DEAR READER,
Another year is now behind us, but every year, what we do remains the same: We are building an infrastructure for our local arts and cultural sector to flourish.
San Luis Obispo County’s creative economy is a powerful yet often underestimated driver of local prosperity According to the Otis College of Art and Design’s Creative Economy Dashboard, the creative sector in SLO County generates over $400 million annually, supporting more than 4,000 jobs. This economic impact is not just about dollars and cents it's about sustaining the vibrant, diverse cultural identity that makes this community unique.
In comparison to larger urban areas like Los Angeles or San Francisco, SLO County’s creative economy is smaller in absolute size, but its industry composition is what truly sets it apart. Our region’s creative sector is incredibly diverse, blending the visual arts, design, performing arts, film, architecture, and more. As a smaller community, SLO County has a distinctive advantage: the opportunity for a close-knit, communitydriven arts scene where collaborations between artists, businesses, and cultural institutions happen organically
Our mission is to empower artists by providing the resources, advocacy, and networks they need to succeed while connecting cultural institutions to create a dynamic, supportive arts landscape Our efforts ensure that local artists are not only able to develop their craft but also have access to paid opportunities, mentorship, and platforms to showcase their work. We understand that a healthy arts community is not just about individual success but about collaboration, mentorship, and mutual support across the region.
As you read this report, please consider how vital your ongoing support is for the continued success of the arts in our community. Whether through an annual or recurring monthly donation, you are directly helping us expand our programming, support emerging artists, and strengthen the economic and cultural fabric of SLO County. Visit slocountyarts.org/donate to contribute to our efforts.
Jordan Chesnut Programs Director
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OUR MISSION
Since 1981, the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council has advanced the visual, literary, and performing arts through programs that promote public access to the arts, arts in educational settings, local arts planning and collaboration, and opportunities for artists and arts organizations
H I G H L I G H T S O F 2 0 2 4
We offered ongoing, free professional development workshops for artists during the Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists series.
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The Poet Laureate program was revived in SLO County!
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Our Public Art commissions culminated with two art installations by local artists in Oceano’s new public plaza.
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The Central Coast Creative Corps grant program wrapped with a regional documentary, twenty-three completed artist projects, many new connections, and paid opportunities for artists.
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We successfully grew our annual programs: Art After Dark, Open Studios Art Tour, and Poetry Out Loud!
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LOOKING BACK...
WINTER
At the beginning of 2024 we were busy gearing up for a full year of arts programming! We hosted the first Art After Dark of the year in February with 22 participating venues in San Luis Obispo. We held the countywide Poetry Out Loud competition at the SLO Museum of Art and congratulated Annika Miltner of SLO High School on her win. We also began outlining the Poet Laureate program and launched the virtual “Work of Art” free workshop series for artists.
SPRING
SLO County Arts welcomed two new board members - Jon York and Riki Schumacher! We assisted with the Monday Club Fine Art Awards, the Opening Minds Art Show with Transitions Mental Health Association, and juried the public art proposals for the new Oceano Main Street Community Plaza. The Individual Artist Fellowship award ceremony took place in Santa Barbara at the Historical Museum! Congratulations to the artists from throughout the region. In April we celebrated Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month with a month-long campaign in partnership with the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center and by attending the Arts, Culture and Creativity summit in Sacramento
SUMMER
We began the Art Talk series in partnership with the City of SLO; this pilot program occurred once a month through November. The Poet Laureate panelists met to review applications and nominations and then interviewed the top three candidates. We partnered with the Downtown SLO Association to host live painting at Concerts in the Plaza during overlapping Art After Dark evenings. We began researching arts and economic impact surveys for our county
FALL
We hosted the Arts and Culture Market during the Downtown SLO Farmers’ Market in celebration of the upcoming Open Studios Art Tour. SLO County Arts was selected as one of the five highlighted organizations for the City of SLO National Arts and Humanities month campaign, “ARTober”! The final Art After Dark of the season was sponsored by the City of SLO in partnership with Downtown SLO, and featured live projection mapping in Mission Plaza with music We welcomed the newest Board Member, Russell Kwong to the Board of Directors. The regional documentary screening for the Central Coast Creative Corps was hosted at Allan Hancock College
CENTRAL COAST CREATIVE CORPS
Aiming to uplift the creative workforce and improve community health outcomes, our Central Coast Creative Corps Program funded 23 working partnerships between community-based organizations (“community partners”) and local artists, creative workers, or culture bearers across the Central Coast region for a one-year duration from September 2023 to August 2024. In SLO County, we were thrilled to award partnerships between two reputable organizations, RACE Matters SLO and Lumina Alliance, and their selected artists.
