Mural by Heather Hardison and residents of the Navigation Center, Redwood City, CA 2025.
Stay in Touch
This month at the Office of Arts and Culture:
- San Mateo County's Office of Arts and Culture and Arts Commission is pleased to support nonprofit arts and culture organizations located in or serving San Mateo County. To meet our 2026 grantees, click here.
- The Office of Arts and Culture is able to provide sponsorships for events, festivals, performances, exhibits, or awards that you or your organization is hosting. For more information or to apply, click here.
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The San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce proudly presents Winter Wonder Walk, a festive stroll filled with sparkle, music, and family fun. The community will enjoy heartfelt holiday shopping—supporting local artisans and neighborhood businesses. This event is free and open to the public and sponsored in part by the San Mateo Office of Arts and Culture. The event takes place, December 5, 5-8pm, West 25th Avenue, San Mateo.
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Mural Madness: Join us for an unforgettable evening on December 6, 5-8pm honoring community, cultivating resilience, and inspiring hope. We will celebrate the works of Mural Madness artists created at the 2025 September Arts & Culture Fest. The event will take place at Atelier for Healing showroom, 1150 El Camino Real, Suite 283, Tanforan Mall, San Bruno. To RSVP, click here.
- The San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture in partnership with SamTrans and the San Mateo County Office of Education is excited to announce the 18th Annual Art Takes a Bus Ride contest. Art Takes a Bus Ride gives 1st -12th graders a chance to have their artwork displayed on the side of a SamTrans bus for an entire year! Deadline to apply: December 5, 2025 @5:00pm. For more information and to apply, click here.
- We invite educators, youth organization leaders, and high school students to be part of San Mateo County’s Poetry Out Loud 2026 Program. Teens build public speaking skills and self-confidence, while learning about literary history and contemporary life through poetry with the help of a coach. Open to all youth in San Mateo County high schools and youth organizations. To learn more and to sign up click here.
- On May 5, 2025, the Office of Arts and Culture hosted a celebration of the 5th San Mateo County Poet Laureate, Antonio López and the important role poetry plays in our community to uplift and give voice to all. Click here to view the video of the program and read the San Mateo Daily Journal article, Combining Poetry and Politics.
Mission
The San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture (OAC) and its Arts Commission champions the arts as essential for a healthy and vibrant community by shaping innovative cultural policies, creating inclusive and diverse programming, and ensuring access to arts and culture for all, with consideration for race, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, economic status, and cultural background. We commit to partnering with artists and arts organizations that represent and celebrate the diversity of our county, through the fair and equitable distribution of programmatic and financial support. We support art events, programs, outreach, engagement and services that create social vitality in neighborhoods, K-12 schools, and under-served constituencies.