Written by Tracy Hudak, Director of Field Engagement & Advocacy at CA For The Arts
We are all feeling it — this sensation of surfing tectonic shifts in technology, government priorities, and civic life. Uncertainty is causing unease while also making room for new possibilities. These possibilities are where we should take our aim. If we think about culture as a means by which we affirm and exchange values, then now more than ever, artists and tradition bearers, dancers and poets, playwrights and percussionists are needed to remind us how precious we each are, how much we matter to one another, and how vital and magical the things are that we create together.
Think of April 2025, California’s Arts, Culture & Creativity Month (ACCM), as a window of time to take action on creating the America you wish to build. Whether you attend a cultural event to expand your experiences or affirm what’s important to you, write a song that expresses the spirit of right now, put on a show that gives folks a platform to connect, call your Congressperson to tell them what you care about, attend the CA Arts & Culture Summit to fuel your passions, or attend Arts Advocacy Day at the Capitol to build power for the arts — any and all of these activities affirm health, healing, and hope. This is our thematic focus for ACCM 2025, and our programming and activations will explore the vital intersection of arts with community wellness, starting with our new Introduction Guide to Arts & Health.
Taking action to create that America might just start with your health and well-being. In 2021, a California Senate concurrent resolution declared artists as the state’s second responders. Every day, California arts workers are making critical contributions across a variety of impact areas, including health, education, housing, climate, youth development, and the economy. With all that you do, be sure to find moments to nourish your body, mind, or spirit in these days of change.
And, if you think of it, shoot me an email at tracy@caforthearts.org to let me know how you took action during April 2025 to foster health, healing, or hope in your life, home, or community.
Tracy is Director of Field Engagement & Advocacy for CA For The Arts, responsible for field building, strategy, and mobilizing California arts advocates. As an artist, advocate, and consultant, Tracy has worked at the intersections of art and economic and community development for over twenty years. As a placemaking artist, she creates site-specific arts-centered opportunities for community connection. As a creative economy advocate, she specializes in land use and economic development policy, cross-sector collaborations, research, writing, and public speaking. Tracy lives with her family in beautiful Santa Paula.
