St. Louis Regional Arts Commission/Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute

The Regional Arts Commission was founded in 1985 to promote, encourage, and foster the arts and cultural institutions in St. Louis City and County and to contribute to the economic development of the area through a strong presence of the arts. The mission of the Regional Arts Commission is to create an environment that nurtures artists as well as arts and cultural organizations by:

*Providing funds to promote, encourage and foster the arts and cultural institutions and activities within its boundaries
*Promoting and preserving cultural diversity
*Helping artists and arts and cultural organizations improve quality
*Creating equal access to cultural opportunities
*Insuring consideration of aesthetic issues in local decision making
*Continuing to engage in cultural planning

The Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is an innovative program of the Regional Arts Commission centered on the belief that art has the power to be an agent for positive social change. Founded in 1997, the CAT Institute is a five-month curriculum fostering successful partnerships among artists of all disciplines, social workers, educators, policy makers and community activists with the goal of creating relevant arts programs in community settings such as neighborhood organizations, community centers, social service agencies and after-school programs.

The Regional Arts Commission (RAC) grants significant funds to arts programs of all kinds in the St. Louis City and County. Always taking a dynamic role in the support of their grantees, RAC staff encourages arts organizations to actively seek partnerships in the greater community.