On Friday, May 24th, the Arts Connection team and The Garcia Center for the Arts amplified our community’s voice by addressing the crucial impact of state Arts and Cultural funding from the California Arts Council (CAC). This meeting addressed a critical issue: potential budget cuts totaling $22.5 million for the arts, alongside a proposal to move the CAC to Go.biz.

Congratulations to muralist Darren Villegas and GTHS students who participated and created this beautiful mural in Grand Terrace High School, with support from JUSD CTE, CCL Redlands, Workforce SBCSS and many others in the community. This is just one of the many amazing projects that emerged from Creative Inland SoCal in collaboration with Arts Connection, Riverside Arts Council, California Desert Arts Council, IECF, and California Arts Council. Keep on supporting your local artists and inspiring youth to create and participate in important conversations as they are not just our future but our present as well!

Art@Transit was an event hosted by the City of Fontana to honor all of the artist that painted bus stop benches. Arts Connection helped selected the artist who would be painting as well as judged the final product. Dre Bonales, Arts Education Supervisor, and Hannah Velasco, Administrative Assistant went on behalf of Arts Connection to table and share resources for artist in the community.

Estudio Aire invited all past artist in residences to celebrate and honor the space and those who have shaped it to what it is today. The intimate event was filled with connection between artists, shirt making with Duan Kellum of Skoolboiz, and diving into the program and its history.

In the 2023-24 school year Arts Connection has continued with their program ARTS Avenue in serving youth K-12 in 17 different school sites. This year ARTS Avenue has brought on 19 different community teaching artists, a few of which have implemented new arts disciplines which weren’t offered in the past.

The art work that the students had created this year was given the chance to be presented at an exhibition at the National Orange Show from April 17th-21st.

During April's Arts Advocacy Month, we met with all San Bernardino County State Assembly and Senate members to push for increased funding for the California Arts Council and the continuation of the Creative Corps program. These efforts are vital to sustaining the momentum we've built in the creative sector across the Inland Empire.