History

The Arts Council of Sonoma County was founded in 1983 as a nonprofit organization and countywide agency to provide leadership and support for the arts and culture of our county. During the first 20 years the programming was primarily visual arts and arts education.  In 2003, the State of California cut the State Arts budget from 32 million down to 1 million, and statewide 33% of the county arts councils closed their doors.  Thanks to the dedication of our board, staff and volunteers the Arts Council of Sonoma County managed to continue to serve the community even with a loss of over fifty percent of its income.

Members of the organization recognized that it was time to reassess, reflect and determine what the best work the Arts Council of Sonoma County should do to support the artists, art organizations, residents and tourists that visit Sonoma County. 

Over the next few years the Arts Council of Sonoma County commissioned Alan Brown, of Wolf Brown Consulting, and Diane Matarazas to conduct research, a needs assessment, and make recommendations to help the organization determine how best to serve this vibrant and unique community.

With the assistance of Steve Thomas, from Thomas and Tinkler the Arts Council of Sonoma County developed a five year, and later a ten year strategic plan.  That plan broadened the Arts Council of Sonoma County's mission to serve all the arts; visual artists, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, filmmakers, multi media artists, art organizations and arts education.

 Today the Arts Council of Sonoma County is a non profit community benefit organization representing 130 non profit arts organizations and over 27,000 artists of all disciplines through advocacy, collaborative programs and re granting.  The Arts Council works to make the arts visible and accessible for residents and visitors.  The Arts Council hosts and convenes, funds research and focus groups, and maintains comprehensive data on organizations and the audiences they serve.  The Arts Council brings together discipline specific artists and art organizations to leverage assets and capture broader market share.  Two examples are www.sonomaarts.com, the dominant online arts and culture events listings in the region, and ARTrails open Studios program.

The Arts Council of Sonoma County advocates and represents Sonoma County at local, regional, statewide and national convenings, works with the State of California through the California Arts Council as the State/Local Partner for the arts in Sonoma County, and is authorized by Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to represent the artists and art organizations in Sonoma County.

We research, develop, collaborate, and promote all of the following and more: