California Arts Day?

On the first Friday of October, the annual celebration of California Arts Day takes place in cities and towns across the state. The theme this year is California Imagination, and the image is the California Imagination bear created by Los Angeles artist Jillian Kogan and composed of objects from hundreds of arts organizations and artists in California.

The efforts of arts organizations statewide to create special events and opportunities for the public on California Arts Day can help demonstrate the impact the arts, creativity and imagination have on the California economy, the education and job preparation of its children, and the health and vitality of civic life in the state. By coming together under the unifying banner of the arts, Californians can show how important and rewarding the arts are to the California experience.

But California Arts Day isn’t just about organized events. Californians can participate in the arts in quieter ways. Take an arts class. Write a poem or short story. Dance! Or participate as an arts lover by taking friends and family to arts events like the theater, museums, galleries, dance performances, music events, and other arts and cultural activities. Parents can take their children on an arts outing, adults can make plans for a performance with their senior citizen parents, couples can go somewhere artistic together, friends can invite friends, to experience the richness of California Imagination.

Through California Arts Day, the California Arts Council hopes to demonstrate the value, strength, and beauty of the arts and generate media coverage on the role the arts play in California. California Arts Day, as the first Friday in October, coincides with the national celebration of Arts and Humanities Month, and many events that occur in October can be associated with this event, as well as California Arts Day.