Category

Advocacy

WESTAF State Arts Agency Innovation Fund Announcement Featured Image

WESTAF Announces the State Arts Agency Innovation Fund

By Advocacy, Policy, Programs, WESTAF News
WESTAF is thrilled to share the launch of WESTAF’s State Arts Agency Innovation Fund. In an ongoing effort to inspire innovative and transformative practices within the 13-member state arts agencies in the West, the Fund aims to support state arts agency efforts to enhance their service to individuals, families, and communities and the arts and cultural industries in their states in ways that were previously difficult to achieve.  WESTAF has committed an initial $500,000 investment from the $8 million MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett gift received in 2021.The Fund has been structured to offer support to the transformative work of...
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WESTAF blue and green Graphing Announcing Pacific Jurisdictions Partnership

WESTAF Announces Partnership with Pacific Jurisdictions

By Advocacy, Policy, Programs, WESTAF News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Leah Horn 720.664.2239 leah.horn@westaf.org WESTAF Announces Partnership with Pacific Jurisdictions New agreement creates pathway for Pacific jurisdictions to join western Regional Arts Organization   Denver, CO, June 30, 2022—To demonstrate its continued focus on equitable grantmaking and diverse arts ecosystems throughout the western region, the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) has partnered with the Pacific Jurisdiction (PJ) region through an unprecedented agreement. Historically, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam (collectively, Pacific Jurisdictions/PJs) have been underrepresented as a region within the U.S. arts sector and in conversations surrounding arts advocacy. With this new…

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2022 Arts Leadership and Advocacy Seminar image

WESTAF Announces 2022 Arts Leadership and Advocacy Seminar

By Advocacy, News, Policy, WESTAF News
WESTAF is happy to announce that registration is open for the 2022 Arts Leadership and Advocacy Seminar (ALAS)! This year's virtual event will be taking place on Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Held annually between 2011 and 2017, ALAS brought arts leaders from the West to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and their staff, engage in briefings regarding the status of and future prospects for federal arts support, and to discuss with the WESTAF trustees ways to generate more state government support for the work of state arts agencies. This year’s ALAS will expand...
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Creative Vitality Summit 2021 Report Image of a camera with pink and blue lighting

WESTAF Announces 2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit Report

By Advocacy, News, Policy, WESTAF News
The 2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit report is here! The Summit brought together thought leaders and creative economy experts to discuss opportunities and challenges for creative workers and entrepreneurs, as well as building a more community-centered creative economy. Topics ranged from opportunities for, and threats to, creative workers and entrepreneurs, in addition to impact investing and building creative economy infrastructure through networks and policy. We recently compiled all of the resources and recommendations generated during the Creative Vitality™ Summit into a single report to share with you. To learn more about the convening, as well as how we hope to build...
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WESTAF alliances, advocacy, and policy team headshots

WESTAF Expands its Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy Team

By Advocacy, News, Policy, WESTAF News
WESTAF is excited to announce a newly expanded and reimagined Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy (AAP) team. Led by WESTAF Deputy Director David Holland, the expanded team will allow for a deeper investment in year-round state and federal arts advocacy and support of the 13 state arts agencies in the West, as well as increased capacity to facilitate regional and national dialogue on contemporary policy issues that affect the arts. The Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy (AAP) division leads a variety of efforts, including conducting arts policy research, delivering professional development programs for state arts agencies, advancing and supporting the work of arts...
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Cynthia Chen Announcement

WESTAF Welcomes Cynthia Chen as Manager of Public Policy and Advocacy

By Advocacy, WESTAF News

In early January 2022, WESTAF will welcome Cynthia Chen as the manager of public policy and advocacy. She will manage WESTAF’s public policy and arts advocacy programs and services. An alumna of WESTAF’s Emerging Leaders of Color program, Chen joins WESTAF’s Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy Division, which leads the organization’s efforts to strengthen advocacy for the arts at local, state, and national levels, support state arts agencies across 13 states in the West, and facilitate regional and national dialogue on contemporary policy issues that affect the arts. These efforts include conducting arts policy research, delivering professional development programs for state…

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US RAO

U.S. Regional Arts Organizations Congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris

By Advocacy, WESTAF News
November 10, 2020 The six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs) Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and WESTAF join Americans for the Arts in congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The RAOs look forward to working with the new administration to advance the essential role of the arts in our nation, to support the creative sector with additional investment to recover from COVID-19 and rebuild our economy, and to invest in the great work of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Regional Arts Organizations...
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WESTAF Update Notes #106 | November 2019

By Advocacy, CaFE, Convenings, GO, Newsletter, Social Responsibility & Inclusion, Updates

This is the 106th in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF.   WESTAF Board of Trustees Meet in Denver  Members of WESTAF’s board of trustees met October 23-24 in Denver. The meeting opened with a dinner at the historic Brown Palace Hotel that all WESTAF staff were invited to attend in order to build and deepen authentic relationships between trustees and staff. The meeting also included a gallery session, a “science fair”-style gathering designed to strengthen trustee and staff connections as we move ahead with our 10-year strategic plan. During the hour-long session, trustees visited six…

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Update Notes #94 | September 2017

By Advocacy, CaFE, Convenings, CVSuite, Newsletter, Staff, Technology, Updates
WESTAF Update Notes #94 | September 2017 From Anthony Radich, Executive Director This is the 94th in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF. WESTAF Executive Director Anthony Radich Elected to Technology Oversight Group WESTAF Executive Director Anthony Radich has been elected to serve as a member of the CollectionSpace leadership working group. CollectionSpace is a free, open-source collections management application used by museums, historical societies, biological collections, and other collections-holding organizations. The leadership working group reviews and prioritizes software development, technical infrastructure, and user support roadmaps to help CollectionSpace meet the diverse needs of a wide...
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Update Notes #92 | May 2017

By Advocacy, Articles, GO, News, Newsletter, SAAs, Staff, Technology, Updates, ZAPP
WESTAF Update Notes #92 | May 2017 From Anthony Radich, Executive Director This is the 92nd in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF Advocacy Efforts to Support the National Endowment for the Arts WESTAF has expanded its advocacy work on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts. Recently, three contractors were hired to focus exclusively on this project and to work closely with our regional network of advocates. Yvonne Montoya, director of Safos Dance Theatre in Tucson, is activating our Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC) network; Craig Watson, the immediate past Director of the California...
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