The Creative Corps Initiative is a partnership between the California Arts Council (CAC) and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). YBCA is one of the administering organizations in the Bay Area for the Creative Corps Initiative, providing artists with a living wage as they work with nonprofit institutions in their communities within one of the four key issue areas to create a project of their choice. These issue areas include civic engagement, climate justice, community health and wellness, and social justice. As directed by the CAC, the Creative Corps Initiative will prioritize communities that fall below the 25th percentile on the California Healthy Place Index. These communities include select areas of Antioch, Bay Point, Berkeley, Concord, Fairfield, Hayward, Oakland, Pittsburg, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, and Vallejo. Any artists residing in and/or serving the Bay Area region with a California address are encouraged to apply and will also be prioritized.

Applications for the Control Group will be accepted from Monday, May 15, 2023 at 12:00pm PST until Friday, July 14, 2023 at 5:00pm PST. Awardees will receive a payment ranging between $70,000 and $72,000. This payment can be used towards any personal expense and is categorized as taxable income.

If you have questions about this initiative or the application process, contact YBCA at creativecorps@ybca.org with the subject line: “Creative Corps Initiative” and your best contact number.

In addition, YBCA staff are here to provide applicants technical support, if needed. Contact creativecorps@ybca.org with the subject line “Creative Corps Initiative Support” for assistance. We will try to respond as quickly as possible, but we may need a full business day to respond.