History Gets a Boost from LA County Arts

The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society was recently awarded a $14,000 grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture to help with marketing and reopening their facility after Covid closures. The award given to the Society was given in two parts: an Arts Relief and Recovery Grant and a Reopening Culture, Tourism, and Marketing Grant. This funding will support the rebranding of Heritage Junction into the Santa Clarita History Center, help with the development of a new website and online newsletter, and provide printed and graphic materials to attract visitors to the park.
The Society was one of more than 750 arts, cultural and equity-building organizations who shared a grant pool of over $31 million dollars, a historic County investment in the nonprofit creative sector. Funding came from the American Rescue Plan Act relief and recovery programs, as well as the Department’s Arts and Cultures Organizational Grant Program. The grants are designed to address pandemic impacts on the arts and the creative economy, one of the most economically significant and hardest-hit sectors, while leveraging the unique capacity of arts and culture to catalyze our region’s economic recovery, civic connectivity, and community wellbeing.
“Investing in the arts is investing in our communities, because arts and culture resources improves mental health and wellbeing, economic opportunity, and youth development, said Kathryn Barger, Fifth District Supervisor. “The reach of these grant program is incredible. They support everything from grassroots organizations with micro, small, and mid-sized budget, to major cultural institutions, and everything in between. They serve millions of our residents and visitors every year in every corner of the County, including those who are most vulnerable, and they provide stable careers for artists and arts workers.”
While the Historical Society’s area of Hart Park is open for hikers and history buffs to look at the exteriors of it eight buildings and steam engine/caboose, all of the structures are currently undergoing restoration and are closed to the public. A museum dedicated to Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads is planned for the Saugus Train Station and a museum of local history, which will also feature rotating exhibits of local interest, is in the works for the Pardee House. Opening dates for the museums will be announced in the future.
For more information, visit www.scvhs.org.