Four California Institute of the Arts alums and one Cal Arts faculty member have been recognized by Creative Capital, the nonprofit organization dedicated to championing artistic freedom of expression, with the recent announcement of the 2026 Creative Capital Awards and the inaugural State of the Art Prize. Indigenous dance and somatic movement artist brooke smiley (Dance BFA 2005), of Ojai, was selected as the California artist to receive the inaugural State of the Art Prize. The State of the Art prize was awarded to 53 individual artists, one from every state, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The Creative Capital Award provides each recipient with up to $50,000 in unrestricted project funding, along with professional development services and community-building opportunities. For more information about Creative Capital visit https://creative-capital.org/.