Individuals

Athena Taylor
An artist living in Santa Cruz , Athena attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied painting. She also does performance, installation and work with photography and digital imagery. With her master's degree in psychology, she created a model for interpreting art from an integrated theoretical approach: including sociology, art history, cognitive and psychoanalytic theory. Athena is currently applying for grants for a research project that develops an educational tool for interpreting art in museums. Currently she is interning at a museum in Palo Alto . http://athenasartfest.com/

Mary Warshaw
A painter, printmaker and clay artist. Gallery committee member of Pajaro Valley Arts Council and have co-curated two exhibitions, Watching the Watsonville Wetlands, co-curated with Louise Newberry, and Sculpture IS, co-curated with Judy Stabile.

Lisa Christensen and Andrew Purchin have recently collaborated to form Wide Blue Yonder Dance Company.  Their first  production, Tender Ground - An Evening of Intimate Aerial Theater, premiered to sell out audiences at The 418 Project on Oct. 20 and 21, 2007.  Their Mission is to create dance performance driven by dramatic sources using aerial and acrobatic techniques in a supportive role.  We create works of art that temporarily alter the physical sense of reality.

Dance

Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre
Through the 24 years at Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre over 300 young dancers have learned the powerful role dance plays in creating individual confidence and the discipline necessary for success as contributing members of society. Contact: Santa Cruz  Ballet Theatre

Friends of Olympia Station dba Tandy Beal and Company
We create and produce original dance, theatre, music and circus from Athens to Zurich , from Aptos to Zayante. Workshops in all forms and for all ages. Contact: Friends of Olympia Station. Websites: starstuffproductions.com and albertsbicycle.com Contact: Friends of Olympia Station

Juventud Latina Genesis
Demonstrates and teaches the art and history of folklorico. Contact: Juventud

Mir & A Company
Mir & A Company is a theatrical aerial, fire and modern dance company whose productions acknowledge the power of human experience as a means to grow and draw humankind closer. The company provides community classes, educational outreach programs for at risk youth and hosts international artists to teach classes and conduct performances. Contact: Mir & A Company

Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble
Contact: www.schafferstern.org

Literary Arts

Poetry Santa Cruz
Poetry Santa Cruz is dedicated to nurturing the poetry community and bringing poetry to the larger community in Santa Cruz County . Contact: Poetry Santa Cruz

MEDIA

KUSP
Central Coast Public Radio and NPR member station. Contact: KUSP

Community Television
In a effort to provide the community with enhanced local television programming that provides an inside view of the many community organizations doing amazing and vital work in Santa Cruz County , Community Television has initiated a non-profit organization mini-documentary program to produce short documentary videos about the work of local non-profits. Contact: www.communitytv.org

Multi-Discipline

Santa Cruz Council Conference and Visitors’ Council
Contact: www.santacruz.org

Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County
Founded in 1982, the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County is a public, nonprofit organization created by area residents as a permanent resource for the entire county. Our mission is to promote philanthropy to make Santa Cruz County a better place to live, now and in the future. Contact: www.cfscc.org

Cruzy-artists
Are you an Artist or are you looking for Art or Artists?  Use Cruzy’s short, catchy name to multiply your marketing and promotion efforts, even if you already have a website. Contact: www.cruzy.org

Japanese Cultural Fair
The purpose of the Japanese Cultural Fair is to provide an opportunity for the community to increase its' awareness and understanding of the Japanese community in Santa Cruz County as well as Japanese culture, both traditional and contemporary. Contact: Japanese Cultural Fair

Mountain Parks Foundation
The mission of Mountain parks Foundation is to assist California State Parks in funding educational and interpretive activities that enrich the experience of visitors to Henry Cowell and Big Basin Redwoods State Parks . Contact: Mountain Parks

Pajaro Valley Performing Arts Assoc.
The mission of the Pajaro Valley Performing Arts Association is to create a welcome environment for the performing arts in the Pajaro Valley . Contact: PVPAA

Scandinavian Cultural Center
The Scandinavian Cultural Center of Santa Cruz is a non-profit educational corporation to support, preserve and promote Scandinavian art and culture. Donations are tax deductible. Our meetings and free monthly cultural events programs are held at our Viking Hall, 240 Plymouth St. Santa Cruz , CA 95063 . Contact: Scandinavian Cultural Center

Santa Cruz County Parks & Cultural Services
The Mission of the Santa Cruz County Dept. of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services is to provide safe, well-designed and maintained parks, and a wide variety of recreational and cultural opportunities for our diverse community.  For information about programs, activities, and park facilities, go to www.scparks.com, or call 454-7901.

Tannery Arts Center
The Tannery Arts Center is dedicated to providing an affordable, accessible and sustainable home for the Arts in Santa Cruz County . The vision for the Tannery Arts Center is to create a home for the arts in Santa Cruz County dedicated to creating opportunities for individual artists and arts organizations, residents and visitors to create, explore, perform, exhibit, learn and enjoy the Arts. www.tanneryartscenter.org

UC Santa Cruz Arts Division
The Arts Division at UC Santa Cruz offers numerous public performances and presentations from October-June in music, dance, theatre, film, digital arts, visual arts, and art history -- interpreted by faculty artists, students, and internationally recognized visitors.

