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In this episode, I sit down with Bree Karpavage, the Open Studios and Tannery Arts Center Manager from Arts Council Santa Cruz County, to break down Santa Cruz Open Studios and why it’s become a core event for artists and the wider community. We talk through how the tour works, what it takes for artists to join, and why art visibility, education, and funding all connect.

• What Santa Cruz Open Studios is and how the October art tour works
• The scale of participation across the county and how to plan a route
• The financial impact for artists and what $1.4M in art sales signals
• Who Open Studios is best for and what artists need to prepare
• Professional development workshops that teach business skills for artists
• How the application and jury process works and what gets submitted
• Studio accessibility plus host locations for artists without public-ready spaces
• Barriers to entry, including fees and the emerging artist fund
• Why art matters to community health, culture, and voice

Find Bree:

Tannery Arts Center

Open Studios Santa Cruz County

Arts Council Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County

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On this episode of Inside Arts Council Santa Cruz County. We talk with Grants Manager Tamara Liu about how local artists and arts organizations fund their work, why public benefit matters, and how equity efforts are reshaping who receives support. We share clear advice on eligibility, applications, and ways to get involved.

• What a grant is
• Where re-granted funds come from locally
• Eligibility tied to residency and public sharing
• How to simplify the application and submit work samples
• Why demand exceeds supply and how reviews work
• Equity progress across South County and communities of color and queer artists
• Links between arts education, grants, and Open Studios
• The council’s role in advocacy, training, and connections
• How donors and volunteers expand flexible funding

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Arts Council Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County

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On this episode of Inside Arts Council Santa Cruz County, we look at how the arts education fuels an entire creative ecosystem from first encounters in classrooms to paid teen teaching roles, veteran artists in schools, and dance programs for seniors living with dementia.

Sarah Brothers Bot the Arts Education Director shares how Arts Council Santa Cruz County connects schools, artists, and families to make the arts a durable force for learning and belonging.

• Why arts education builds skills like empathy, resilience, and critical thinking
• How Spectra teaching artists are trained and matched with schools
• What makes Mariposa Arts a paid teen-to-child teaching pathway
• How we train generalist teachers to integrate arts across subjects
• Why Family Arts Nights deepen parent-school trust
• Expanding to seniors and adult learners with movement and dance
• Funding challenges and the need for ongoing advocacy
• How grants, Open Studios, and education reinforce each other

Find Sarah at:

Mariposa Arts

Arts Council Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County

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