Cultural & Fine Arts

Sonoma Valley's rich history, beautiful scenery, and small-town vibe have inspired a thriving arts community.  The volunteer members of the City's Cultural and Fine Arts Commission (CFAC) help to develop programs to promote, enrich, and advance the cultural and fine arts in Sonoma.

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The City's core service provider for arts and cultural programming is the Sonoma Community Center, which offers classes in ceramics, fiber arts, visual arts, culinary arts, and music, as well as programs and camps for youth. The City also provides financial support to the Sebastiani Theatre Foundation to support building renovation and programming, and partners with other local arts organizations on various initiatives.  Listings for these and other local arts and cultural organizations can be found in our community  Recreation & Parks Directory. We invite you to explore!

Public art plays an important role in celebrating Sonoma’s character, sparking creativity, and enhancing public spaces. Over the years, the City has supported a variety of installations including A Delicate Balance (pictured) - a 2021 collaboration with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art that brought large-scale sculptures to the Plaza.

Building on this foundation, the City has launched a formal Public Art Program to provide new opportunities for artists, nonprofits, and community members to propose, fund, and create public art throughout Sonoma. Learn more, see current and past projects, submit a public art proposal and more on the program page.

Sonoma Art Walk is a monthly, community-wide celebration of Sonoma’s vibrant business community and outstanding local artists. The Art Walk is a partnership of the City of Sonoma with the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce, Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, Sonoma Community Center, Arts Guild of Sonoma, and the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. For details and a list of participating businesses and artists please visit the Sonoma Art Walk website.

Treasure Artists of the Year are nominated by the community and selected annually by the Cultural and Fine Arts Commission to be honored for "outstanding achievement in a chosen artistic medium including the performing, visual, musical, literary and theater arts". Pictured: The 2025 Sonoma Treasure Artist is Margaret Hatcher.

The CFAC also selects one or more local students each year to receive the Student Creative Artist Award. Pictured: 2025 Student Creative Artist Award Winner Teagan Rhodes (left), and Merit Award Winers Maggie Brown (top right) and Tallulah Kimball (bottom right)

In honor of Earth Day, the City holds an annual Photo Contest encouraging shutterbugs to submit photos capturing  their favorite natural spot, plants or creatures in Sonoma.

View the past award winners and entries on our Photo Contest pages.