State's Creative Economy plan visits Sacramento as arts leaders press for implementation

Megan Morgan, race and equity manager at the California Arts Council, presented the agency's Creative Economy Work Group strategic plan to the Sacramento Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Commission on Jan. 12, saying the plan was established by legislation (referred to in the presentation as AB 01/1927) and has been developed with a statewide work group and outside contractors.

Morgan told commissioners the plan focuses on six priority action areas including workforce preparation, stabilizing and growing creative businesses, increasing revenue through cultural identity and tourism, leveraging existing state opportunities and incentives, defining and tracking return on investment for the creative economy, and building state capacity and infrastructure. She described a public outreach phase that includes more than 30 town halls across eight regions and a Sacramento convening scheduled for Feb. 4 (in-person at Memorial Hall) with a virtual option on Feb. 5.

Why it matters: Morgan said the legislature directed the agency to produce a plan and asked that implementation be guided by broad public engagement. Commissioners and members of the public said the plan's value will depend on whether it leads to local funding and concrete tools — such as permitting assistance or model policies — that cities and counties can adopt.

During Q&A, commissioners said town-hall feedback so far has ranged from youth participants saying they don't see themselves reflected in the plan to requests for help accessing vacant warehouses for artist studios and for more attention to mental-health supports and —2dthird spaces—2d like churches and community centers. Morgan said the team is capturing those responses for a spring addendum to the legislature and for toolkits and implementation pilots.

Local speakers at the meeting urged linking the state plan to specific local needs. Shira Lane of Atrium 916, a creative-innovation center in Old Sacramento, highlighted extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs and a large plastic-mitigation fund as opportunities for creatives to lead education and outreach. A volunteer who identified himself as Lambert praised the state outreach and noted the visible impact of past commission funding for Grant High School's drumline.

Morgan said contractors including the Institute for the Future and Serotonin Creative Consultancy are documenting regional stories, filming at some town halls, and building a public website and toolkits to keep the plan accessible beyond the report. The presentation materials and a schedule of regional sessions are on creativeeconomy.arts.ca.gov, she said.

Next steps: The California Arts Council plans to finish the phase-2 tour by February, submit an addendum to the legislature in the spring summarizing gaps identified in public sessions, and begin phase-3 implementation and evaluation thereafter. Sacramento commissioners were encouraged to attend the Feb. 4 town hall and to help recruit locally underrepresented voices to the process.

Sources: Presentation by Megan Morgan, race and equity manager, California Arts Council; public comments by Shira Lane (Atrium 916) and municipal staff at the Jan. 12, 2026 Sacramento Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Commission meeting.