Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center

Our mission is to provide innovative, artistic, educational and therapeutic programs that inspire and transform children, at-risk youth, and their families to fulfill their highest potential. The ARTS center is the first and only organization in Orange County offering unique programming that combines the arts, academics and creative therapies to help youth realize their highest potential.

Founded in 2000, and adjacent to the Bowers Museum, OCCTAC is a place where emotion is in motion. Children express joy through instruments often cut from public school budgets: the harp, violin, guitar and drum, to name a few. They demonstrate wonder with paintbrushes, crayons and pencil. They offer hope with their feet, tapping to the sounds of everything from traditional Mexican song to European classical music.

The ARTS center is the first and only organization in Orange County offering unique programming that combines the arts, academics and creative therapies to help youth realize their highest potential. OCCTAC offers a high-quality, comprehensive and multicultural curriculum that prioritizes on empowering children and youth of limited resources, from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The foundation of the organization rests with committed and compassionate board members, staff and teachers, who are talented artists, musicians, educators and therapists.