Advisory Committee General Inquiry

Thank you for your interest in serving on the Advisory Committee to help shape inclusive, community-rooted arts programs and advocacy across San Joaquin County. We’re looking for individuals who bring lived experience, creative vision, community ties, and/or professional skills that can uplift the arts and strengthen access for all.

About the State-Local Partner Program and Advisory Committee

The State-Local Partner (SLP) Program, administered by the California Arts Council (CAC), is designed to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression at the local level across California. Its mission is to foster cultural development through a formal partnership between the CAC and each county.

The Stockton Art League is currently serving as the State-Local Partner Mentee for San Joaquin County, with Amador Arts as our mentor. This work is funded by a State-Local Partner Mentor Grant from the California Arts Council. San Joaquin County has not had an active State-Local Partner organization since 2001, making this effort an important step toward restoring county-wide arts leadership and resources.

As the county-designated arts organization in this mentee capacity, our SLP role is to ensure that the arts are accessible, equitable, and responsive to the diverse needs of our communities. This includes:

Supporting artists, arts organizations, and cultural groups across the county.
Prioritizing service to historically under-resourced communities, particularly those in the lower quartiles of the California Healthy Places Index.
Providing technical assistance, promoting CAC opportunities, and offering programs that connect and uplift local creatives.
Partnering with schools and community groups to deliver county-wide programs such as Poetry Out Loud.
Gathering data, evaluating community needs, and advocating for the arts at the county level.

The Advisory Committee plays a key role in helping us fulfill this mission. Members will:

Provide insight, feedback, and ideas to strengthen arts access and cultural equity across San Joaquin County.
Help identify community needs, underrepresented voices, and opportunities for greater engagement.
Support outreach, relationship building, and advocacy efforts that ensure our programs reflect the values, priorities, and diversity of the region.
Serve as ambassadors for the arts, connecting our work with local networks, neighborhoods, and communities.

By joining the Advisory Committee, you will contribute directly to shaping how state arts funding and resources are used to serve the entire county, ensuring that creative opportunities and cultural resources reach those who need them most.

A. Applicant Information

Name

First

Last

Email

Preferred Pronouns (optional)

Phone

City/Town of Residence

ZIP Code

B. Connection to San Joaquin County & Community Representation

Please list the neighborhoods, cities, school districts, or communities within San Joaquin County to which you are connected or which you aim to serve

How do you engage with these communities, and how do you ensure your engagement is responsive to their needs and values?

C. Artistic and Cultural Experience

Tell us about your connection to the arts.

This could include being an artist, educator, cultural organizer, creative worker, or supporter of the arts.

D. Professional and Community Skills

Please check or describe any skills, experience, or roles you can bring to the advisory committee

Other (please specify):

In Addition, please check or describe any skills, experience, or roles you can bring to the advisory committee

Equity and Accessibility Practices: Experience in developing or implementing programs that are accessible to individuals with disabilities (Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, physical, visual, developmental, learning, or cognitive disabilities, as well as mental or chronic illnesses) and/or promote cultural equity
Data Collection & Evaluation: Experience in collecting data, assessing community needs, or evaluating program impact to support strategic development
Working with Historically Under-Resourced Communities: Demonstrated capacity and commitment to engaging and uplifting historically under-resourced, excluded, and erased artists, audiences, communities, and cultural practices, including those residing in the lower quartiles of the California Healthy Places IndexThird Choice
Poetry Out Loud Program Coordination: Experience with youth literary programs, educational outreach, or competition coordination

Are you willing to lead a committee?

Yes
No
Maybe

E. Availability & Commitment

Meeting Availability: What formats are you able to attend meetings in?

Zoom/Virtual
In-Person
Either

Time Commitment: How many hours per month can you realistically volunteer toward this work (including meetings, outreach, or review)?

2–4 hours
5–8 hours
9+ hours
None at this time, but I still want to be informed

Meeting Frequency & Attendance: How often do you think the advisory committee should meet? (Optional)

Monthly
Every 2 months
Quarterly
Other:

Other:

F. Cultural Access & Community Reach, Centering Equity and Accessibility

The State-Local Partner (SLP) program is committed to cultural equity and expanding access to the arts. This includes demonstrating experience, capacity, and commitment to engaging and uplifting historically under-resourced, excluded, and erased artists, audiences, communities, and cultural practices—particularly those residing in the lower quartiles of the California Healthy Places Index. This commitment also means ensuring that all programs, services, and information are accessible to individuals with disabilities, including but not limited to those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, have physical, visual, developmental, learning, or cognitive disabilities, or live with mental or chronic health conditions.

Please describe how your professional background, community involvement, or lived experience aligns with this vision. You may include your work with historically under-resourced or excluded communities such as BIPOC, rural, immigrant, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, youth, elders, low-income, or unhoused populations, or your involvement with underrepresented cultural practices.

If you have not worked directly with these communities Share how your skills, values, or professional expertise could help expand equitable access to the arts in San Joaquin County in alignment with the SLP’s mission and goals.

G. Demographic Information (Optional but Encouraged)

We are committed to building a committee that reflects the full diversity of San Joaquin County.
The following questions are optional and confidential. This information helps us ensure broad
representation and identify gaps in outreach.

Race/Ethnicity (check all that apply)

Prefer to self-describe

Gender Identity

Age Range

Do you identify as any of the following? (check all that apply):

Other experience

Thank You, This concludes the Inquiry Form

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