R.A.C.E.MattersSLO
In 2016, RACE Matters formed in response to the killing of unarmed Black men by law enforcement A group of like-minded people began to meet, seeing a need for local engagement around racial and social justice They’ve since responded more directly to the lack of Black-centered spaces and cultural content in the San Luis Obispo area
Beat Party: Tracy Morgan leads a drum-based initiative called "Beat Party," engaging local youth through vibrant drum circles throughout SLO County, where he aims to foster community engagement and unite neighborhoods by promoting improved communication among residents through the power of rhythm and dance With a mission to create artistic, cultural, educational, and social experiences that amplify Black voices and advocate for racial justice, Morgan draws on his decades of experience in diverse musical styles, including jazz, reggae, rock, and blues, to connect people and inspire unity.
LuminaAlliance
Lumina Alliance believes everyone has a basic human right to live free of sexual and intimate partner violence Advocacy, education, prevention, and public policy are powerful tools the organization is using to enact change in our community.
Petals of Consent: Emily Franklin and Wen Lazo-Dowdy's "Petals of Consent" project seeks to educate and prevent sexual assault and intimate violence by providing a reflective space for dialogue through a labyrinth of mirrors, enabling participants to interpret their experiences uniquely while fostering personal growth and community engagement
CCCCByTheNumbers
This section is pulled from Central Coast Creative Corps: A Case Study, a report developed by Scansion for the Central Coast Arts Coalition
The CCCC united artists, community partners, and local arts agencies in a collaborative effort to foster creativity across the region (Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties). This “By the Numbers” section showcases this collective impact, detailing the total hours worked by artists, the administrative hours contributed by both community partners and arts agencies. Additionally, the section reflects the structure of the California Arts Council (CAC) funding model, which allocated 60% of funds to artist pay, 20% to p
Funding Model
While this model provided for fair artist compensation and core administrative support, the limited provision for supply funding shaped the program’s overall scope.
This program created a number of employment opportunities within the region, supporting a total of 137 jobs through community partners and an additional 101 jobs through the Central Coast Arts Coalition. These figures demonstrate the program’s wide-reaching economic impact, fostering job growth in the arts and supporting sectors while strengthening local partnerships. 238
WORKOFART:BUSINESS SKILLSFORARTISTS
In 2024, SLO County Arts offered a series of workshops facilitated by local artists as a part of the Central Coast Creative Corps program.
"Work of Art" is a free professional development workshop series designed to teach business skills to artists in all disciplines. Artists of any experience level and discipline were invited to join and learn alongside one another. Over five hundred workshops were hosted virtually or in-person.
Post-Workshop Survey Results
Charlie Rugg, a conceptual artist based in San Luis Obispo, California, specializes in abstract and figurative oil painting His work explores the collective nature of human experience, emphasizing the interplay between shifting perspectives and the creation of new meaning.
Jenny Chang is an artist living in San Luis Obispo who specializes in painting quirky animals and art inspired by nature. Jenny's art is characterized by bright colors, natural motifs, and unique humor and she loves experimenting with artistic techniques and trying things in new ways.
PUBLICARTINITIATIVE
The Oceano Highway Mainstreet Community Space is a new pedestrian plaza at the intersection of Highway 1 and Beach Street and 17th Street in Oceano. This project is part of the Clean California State Highway Beautification Program, sponsored by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), with support from the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
SLO County Arts was instrumental to the construction of this plaza; beginning 2023, we released a Request for Proposals and assisted with the panel selection and installation of an original three-dimensional public art piece emblematic of the new community gathering place in this historic small beach and agricultural town. The ribbon cutting for the plaza took place in September 2024.
This project allowed Caltrans to fund public art for the first time ever; this is a major milestone in an organization that has typically only focused on vehicle safety and mobility The jury selected “Infinite Ocean Endless Wave” by Peter Hazel ($12,000) and twenty beach-themed tiles by Annie Cappelli ($4,000)
Congratulations to the artists!
ARTS,CULTURE,AND CREATIVITYMONTH
Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month (ACCM) serves as a month-long spotlight on the arts in April, recognizing and celebrating the arts with the objective to raise visibility and awareness about the value of the arts sector, empower arts advocates to take action, and spur greater investments in the arts industry and workforce. ACCM was established in 2019 after a successful campaign by Californians for the Arts, passed by a concurrent resolution in the California Senate. 2024’s thematic focus was “Art Work is Real Work.” Artists play an essential role in our economy and our health with critical contributions across a variety of social impact areas but often are without the services and conditions they need to thrive due to the ongoing undervaluing of their work.
Local Advocacy Campaign State Advocacy Campaign
SLO County Arts teamed up with the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center to launch our own ACCM campaign in SLO County with a special emphasis on performing arts organizations. In total we partnered with eight local organizations to request that our community members share stories about their engagement in the arts, write an op-ed about the value of the arts, and to contact local and state legislators to urge them to protect arts funding. We encouraged the community to donate to our partner organizations, as well, and were able to raise over $600 total for the performing arts.
