Application Process
APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2025 COHORT WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM MAY 27 TO AUGUST 7, 2025.
Only partnerships are eligible to apply, ones that include, at a minimum, a cultural non-profit or artist collective, a local business/business association or a community development corporation, and a branch of local government.
Ensuring that all interested parties have a good understanding of the full array of cultural assets present in the district will be critical to its long-term success. A comprehensive approach to cultural assets helps to ensure authenticity and the preservation of homegrown assets, a key priority of the California Arts Council.
The application and review process will have three steps, including an open call for applications, site visits for semi-finalists, and finalist selection. A multi-disciplinary and multi-sector selection panel will review applications and provide ranks for districts to proceed as semi-finalists. Those semi-finalists will receive invitations for site visits by CAC staff. After the site visits, the panel will reconvene to discuss all the ranks and site visit notes and recommend up to 10 districts for designation. Members of the California Arts Council will vote to award designation during a public meeting in December 2025.
Timeline
1. open applications (may 27 to
august 7, 2025)
The Open Application phase will be open to all communities interested in receiving state certification. Applicants will be asked to provide detailed information for consideration, as outlined in the Cultural District Guidelines. In addition, applicants will need to provide three letters of support from individual community members or artists located in the proposed district beyond the participating partners and a cultural asset inventory completed within the last three years. The California Arts Council is providing a sample methodology for completing an initial cultural asset inventory that will help ensure that districts have a good understanding of the array of authentic cultural resources shaping the district, from places and organizations to people, history and events.
2. Semi-Finalist Selection and Site Visits (OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025)
A diverse panel will review the submitted applications, grouped by type, and select a representative group of approximately 15-20 semifinalists to receive site visits. The primary purpose of the site visits will be to meet with the applicants and confirm the information provided in the applications and provide additional insights for the final application review process.
3. Finalist SELECTION (december 2025)
A diverse group of up to 10 finalists will be recommended for designation and the Council will vote to award these applicants at a public council meeting in December 2025. The grant activity period will be from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, and designation will be from 2026 to 2030.