Established in 1981, it runs under the California state arts council, the California Arts Council (CAC).
On May 17, 2012, the council gallery, office, and records were destroyed in a fire that started in the kitchen of a pizza restaurant in another part of the building.[1]
For 30 years, the council's signature event was its annual Mariposa Storytelling Festival. The festival came to an end in 2017 because of rising production costs and falling sponsorship.[2][3]