William James Association
The mission of the William James Association is to promote work service in the arts, environment, education and community development. The Association takes as one of its major concerns the promotion and encouragement of the arts as reflective of universal human aspirations and contemporary social realities. Contact: WJA

Academy at West End Studio
Contact: www.wettheatre.com

Music

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
"For lovers of contemporary music, Santa Cruz , California is the place to be during the first two weeks of August." —BBC Music Magazine. Contact: Cabrillo Festival

Distinguished Artists Series
The Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series (DACLS) is a non-profit affiliate of Cabrillo College in Aptos , California . Its mission is to bring together artists of international and local reputation, various musical and service organizations, educational institutions, and professional and ethnic groups in a variety of diverse and stimulating creative projects that reach a broad cross-section of the community. Contact: DACLS

Kuumbwa Jazz Center
The Kuumbwa Jazz Center is a venerable Santa Cruz institution, recognized in the international arts community for its weekly concert presentations and educational youth programs. Contact: Kuumbwa

New Music Works
NMW's annual concert series offers works by living composers in a variety of media, emphasizing music by Santa Cruz area composers, producing original music/theater works, while also including masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. Contact: NMW

Santa Cruz Baroque Festival
The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival performs on period musical instruments, making baroque music in the 21st century fresh and exciting. Contact: SC Baroque Festival

Santa Cruz Chorale
Musical Arts of Santa Cruz (MASC) and the Santa Cruz Chorale exist to provide enjoyment, cultural enrichment and education to the Santa Cruz county community by producing exciting, distinctive and ambitious concerts to the highest possible standards. The chorale performs choral works of diverse periods, genres and traditions, both a cappella or accompanied by professional soloists, instrumental ensemble and orchestra. Contact SC Chorale

Santa Cruz County Symphony
Celebrating symphonic music under the direction of John Larry Granger. Contact: SCC Symphony

Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony
Our mission is to foster a life-long appreciation for classical orchestral music in the youth of Santa Cruz County with an emphasis on the beauty and value of the experience of playing and performing. Contact: SCC Youth Symphony

Watsonville Taiko
In the past 40 years, Taiko drumming has become a performing art. Taiko is used as a cultural expression in rituals and in spiritual training, as musical accompaniment for theater and dance productions, for festivities, and for creating community gatherings. Contact Taeko D'Andrea at info@watsonvilletaiko.org.

Theatre

Actors' Theatre
Actors' Theatre provides resources for theater artists, presents new and established works by local, national, and international authors, cultivates and maintains audiences, and collaborates and partners with other groups to create a stronger presence for theater. Contact: Actors' Theatre

Pisces Moon
Recognizing theater's power to elevate the human spirit, spark debate and affect change, Pisces Moon Productions, Inc., produces works of visual beauty, historical relevance, social purpose and artistic integrity. We have presented highly acclaimed and well-attended theatre productions for adults since 1999, an Educational division since 2002,
an Outreach Program to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered) Youth since 2004, and a Young Company, formed in 2006. Contact: www.piscesmoon.org

Shakespeare Santa Cruz
See one of the top ten Shakespeare festivals in the country; experience lively, innovative theatre performed in the spectacular outdoor Festival Glen and the intimate indoor Mainstage Theatre.

Visual Arts

The Santa Cruz Watercolor Society provides art education in watercolor, funds art scholarships, and presents watercolor art exhibits. It also raises money for contributions to other art organizations. For more information, contact: President Aimee Nelson or Lee Taiz. 

Museum of Art and History (MAH)
The Museum of Art & History is a non-profit educational institution that promotes a greater understanding of contemporary art and the history of Santa Cruz county, through its exhibitions, collections, and programs, for the benefit of residents and visitors to Santa Cruz County . Contact: MAH

Pajaro Valley Arts Council
The Pajaro Valley Arts Council and Gallery is a nonprofit arts advocacy organization committed to responding to the shifting needs of regional artists and our community, by nurturing artistic expression and providing a place for the community to come together to enjoy art. The gallery’s themed exhibits combine the diverse and rich talent of our region with educational elements to stimulate public dialogue into contemporary art and a broad range of social issues. Contact: pvarts

Santa Cruz Art League
The mission of the Santa Cruz Art League is to create an environment that will support and inspire the artistic experience along the various stages of the creative path. SCAL supports the community by providing exhibits, literary readings, performances and educational programs.

Santa Cruz Mountains Arts Center
The mission of the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center is to support and encourage art through education, exhibition and cultural activities. SCMAC provides hands-on learning, artwork displays, and cultural events that enrich the lives of residents of the community who live far from the city center. Contact: scmountainarts

Local Arts Contacts:

Actor's Theatre (831) 425-1003 www.sccat.org

Distinguished Artists Series (831) 479-6444  www.distinguishedartists.org

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (831) 426-6966 www.cabrillomusic.org

Community Music School (831) 426-9155 www.communitymusicschool.org

Friends of Olympia Station (831) 426-2230

Japanese Cultural Fair (831) 476-7040  www.jcfsc.org

KUSP (831) 476-2800

Kuumbwa Jazz Center (831) 427-2227 www.kuumbwajazz.org

Museum of Art and History (831) 429-1964 www.santacruzmah.org

Pajaro Valley Arts Council (831) 722-3062

Pajaro Valley Performing Arts Association (831) 763-4047  www.mellocenter.com

Poetry Santa Cruz (831) 464-8983  www.poetrysantacruz.org

SC Art League, Inc (831) 426-5787 www.scal.org

SC Ballet Theatre (831) 477-1606   www.santacruzballettheatre.org

SC Baroque Festival (831) 457-9693  www.scbaroque.org

SC Chamber Players (831) 426-3238   www.scchamberplayers.org

SC Chorale (831) 427-8023  www.santacruzchorale.org

SC County Symphony (831) 462-0553    www.santacruzsymphony.org

SC County Youth Symphony (831) 426-3238   www.sccys.org

SC Mountains Art Center (831) 336-3513   www.mountainartcenter.org

Shakespeare Santa Cruz (831) 459-2121 www.shakespearesantacruz.org

Watsonville Taiko Group (831) 426-9526  www.watsonvilletaiko.org

©Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County

Send comments and questions about this site to the Cultural Council at info@ccscc.org

This page was updated on: 4/11/2008