The Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget released by the Governor’s office on Friday, January 16, 2026, proposes the continuation of a $2 million one-time legislative appropriation to the Arizona Commission on the Arts that was included in the State’s FY2025 and FY2026 budgets.

Supporting a Statewide Arts and Culture Sector

One of 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies in the United States, the Arizona Commission on the Arts receives and administers funds from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts and directs this funding to programs that contribute to the growth and stabilization of a statewide arts and culture sector.

State arts agencies like the Arizona Commission on the Arts play a crucial role in the larger arts and culture ecosystem, ensuring broad access to public funds, especially in rural, historically overlooked, and nascent communities.

In the current fiscal year, thanks to a $2 million one-time legislative appropriation, the Arizona Commission on the Arts awarded 546 grants totaling $2.82 million in 68 cities/towns across fourteen of Arizona’s fifteen counties. These grantees collectively serve over 10 million individual arts experiences each year.

Modest Investment; Major impact

According to Arizona Commission on the Arts Executive Director Christina You-sun Park, “these arts and culture organizations, individuals, festivals and arts learning programs enrich our state in myriad ways, strengthening communities, driving local economies, supporting our youth, and improving personal health and well-being.”

According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, arts and culture are a major economic driver in Arizona, contributing $15.8 billion to the state’s economy in 2023 and employing over 95,000 Arizonans.