The Arts Council’s mission is to inspire and nurture the arts in Merced County. We strive to show the community that art is around us all the time, and can be experienced in anything and everything. One does not have to be able to recognize the work of Manet or Mozart to know, value or benefit from the arts. Likewise, the ability to draw a perfect aesthetic is not the only right of passage to call oneself an artist. Because anyone drawn to the arts is a player in the arts scene, the arts are constantly changing. As staff, we push and pull in deliberative process to discern how that philosophy translates into action.

Incorporated in 1978, the Merced County Arts Council was originally operated from a small office space on Main Street. In 1996, the City of Merced entrusted the Arts Council to manage the Merced Multicultural Arts Center. In addition to operating this 28,000 sq. foot, multipurpose arts center, the Arts Council manages an arts-in-education program; an arts facility for adults with developmental disabilities; performances and visual/performing arts classes for children and adults; professional support for artists through fiscal sponsorship; exhibits of about 20 professional artists each year; and newfound coalitions for visual and performing artists.