County Office of Arts and Culture Earns Top State Ranking
California Arts Council recognition highlights strength, breadth and reach of local arts services.
Shared on behalf of the County of Santa Barbara: The County of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce that the Office of Arts and Culture has earned the highest possible ranking in the California Arts Council’s 2026 State-Local Partnership program. Over the past five years, Santa Barbara County has consistently placed among California’s top local arts agencies, tying with Sonoma County for the highest average. The SBCOAC represents a remarkable longstanding partnership between the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Santa Barbara and serves as a State-Local Partner of the California Arts Council.
As the County’s designated State-Local Partner, the Office serves as the local liaison to the California Arts Council. This connection extends state funding, technical assistance, and professional development to artists, organizations, and communities across the county. State-Local Partnership funding also supports Poetry Out Loud, which the Office administers in tandem with the City of Santa Barbara Poet Laureate program. The Office is slated to receive $75,000 in support of these services over the coming year.
“The California Arts Council simply could not do our work without our state and local partners,” said Danielle Brazell, executive director of the California Arts Council. “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.”
Agencies are evaluated in four areas: equity and accessibility; arts programming, services, and networking; community engagement and social impact; and organizational management and leadership.
“Maintaining our strong relationship with the state is important to us because it connects our communities with resources and opportunities that extend well beyond this individual grant,” said Sarah York Rubin, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture. “This recognition is really meaningful because it reflects the work of our staff, commissioners, and partners to make those resources accessible throughout the region.”
The Office supports the arts and cultural sector through grantmaking, public art and government gallery exhibitions, professional development for artists and nonprofits, creative economy research, cultural planning, and public policy development. It also provides staff support and program administration for key City and County advisory bodies, including the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, the City Arts Advisory Committee, and the City Community Events & Festivals Committee.
Much of this work is carried out through a longstanding partnership between the County and the City of Santa Barbara. Formalized in 1987, the shared staffing model allows the two governments to coordinate programs, leverage public funding, and expand arts services. Nearly four decades later, it is recognized as a national model.
The Office has helped secure and facilitate millions of dollars in competitive state, federal, and philanthropic funding for the region’s artists and nonprofits. It served as lead applicant for a six-county Central Coast collaboration that secured a $4.75 million California Creative Corps grant. In partnership with the City of Santa Barbara, the Office also secured a $100,000 Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative award. Santa Barbara was one of four U.S. cities selected.
The State-Local Partnership award is part of nearly $24.6 million in California Arts Council funding distributed through six grant programs and 1,200 awards statewide. The funding supports arts and cultural organizations, youth programs, community-based projects, and local arts agencies and infrastructure. More than $250,000 was awarded to Santa Barbara County organizations, including Ballet Folklorico Imperial, Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus, Inc., Connection Is Magic Foundation, Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Youth ARTS Alive, Lompoc Valley Art Association, Santa Barbara Revels, Boxtales Theatre Company, Creative Netwerk, and Flamenco Arts Festival, Inc.
About the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture
The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture (SBCOAC) serves as the local governmental umbrella for arts and culture projects and programs. The SBCOAC represents a remarkable longstanding partnership between the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Santa Barbara and serves as a State-Local Partner of the California Arts Council. Through robust public-private partnerships, the SBCOAC seeks to support and catalyze art, culture, and creative expression. For more information, visit the Office of Arts and Culture’s website.
About the California Arts Council
The California Arts Council is a state agency dedicated to advancing California through the arts and creativity. Through grantmaking, programs, and partnerships, the Council supports arts and cultural organizations, artists, and communities throughout the state.