Muck Celebrates State Grant For Reentry Arts Programming

The California Arts Council has announced a grant award of $21,250 to The Muckenthaler Cultural Center (“The Muck”) as part of its Reentry Arts program during its 2023 grant cycle.

With support from the California Arts Council, The Muck will provide two types of Visual Arts programs in partnership with GEO Reentry Services, through which formerly incarcerated students will not only learn charcoal, pastel, and ceramics skills and techniques, but will also learn how to constructively express themselves, while building their confidence, discipline & self-esteem. The arts lessons will be correlated with the other programs the students participate in at GEO Reentry Services, such as Restorative Justice, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anger Management, Parenting Skills, and Employment Readiness program. We will also present culminating exhibits to which friends, family, staff and probation officers are invited, where the students can craft and present stories of their artistic and rehabilitative journey to help with reunification with family, times when lives are improved w/good communication skills.

The Muck was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with more than 850 grant awards totaling more than $32.75 million in projected funding projected investments for operational and project support to nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state of California.

The nearly $33 million in awards for the 2023 grant cycle sets a new record for the state arts agency's investment in California's arts and culture workforce via permanent state and federal allocations for local assistance funds, upwards of $2.8 million more than its last record-setting year in 2020.

“In this last year, the California Arts Council has been working diligently to listen to our field, to be responsive to the moment, and to do our best to make our investments strategic and equitable,” said California Arts Council Executive Director Jonathan Moscone. “I am proud that we are able to disperse more than 850 grants throughout the state so that the arts can continue to have a deep and positive impact on the vast and diverse communities of California.”

Organizations were awarded grants across six different program areas designed to benefit the whole of California's arts and culture ecosystem, with focused considerations for first-time applicants, small and mid-size arts and organizations, folk and traditional art forms, county local arts agencies and arts service organizations, and opportunities with deep investment for both general operating and project-based support.

Read the full announcement by the California Arts Council for more details and to view a complete listing of all 2023 CAC grantees by county, alphabetically by organization, and by program.

The Muck mission is to celebrate the human spirit through the arts. 

Walter and Adella Muckenthaler built the 18 room mansion in 1925 which served as the center of their citrus and nut farming business and their family home for more than four decades. In 1965, their son Harold Muckenthaler donated the mansion and the surrounding 8.5 acres to the city with the proviso that his childhood home be used to provide the public with experiences that stimulate creativity and imagination, while conserving the heritage and architecture of the estate.

In 1999, The Muck Mansion received designation by the National Registry of Historic places.  

Though the City of Fullerton maintains ownership, it is managed by The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation and its elected Board of Directors. The City and the Muck enjoy a strong spirit of cooperation in the best interest of our mutual constituents. The Muck produces 100 events annually: concerts in our extraordinary 300 seated outdoor amphitheater, indoor cabaret space, five free-to-the-community Cultural Festivals, our Art gallery exhibits, a lecture series, and occasional film events. The Muck is also a premier wedding venue with Colette's Catering, being the exclusive on-site wedding planners and caterers.

Our education department grew in performance and reach, expanding from one summer day camp to five, including the children on the Autism spectrum, built a world class recording studio and strengthened one of the finest ceramics facilities in the region. Our classes by teaching artists serve 40,000 people each year in facilities for victims of domestic violence, homeless shelters, schools and libraries of Fullerton and prisons in Southern California. We follow Harold Muckenthaler's vision to inspire through the arts. 

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