Arts council

An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad. They are often arms length from the government to prevent political interference in their decisions.

In the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the national arts council with six regional arts organizations and 56 state and territorial arts councils. Additionally, many counties, cities, and neighborhoods have local arts councils.

List of Arts Councils

North America

Canada

*Canada Council

United States

*National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Regions within the United States

*Southeast Southern Arts Federation
*Mid-Atlantic Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
*Northeast New England Foundation for the Arts
*Mid-America Mid-America Arts Alliance
*Mid-West Arts Midwest
*West Western States Arts Federation

tate of California

*California Arts Council (CAC)
**Alameda County: Alameda County Arts Commission
***City of Alameda: Alameda Arts Council (AAC)
**Amador County: Amador County Arts Council (ACAC)
**Butte County: Friends of the Arts/Butte County
**Calaveras County: Calaveras County Arts Council
**Contra Costa County: Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County
**Del Norte County: Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness (DNACA)
**El Dorado County: El Dorado Arts Council (EDAC)
**Fresno County: Fresno Arts Council (FAC)
**Humboldt County: Humboldt Arts Council (HAC)
**Imperial County: Imperial County Arts Council
**Inyo County: Inyo Council for the Arts
**Kern County: Arts Council of Kern
**Lake County: Lake County Arts Council
**Lassen County: Lassen County Arts Council
**Los Angeles County: LA County Arts Commission
***City of Los Angeles: City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
**Madera County: Madera County Arts Council
**Marin County: Marin Arts Council
**Mariposa County: Mariposa County Arts Council
**Mendocino County: Arts Council of Mendocino County (ACMC)
**Merced County: Merced County Arts Council (MCAC)
**Modoc County: Modoc County Arts Council
**Monterey County: Arts Council for Monterey County (ACMC)
**Napa County: Arts Council of Napa Valley (ACNV)
**Nevada County: Nevada County Arts Council (NCAC)
**Orange County: Arts Orange County (AOC)
**Placer County: Arts Council of Placer County (PlacerArts)
**Plumas County: Plumas County Arts Commission (Plumas Arts)
**Riverside County: Riverside Arts Council (RAC)
**Sacramento County: Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC)
**San Bernardino County: Arts Council for San Bernardino County (ACSBCo)
**San Diego County: City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture
**San Francisco County: San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC)
**San Luis Obispo County: San Luis Obispo County Arts Council
**San Mateo County: ARTshare
**Santa Barbara County: Santa Barbara County Arts Commission
**Santa Clara County: Arts Council Silicon Valley
**Santa Cruz County: Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County (CCSCC)
**Shasta County: Shasta County Arts Council (SCAC)
**Sierra County: Sierra County Arts Council
**Siskiyou County: Siskiyou Arts Council
**Solano County: Solano County Arts Council
**Sonoma County: Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County
**Stanislaus County: Stanislaus Arts Council
**Sutter County: Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council (YSRAC)
**Trinity County: Trinity County Arts Council Association
**Tulare County: Arts Council of Tulare County
**Tuolumne County: Central Sierra Arts Council
**Ventura County: Ventura County Arts Council
**Yolo County: Yolo County Arts Council (YCAC)
**Yuba County: Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council (YSRAC)

tate of Florida

*Florida Keys Council of the Arts

tate of Idaho

*Idaho Commission on the Arts

tate of North Carolina

*Hillsborough Arts Council

tate of Maryland

*Frederick Arts Council

tate of Virginia

**Fairfax County: Arts Council of Fairfax County
**Fairfax County: Herndon/Council for the Arts of Herndon
**Charlottesville and Albemarle County: Piedmont Council of the Arts

tate of Tennessee

**McNairy County: Arts in McNairy

Central and South America

*National Institute of Culture of Panama

Europe

Bulgaria

*National Culture Fund of Bulgaria

Finland

*Arts Council of Finland

Germany

*Akademie der Künste

Ireland

*Arts Council of Ireland

Netherlands

*Council for Culture of the Netherlands

Norway

*Norsk Kulturråd

United Kingdom

*Arts Council of Great Britain - broken up in 1994 into the following three:
**Arts Council England
**Scottish Arts Council
**Arts Council of Wales
*Arts Council of Northern Ireland
*Cayman National Cultural Foundation, Cayman Islands

Asia

Rep.of Korea
*Arts Council Korea

India

*Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

Pakistan

*Arts Council of Pakistan

Philippines

*National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines

ingapore

*Singapore National Arts Council

Africa

*Bomas of Kenya
*National Arts Council of South Africa
*National Arts Council of Zimbabwe

Australasia

*Australia Council
*Creative New Zealand

External links

Almost every country provides some government support for arts and culture, but not all choose to adopt the arm's length or arts council model. Many national governments rely solely on a government ministry or department to deliver their cultural policies and support programmes. Most of the 'arts council' countries listed above also have a government ministry or department for arts and culture (rare exceptions are the USA and the Philippines); the typical arts council therefore lives in quite a complex environment, wedged between the arts sector and government.

For information on both arts councils and ministries around the world, and on the issues they face, go to:
* [http://www.ifacca.org/ifacca2/en/default.asp International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies]