Brainstorming a “Colorpalooza” project for schoolkids. Donating $500 to a local, young rocker. Helping artists get paid.

Sacramento Artists Council, Inc., a new arts organization based in Midtown, has spearheaded an array of projects since it launched in April.

Susan Rabinovitz, founder and executive director of the council, talked about the group’s projects in a Thursday interview. She explained that the group hosts events so artists have a space to exhibit and sell their work. The group asks for a 20 percent cut of sales, she said. “If your piece is sold, 80 percent is going back to the artist,” Rabinovitz said.

The group is a “full-fledged nonprofit charity,” she said, adding that it is not an artists’ cooperative. The council operates out of Sacramento Art Complex in Midtown.

At this point, the group has already incorporated as a nonprofit group with the state of California. The council is now waiting for the IRS to approve its tax forms, she said.

Rabinovitz, an artist and jewelry designer, said her organization is different from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, which sponsors art charities.

“We help create venues for local artists and musicians to showcase their talents,” she said.

The group hosted an Art Happens event in May and a Masquerade Gala dinner in November. Rabinovitz said the arts council will work with two schools in the Sacramento region as part of the June 2011 Art Happens event. The students will sell their art, and the proceeds will go back to the schools’ art programs, she said.

“Colorpalooza” is the theme the young artists will explore, she said. The theme is open-ended, and “they’re going to do whatever that interpretation is,” she said.

The council has also awarded a $500 grant to 15-year-old Julianna Zachariou of Sacramento. The money will go toward the young singer-songwriter’s expenses for recording her songs, Rabinovitz said.

The council was able to provide the grant to Zachariou and raise enough money to offset its business expenses in its first six months, Rabinovitz said.

Photo of Rabinovitz by Kathleen Haley.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.