When they inspire, when they provoke, and when they engage us, the humanities open our minds and ultimately connect us to each other.

Cal Humanities has been bringing people together around their history and culture for more than 30 years. Cal Humanities connects Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.

Who Are We?

Cal Humanities is a non-profit that promotes the humanities in California to help create “a state of open mind.”

We produce, fund, and support cultural experiences in media, literature, and discussion programs. Through our work, we inspire Californians to learn more, dig deeper, and start conversations that matter among our dramatically diverse people.

What Do We Do?

Every day we ask ourselves: what does it take to create “a state of open mind?”

Cal Humanities promotes the humanities as relevant, meaningful ways to understand the human condition and connect us to each other in order to become a better California. As an independent, non-profit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we were originally founded in 1975 as a granting organization, but through the years we have created and implemented our own signature humanities programs and projects. Cal Humanities now plays a critical role across the state in producing, funding, and supporting cultural experiences and events.

About Our New Look

The open quote. It’s the start of every great idea. It represents the beginning of dialogue, thought, conversations...the figurative start to a perspective that may change how we think about the world. Californians are diverse in their backgrounds and thinking, which is why we want our work to be open, accessible, and representative of all these rich aspects of our state’s diversity—and potential. Ultimately, it’s our tool to create a state of open mind.

What's In a Name?

Formerly known as the California Council for the Humanities, we have recently changed our name to Cal Humanities to underscore our organization’s increased efforts to promote the humanities as relevant, meaningful ways to better understand the human condition. Our new name reflects our aim to become more interactive and accessible as we provide our diverse audiences with a host of meaningful experiences to engage with the humanities and our fellow Californians.