arts is making available for download the 2024 Election Candidate Engagement Resource Guide – click here to download.
• California Humanities will host a special panel discussion in Sacramento on Thursday, October 3, at 5:30 p.m., focused on the state’s election history since 1960, and how these insights can improve voter participation across the country. A reception with drinks and snacks will follow. Participants can also register to vote at the program’s voter registration table. RSVP for free here.
• California Arts Council will convene a meeting of its Creative Economy Workgroup (CEW) on Tuesday, October 15, from 9 to 4:30 p.m. at El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista. Using an equity lens, the CEW responds to the ideas, strengths and needs of our communities that reaches and includes historically marginalized communities to develop a strategic plan for California’s creative workforce. 

This year, the State Library, CA for the Arts, California Humanities, and the CAC will spotlight the crucial role that the arts and humanities play in our civic life. Supporting accessible and engaging arts and humanities experiences within our state’s cultural organizations and educational systems prepare all people, young and old, for civic participation, allowing us to exercise our citizenship by assessing the evolution of our core values and making space for creative expression of those values. 

Said State Librarian Greg Lucas: “We at the California State Library encourage all Californians to join in the fun, experience the incredible programs and events happening throughout the state, and discover how the arts and humanities deepen connection to civic life, foster new perspectives, and bring us closer together.”

“The celebration of arts and humanities is embedded in everything we do at the California Arts Council, and we are pleased to partner with the State Library, California Humanities, and California for the Arts to advance our collective vision this month,” said California Arts Council Executive Director Danielle Brazell. “Creativity’s pride of place at the intersections of our economy, education, and the wellness of our state’s communities is what makes California a unique and unparalleled place to live.”  

“In this election year, let’s not take for granted the importance of the Arts and Humanities in our civic lives,” said California Humanities President and CEO Rick Noguchi. “Indeed, our freedom of expression through the arts and humanities are at stake, when they should be the solution.”

“Arts and Humanities hold the possibility to transform our civic infrastructure, national identity, and sense of belonging. Access to arts and humanities is the key to healthy communities and a more inclusive and just nation. From economic opportunity, social cohesion, innovation, and equity to environmental sustainability, health, wellness, and healing, now is the time to celebrate the strength of arts and humanities,” said Julie Baker, CEO of California for the Arts.

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National Arts and Humanities Month is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the national organization working to empower communities with the resources and support necessary to provide access to the arts for everyone. This month-long celebration grew out of National Arts Week, which was started in 1985 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Americans for the Arts.More information about National Arts and Humanities Month is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org/nahm.

California State Library, About the State Library: Established in 1850, the California State Library is the central reference and research library for state government and the legislature. The library collection includes more than 4 million titles, 6,000 maps and 250,000 photographs, and includes an extensive collection of documents from and about the state’s rich history. Around the state, the State Library also serves California’s local libraries, providing more than $500 million state and federal funds to support public libraries and delivering statewide library programs and services. Visit library.ca.gov.

California for the Arts is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary advocacy service organization focused on building resources and public awareness of the value and impact of arts, culture, and creativity across California. Visit caforthearts.com.

California Humanities, a statewide nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, promotes the humanities—focused on ideas, conversation, and learning—as relevant, meaningful ways to understand the human condition and connect people to each other in order to help strengthen California. California Humanities has provided grants and programs across the state since 1975. To learn more, visit calhum.org.

California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts. Learn more at arts.ca.gov.