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.
- This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
List of arts councils
North America
Canada
Provincial
- British Columbia
- Alberta Foundation for the Arts
- Saskatchewan Arts Board
- Manitoba Arts Council
- Ontario Arts Council
- Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
- New Brunswick
- Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts
- Nova Scotia
- Newfoundland and Labrador
Municipal
- Council for the Arts in Ottawa
- Kingston Arts Council
- Sudbury Arts Council
- Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Lethbridge
- Winnipeg
- Toronto
- Montreal
United States
Regional councils
- 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
States
California
- California Arts Council (CAC)
- Alameda County: Alameda County Arts Commission
- Amador County: Amador County Arts Council (ACAC)
- 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)
- Humboldt County: Humboldt Arts Council (HAC)
- Inyo County: Inyo Council for the Arts
- Lake County: Lake County Arts Council
- Los Angeles County: LA County Arts Commission
- City of Los Angeles: City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
- Los Angeles County: Pasadena Arts Council
- 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
- Santa Barbara County: Santa Barbara County Arts Commission
- Santa Clara County: Arts Council Silicon Valley
- Siskiyou County: Siskiyou Arts Council
- Solano County: Solano County Arts Council
- Sonoma County: Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County
- 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)
Florida
North Carolina
Maryland
Massachusetts
Utah
- Utah Arts Council
Europe
Bulgaria
Finland
Germany
- Akademie der Künste
- Kulturstiftung des Bundes
Ireland
Norway
- Norsk Kulturråd
Spain
Autonomical Regions
Catalonia
Sweden
United Kingdom
- Arts Council of Great Britain - broken up in 1994 into the following three:
- Arts Council of Northern Ireland
- Cayman National Cultural Foundation, Cayman Islands
Asia
India
Pakistan
Philippines
- National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines
Singapore
Africa
Australasia
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: International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies
- For information on arts councils in the United States, go to: Americans for the Arts