Arts in State Parks Program

A dark-skinned woman in a navy blue ballcap reaches up with a gloved hand to add more blue paint to a mural of a monarch butterfly on a dark-skinned hand. Her dark hair is pulled back out of her face while she works, and her white shirt and apron are unmarked by paint.
Artist Belen Islas paints a mural at the Dia de los Muertos event in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. ©2023, California State Parks.

Arts in California Parks supports creative collaborations to bring new events, programs, and installations to California State Parks. The program works to build the capacity of State Parks staff and collaborating artists and organizations to use art as a catalyst for sustainable community connection, health, and well-being.

State Parks pilot projects were initiated in the summer of 2023, and other projects continue to be added to the program. Explore all projects on the interactive map, and learn about completed projects on the News & Updates page.

Opportunities for artists, culture bearers, and California Native American tribes to collaborate with State Parks on new projects will be posted here as they are available.  To locate State Parks in your County, and identify the California Arts Council’s designated art organization/agency for your County, visit the Arts in State Parks Resources page.

Stay up to date by joining the email list at the bottom of this page and/or joining the Artist Directory as an artist or organization interested in collaborating on art in parks.

California State Parks
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