California Arts Council Calls for Grant Review Panelists for 2026

SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Arts Council (CAC) has announced its open call for applicants to serve on peer-review panels for its 2026 grant season. The state art agency is seeking arts and cultural practitioners from diverse communities statewide to volunteer as field representatives to evaluate grant application submissions, ensuring an equitable, honest, and thorough review and ranking process.

"Grant review panels are integral to our work here at the CAC, as grant makers and as a state agency. Working with our creative peers ensures that informed and equitable decision making is applied to our local assistance funds," said CAC Executive Director Danielle Brazell. "We look to our state's network of creatives, creative communities and creative economies to answer the call to service and apply to be a part of this season's grant panel pool."

Prospective candidates must be California residents age 18 or older with experience in a wide range of artistic, cultural, and social fields, including but not limited to:

• Artists and cultural practitioners of all disciplines
• Arts learning for youth
• Cultural placekeeping/creative placemaking
• Cultural development
• Youth advocacy
• Arts programming of, for, and by people with disabilities
• Social service, justice, community building
• Adult, juvenile detention/court
• Nonprofit management
• Arts programming for veteran populations

This is a great opportunity for experienced arts practitioners as well as new and emerging members of the arts and culture community. The panel experience provides great insight into the grant-making process and can serve as a professional development practice for their career and artistic goals.

As an appreciation for our volunteer panelists, individuals who complete their panel service will receive a $300 honorarium to subsidize their attendance at a minimum of two or up to three virtual meetings and rank submission activities. Panelists make a four- to eight-week commitment to read and rank approximately 30 applications by the grant review deadline. An average of 30-60 minutes of time is needed to appropriately review and rank each panel application.

Previous applicants from past grant seasons must reapply to be considered for the current season's panel pool. Panelists selected to serve during the 2026 grant season will be contacted by CAC staff between May 4 and May 31. Panel service will run approximately between June and mid-July. Dates are subject to change.

Panelist applications submissions for the 2026 grant season are due by April 27.
Complete details are available on the Grant Panels page of the California Arts Council website.

Application Webinar & Office Hours

Prospective applicants with questions regarding service as a grant peer-review panelist and the application process are invited to join California Arts Council Programs Supervisor Jonathan Estrada during one webinar and two virtual office hours opportunities via Zoom. Attendees must register to attend the webinar. Office hour sessions are for available for any questions; individuals may join and exit as needed. Schedule dates, times and links are included below.

WEBINAR

• Wednesday, March 16, 3-3:30 p.m. - Click here to register

OFFICE HOURS

• Friday, April 3, 3 p.m. - Click here to join
• Friday, April 17, 2026, 3 p.m. - Click here to join

Media Inquiries Only:
Kimberly Brown
Public Affairs Specialist
[email protected]

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Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Nicola Miner, Vice Chair; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Leah Goodwin; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Dorka Keehn; Phil Mercado; Rick Stein. Learn more at https://www.arts.ca.gov.

The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, visit https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. To read this announcement in Spanish, please use the website's Google Translate tool by clicking the "Translate" link in the upper righthand corner of this page.

El Consejo de las Artes de California se compromete a aumentar la accesibilidad de sus contenidos en línea. Para obtener ayuda con el idioma y la accesibilidad, visite https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. Para leer este anuncio en español, utilice la herramienta Google Translate del sitio web haciendo clic en el enlace "Traducir" situado en la esquina superior derecha de esta página.