April is Arts, Culture & Creativity Month!
The Alameda County Arts Commission is excited to celebrate the 5th Annual California Arts, Culture and Creativity Month. This statewide month-long event was first established by the California legislature in 2019 and is led by Californians for the Arts.

On April 4th, Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley announced the beginning of Arts, Culture and Creativity month at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Arts, culture and creativity are essential to every thriving community! They inspire discovery, create connections, encourage understanding, strengthen community, and spark innovation and positive change. 
The Arts Commission's arts education program is CREATE Alameda County. In honor of Arts, Culture and Creativity Month, CREATE Alameda County is distributing 35,000 arts education advocacy activity sheets and paint brushes with partners throughout the County. The sheets have watercolor paint embedded in the paper, so all that is needed is a little water. Partners include Alameda County Library, Alameda County Community Food Bank, Oakland Vet Center, CREATE CA, Californians for the Arts and more.
You are invited to a statewide kickoff event for Arts, Culture and Creativity Month on Thurs, April 6 at 11:00 am in Berkeley!

The City of Berkeley is partnering with Californians for the Arts and the Alameda County Arts Commission to present this fun, free public event at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s courtyard. This event will feature remarks by City of Berkeley’s Mayor Jesse Arreguín and performances by Berkeley High Jazz Combo and Gamelan Sekar Jaya.
Please attend Arts Advocacy Day on April 18th in Sacramento! Join us for a rally and press conference on the steps of the State Capitol. The rally will include remarks by elected officials and a group photo of all the attendees. Bring your voice to Sacramento in support of the arts! Learn more about Arts, Culture and Creativity Month at Californians for the Arts' website.
Communities throughout Alameda County are participating in Arts, Culture and Creativity Month. Many cities have and will make proclamations supporting the arts including Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Hayward, Fremont, Livermore, Oakland, Pleasanton, Union City and others.

There are many ways to get involved. Support and attend arts events presented throughout Alameda County during the month of April. For example, celebrations include the Fremont Creates series of art events throughout Fremont, Art IS Education youth art exhibition at the Hayward City Hall presented by the Hayward Arts Council, teen art exhibition at Livermore Civic Center Library Gallery, and a youth art exhibition presented by Pleasanton Art League.

Connect your arts events to this statewide celebration by using the Arts, Culture & Creativity month logo. Use hashtags #ACCM23 #CreateAlamedaCounty to tag your arts events on social media. Share the value of the arts with your network. Post social media images from the Arts, Culture and Creativity toolkit and CREATE CA toolkit.
Everyone is invited to learn more about CREATE Alameda County and download the coloring page version of the activity sheet on the Arts Commission’s website. Print it at home and color it in using markers, colored pencils, crayons, or watercolor paint. Use your imagination! 10,000 coloring pages and crayons are distributed annually at County events and agencies including the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder’s Office in Oakland.
Californians 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.

In 2019, Arts, Culture and Creativity Month was declared by the California Senate in a concurrent resolution to be held every April to recognize and celebrate the arts in California. In 2021, an additional resolution was declared to recognize artists as second responders. As an annual event, Californians for the Arts develops a series of engagement tools to encourage and produce activations throughout the state, including city and county proclamations, op-eds, special events, performances, social media, webinars, arts advocacy week, legislative meetings and more. The goal of the month-long event is to elevate public awareness of the value of the arts, culture bearers and creative workers and to encourage public investment and support for the creative sector.
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The Office of the Arts Commission is proud to be a division of the County’s Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder Agency led by elected official Melissa Wilk. The support and leadership provided by Melissa Wilk is critical to the work of the Arts Commission. The Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder Agency has an extensive leadership role with the County government and the Arts Commission.

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