Category

Policy

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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Black history month celebration of diversity and African culture pride as a multi cultural celebration.

2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit

By Policy
Thank you to everyone who joined us virtually on Monday, September 20 and Tuesday, September 21, 2021 for the 2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit! We had a successful series of discussions from today's creative economy experts, arts and culture leaders, and equity champions. Presented by WESTAF in partnership with the National Creative Economy Coalition, ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Grantmakers in the Arts, and more, this year’s Creative Vitality™ Summit featured a series of speakers, panels, and community-led discussions around how the creative economy intersects with the solidarity economy and other alternative economic models. These discussions delved into trends...
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Director of Public Policy

By News, Policy, Staff, Updates
WESTAF Welcomes David Holland as Director of Public Policy David Holland will join WESTAF later in August 2019 as director of public policy, a new role that will guide WESTAF’s public policy and arts advocacy programs and services. Holland previously served as associate director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, a chapter of Americans for the Arts. Prior roles include management positions with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) da Vinci Center for Innovation, VCU School of the Arts, Arts & Business, and the UK innovation think tank Nesta. Holland began his career with BOP Consulting, a global consulting firm...
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Update Notes #93 | July 2017

By Convenings, CVSuite, Newsletter, Policy, Social Responsibility & Inclusion, Technology, Updates
WESTAF Update Notes #93 | July 2017 From Anthony Radich, Executive Director This is the 93rd in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF. CVSuite™ Now Helps Measure the Diversity of Your Creative Economy The addition of ethnicity data is a recent important enhancement to WESTAF’s Creative Vitality™ Suite creative economy data tool. Users of the tool can now use it to identify the ethnic makeup of workers in various creative industries and to compare those findings to the ethnic makeup of the geographic populations in which the creative occupations are located. How inclusive is your creative...
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Update Notes #90 | January 2017

By Advocacy, Convenings, Events, News, Newsletter, Policy, SAAs, Updates, ZAPP
WESTAF Update Notes #90 | January 2017 From Anthony Radich, Executive Director This is the 90th in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF Sixth Arts Leadership and Advocacy Seminar For the sixth consecutive year, WESTAF will bring 60 arts advocates from the West to Washington, DC. During the January 30 through February 1 meeting, participants will learn more about the current and planned future work of the NEA, hear updates on federal-level advocacy efforts, and meet with their members of Congress. The speaker for the Seminar’s opening dinner is Sam Stein, senior politics editor at the...
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Update Notes #88 | August 2016

By Convenings, CVSuite, IMTour, Newsletter, PAA, Policy, SAAs, Tech, Updates
WESTAF Update Notes #88 | August 2016 From Anthony Radich, Executive Director This is the 88th in a continuing series of update about the work of WESTAF Louisiana Partners with CVSuite™ The Louisiana Office of Cultural Development has entered into a multi-year partnership with WESTAF to use extensive data from the Creative Vitality Suite™ (CVSuite). An important feature of the partnership is the development of several enhancements to the CVSuite tool, including additional creative industry and occupation codes in the culinary and restoration occupation sectors to better capture the diversity of Louisiana’s creative economy. The updates will be available in...
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