City awards $20,000 in public art event grants to four local organizations
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Summary
The Public Arts Commission’s annual plan includes $20,000 in event grants this fiscal year; four organizations each received $5,000 awards for events to be held before Dec. 31, 2025.
City staff announced that four organizations were selected to receive $5,000 each from the fiscal-year public art event grant pool, for a total distribution of $20,000.
Monica Sardina, community services manager, told the commission the city opened the public art event grant on April 1, 2025 and accepted applications through May 16, 2025. She said staff received 11 applications and an internal committee rated proposals after the deadline. “Grantees that were selected for a grant award this year were Notia Bohemia de Salinas, Artist Inc, Alisal Center for Fine Arts, and EOS De Sol,” Sardina said.
Under the program description shared with the commission, each organization will receive its $5,000 award after hosting the proposed event and submitting a final report and receipts. Sardina said all awardees must complete their events by Dec. 31, 2025. She gave Saturday’s Notia Bohemia event at Sherwood Hall as an example and said the city counted about 700 attendees at that event.
Staff also outlined confirmed programming: Artist Inc. plans two craft-and-culture markets in Old Town Salinas on Sept. 5 and Oct. 3, 2025; Alisal Center for Fine Arts will present a Día de los Muertos play at the Breadbox Recreation Center on Oct. 18, 2025; EOS De Sol will hold a Día de los Muertos festival on Nov. 1, 2025 in its parking lot. The city’s director noted the prior annual plan had included up to $20,000 for event grants and that staffing changes had delayed implementation; staff said implementation is now underway.
The commission encouraged staff to continue outreach and urged local organizers to apply for future grants and for staff assistance with the application process.