In the middle of the month, SLO County Arts staff attended the 2nd Annual CA for the Arts ACCM Summit in Sacramento The week began with the State-Local-Partner Convening facilitated by the California Arts Council (CAC); this included panel discussions on best practices for arts administrators focusing primarily on racial equity, as well as presentations by the CAC leadership, including the new Executive Director, Danielle Brazell. Staff attended the Summit panels, workshops, breakout groups, and keynote speeches; we networked with arts and cultural leaders from across the state to represent our county and expand our reach.
OUR PROGRAMS
SLO County Arts’ programs - Poetry Out Loud, Art After Dark, the Open Studios Art Tour, and the Poet Laureate - provide artists opportunities to share their work with the community, increase community awareness and education around local arts, and promote arts education.
POETRYOUTLOUD
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
We were proud to host the Poetry Out Loud competition in February 2024 at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art for the first time in-person since 2019. Six students from high schools across San Luis Obispo County shared the stage to compete in two rounds of inspiring recitations. Annika Miltner from San Luis Obispo High School was named the champion, with Kevin Merced Montes (Coast Union High School) the runner-up and Ru Schulte (Paso Robles High School) and Nyjah Anaya (Arroyo Grande High School) tied for third place
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PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
Paso Robles High School, Coast Union High School, Morro Bay High School, San Luis Obispo High School, San Luis Obispo Classical Academy, Arroyo Grande High School
4,000
PARTICIPATING STUDENTS
“I enjoy reciting poetry because it presents a challenge and gives me an opportunity to take on another perspective and experience emotion in a way I haven't seen before.”
Lyla Dillon
San Luis Obispo Classical Academy Champion
POETLAUREATE
The SLO County Poet Laureate returned this year after a two-year hiatus. We are pleased to congratulate Caleb Nichols as the 2025-2027 Poet Laureate of SLO County Caleb has committed to expanding access to the literary arts throughout the county during their tenure
Caleb Nichols is a writer and musician from California. Their poetry and prose has been published in places like the New England Review, 14 Poems, Poetry Wales, Redivider, 45th Parallel, Talkhouse, and Truthout.
They’re the author of several chapbooks/pamphlets of poetry and prose via presses in the US and UK, and since 2021, Caleb has been releasing music on iconic indie label Kill Rock Stars, including two full-length albums and a slew of singles and EPs.
A best of the net nominee, and a recipient of an Academy of American Poets University prize, Caleb has a PhD in Creative Writing from Bangor University in North Wales and they are a part-time lecturer in Creative Writing at Cal Poly.
ARTAFTERDARK
Art After Dark is the event where art, culture, and community come to life!
This monthly free art walk with a long history in San Luis Obispo County celebrates local creativity with visual exhibitions, live music, and community gatherings in galleries, businesses, public spaces, and organizations.
20 VENUES EACH MONTH ON AVERAGE
(6 more than last year’s average!)
37
TOTAL VENUES IN 2024
70%
OF TOTAL VENUES PARTICIPATED MORE THAN ONCE
THE VALUE OF ART AFTER DARK
We surveyed the venues who participated in 2024 and 100% of those who responded said that their participation in Art After Dark was beneficial due to their ability to help grow and foster a vibrant arts scene and meet community members and network.
26THANNUALOPEN STUDIOSARTTOUR
The Open Studios Art Tour takes place countywide over two weekends in October, National Arts and Humanities Month This program allows visitors the chance to step into the creative spaces of San Luis Obispo County artists, while giving the artists the opportunity to share their work and processes while building community. Free to the public, visitors create their own self-guided tour of studios using the catalog of participating artists.
“I think a studio is a magical and sacred place. Being invited in is like getting to almost walk into a painting itself but in some “world” where all of the wonderful flotsam and jetsam of creativity that floats around before, during, and after the work is made is alive and well I LOVE visiting others’ studios and am always inspired!”
Timshel Matheny San Luis Obispo
“One of my favorite things is when someone comes to visit a pottery studio for the first time and I can show them how pottery is made It’s an amazing process that takes many weeks and patience, from throwing and hand-building to glazing and kiln firing”
Christine Silbaugh Los Osos
JON
E T I N
Your recurring or annual donation directly helps us continue our ongoing efforts to empower local artists and bolster the arts and culture sector in San Luis Obispo County. The donations we receive allow us to continue and grow our vital arts programming and have the means to support local artists and arts organizations through paid opportunities and community support.
STAYINTOUCH
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Gain experience in skills that interest you, increase your visibility within the art community, and grow your personal rapport with artists and supporters around the county. Tasks needed vary throughout the year and range from administrative work to event assistance and more!
