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WESTAF News

Jun 14
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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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Jun 14
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TourWest Impact Survey image of a person playing the saxophone

WESTAF Announces Plans for a More Accessible TourWest Program

By News, Social Responsibility & Inclusion, WESTAF News

TourWest is WESTAF’s competitive grant program that has historically provided subsidies to arts and community organizations for the presentation of touring performers and literary artists within the 13-state WESTAF region. Since its inaugural year, TourWest has allocated approximately $500,000 a year in small amounts throughout the region. Through its longstanding efforts, TourWest has brought touring to a region covering nearly a quarter of the continent but holding only about 3% of the population in the 1960s. Cultural leaders in the Western states pursued a way of making tours more affordable for rural communities in addition to making them more attractive…

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Jun 12
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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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Jun 09
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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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Apr 08
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Creative Vitality™ Summit

By WESTAF News
CREATIVE VITALITY™ SUMMIT MenuConveningsCreative Vitality™ SummitCultural Policy SymposiaArts Leadership and Advocacy SeminarArts + Rural West SeminarEmerging Leaders of ColorState Arts Agency Development Program Contact David Holland Deputy Director David.Holland@westaf.org The Creative Vitality Summit April 9 - 10, 2024 In its third year, the Creative Vitality™ Summit brought together artists, designers, technologists, arts advocates, and policy experts to consider the impact of new economic models, new forms of investment, and technological change in arts, culture, and the creative economy. The Creative Vitality Summit is hosted by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a nonprofit regional arts organization with deep experience studying...
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Jan 26
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Public Art Archive RFQ

Public Art Archive RFQ

By PAA, Special Projects, Updates, WESTAF News
PAA-Business: Technical RFQ for External Development 2022 SECTION ONE Introduction The Public Art Archive™ (PAA), a technology service powered by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), requests vendor qualifications for a two-fold expansion project to include: A technical audit that can identify issues in current systems, workflows, and functionality, and identify solutions to reduce time-consumptive and manual processes that accompany system growth; and The creation of a product roadmap, and subsequent development and launch, of new features and system changes based on the established PAA goals and the recommendations from the technical audit. Organizational Overview WESTAF (Western States Arts Federation)...
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Jan 11
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Rebrand Project RFP

By Special Projects, Updates, WESTAF News
This RFP is for a full rebrand of Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a regional arts organization and experienced developer of technology solutions for the arts and creative industries. We are seeking a firm or agency with experience in managing WordPress sites and whose work aligns with the following values of the organization: Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility Innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing Artists, creativity, and creative vitality  Advocacy for the arts at local, state, and national levels Current website: www.westaf.org Budget for full rebrand: $80,000-$100,000  Launch date for new brand: January 2, 2023 Organization Background WESTAF (Western States Arts...
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Jan 06
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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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Nov 04
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WESTAF American Rescue Plan

WESTAF Announces American Rescue Plan Awardees

By Grants, Social Responsibility & Inclusion, WESTAF News
We are thrilled to announce that WESTAF will be awarding grant funding to 44 arts and culture organizations across the West, with at least two grants awarded per state at an average level of $35,000 each, as part of the American Rescue Plan Fund for Organizations (ARP). Aligning with the priorities of the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment), the WESTAF ARP program focused on applications that indicated a deep commitment to cultural equity, social justice and disrupting systemic racism through service to a host of constituencies, including rural and remote communities, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)...
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Oct 14
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Women’s Suffrage Mural Completed by Artist Adri Norris

By WESTAF News

Public Art Archive is excited to share that local artist Adri Norris has completed the WESTAF Women’s Suffrage Mural, located in Denver’s Montbello neighborhood. Norris’ work features eight prominent local, regional, and national women who made meaningful contributions to the history of women’s suffrage and voting rights throughout the U.S. These matriarchs of the women’s rights movement are accompanied by painted snapshots of minority communities fighting for the right to representation throughout the twentieth century. The work, made possible thanks to a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Federal Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, guides viewers…

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