Capitol Spotlight: Julie Baker, California for the Arts

Growing up in New York City not far from Lincoln Center, Julie Baker was immersed in the arts. Her father, a German-Jewish refugee, was very engaged in culture and brought her to many events. The family also had a home at an artist colony in Woodstock.

But she knew early on she wasn’t an artist herself. “I don’t agree that everybody’s an artist,” she said. “I think I’m a creative person in business models and strategy but I’m not someone who is compelled to make art.”

Today, she devotes her considerable energies to helping artists thrive. She is chief executive officer of both California for the Arts, a statewide arts advocacy organization, and California Arts Advocates, a lobbyist group that works to increase state investment in the arts.

It’s an uphill battle despite California’s leadership in the entertainment industry. The state ranks 35^th nationally in per capita arts funding. “Arts are still not seen as essential,” Baker said. “It’s still seen in some circles as elitist.”

Her organizations’ wins have included helping increase state funding for the California Arts Council (up to as high as $26 million) and establishing “Arts, Culture and Creativity Month” in April and an annual arts advocacy day at the capitol in Sacramento.

Baker’s leadership helped obtain $11.5 million in state funding for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, a program which funds arts workers in small nonprofit arts organizations. The grant program provides reimbursements of payroll expenses for arts organizations with adjusted gross revenues under $2 million.

Brandon Lorenz, national director of communications and public policy for the Actors’ Equity Association, called it a “historic” win. Baker was able to help build a coalition of a wide variety of arts groups, from theater to dance to opera, music and beyond.

“You need someone to act as ringleader to foster consensus,” he said. “I think that’s something in particular Julie’s really good at.”

Baker has also prioritized educating artists about the state legislature. One example is California for the Arts’ Grassroots Artists Advocacy Program, a fellowship program for arts advocates who live and work in Oakland or San Francisco.

The purpose is to de-mystify the civic engagement process, Baker said. “We’re so disconnected from the systems that control us,” she said. “We’re trying to provide the tools and the resources so people can advocate for themselves.”

Natalia Neira, a 2024-2025 GAAP fellow, said the fellowship taught her the importance of showing up at government meetings and recognizing that artists are experts that can contribute to the conversation.

What makes Baker stand out as a leader is how down-to-earth she is, Neira said. Neira was impressed that at a meeting of the Greater Bay Area Arts Coalition, Baker participated in an interpretive dance about integrity with other attendees. It showed how “accessible and really cool” Baker was, Neira said.

“Where else but in the arts sector do you get to experience people who understand that when people make art together it’s the souls talking, it’s the spirits talking?” she said.

Earlier in her career, Baker ran her family’s arts marketing firm in New York City and worked at Christie’s Auction house. She later opened her own fine arts gallery first in Grass Valley and then in Nevada City in the Sierra foothills and ran the Center for the Arts in Grass Valley for eight years. She brought California World Fest, a summer musical festival, to Grass Valley.

Baker first came to California when she enrolled in the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned a degree in American Studies. It was there that she met her husband, who grew up in Nevada City in the Sierra foothills, where she makes her home today.

The couple moved to the area in 1998 because they were ready for a quieter life and could afford a house – something that was impossible in NYC.  Moving to a rural area was a good fit for her.  “My name on Instagram is ‘Green Acres for Life,’” she said.

The couple raised three sons there and now have two grandchildren, ages 5 and 1, who are seventh generation Nevada County residents. She loves spending time with them as well as being out in nature, attending arts events and dancing to live music.

She recalled that she opened her fine arts gallery in Grass Valley because she wanted to bring her knowledge of the arts and culture to her new town. It featured emerging and contemporary artists and was a hit with both locals and tourists.

After the 2008 economic crash, she pivoted to leading the Center for the Arts. The small performing arts center was struggling, but she was able to help bring it back on track. She brought first-rate talent to the area, including Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

She positioned the center as not just an entertainment provider but a community benefit. For instance, the Willie Nelson concert was a benefit for local nonprofit Bear Yuba Land Trust.

Health and family concerns led her to move on from that position to her own consulting business, which assisted with programming strategies, talent buying, sponsorship programs and more.

She served on the boards of California for the Arts and California Arts Advocates when both were all-volunteer organizations. When the groups decided to have staff, she became their first employee in 2018.

“I loved it,” she said. “I really enjoy state advocacy – to understand the systems, to figure out how to influence the systems and the strategy to do that.”

When she started, California for the Arts had a budget of about $100,000. Now it has a budget of over $2 million and 10 staff members.

This year, the group is advocating for the California Arts Council to get $50 million in funding. She wants people to see that artists’ work is real work and they benefit the state as a whole.

“Artists have the capacity to tell stories in a way and understand things in a way that helps communities heal and brings people together,” she said.