County Arts Commission

The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission is appointed by the Board of Supervisors to act as coordinator and catalyst, bringing government, artists, and public together for the cultural benefit of all. The Arts Commission has several important functions, including: making recommendations for the Percent for the Arts program, which establishes public art throughout the county; stewarding the arts making impact grant awards; and helping to generate cultural arts policy for county constituents.

Arts Commission meetings are open to the public and Commissioners welcome members of the public to join meetings and share ideas during the public comment period at the beginning of each meeting. Meetings take place bimonthly; they occur on the second Wednesday from 1:30- 3:00 p.m. Agendas and minutes are located here.

Standing Committees:

• County Art in Public Places (CAPP)

• Operations

• Governance

Arts Commissioners:

1st District: Karen Kerns, Elizabeth Newman

2nd District: Jana Brody, Susan Rose, Mariko Tabar

3rd District: Roman Baratiak, Kaitlin Chui, Mark Oliver (Vice Chair)

4th District: Courtney Arensdorf, Fred Carbone, Robert Dickerson (Chair)

5th District: Abraham Melendrez, Margaret Lange, Juan Manuel Perez Salazar