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 separate tables representing WESTAF’s departments and divisions, where they learned about each team’s work priorities in a fun and friendly way.
Multicultural Advisory Committee to Transition to Equity and Inclusion Committee
Another unique element of the October board meeting was an overview and acknowledgment of WESTAF’s Multicultural Advisory Committee’s work over the last 20 years. Committee Chair and board Vice Chair Teniqua Broughton oriented the trustees to several important milestones along WESTAF’s diversity, inclusion, and equity journey. Committee members Lucero Arellano, Tamara Alvarado, Teniqua Broughton, SuJ’n Chon, Tony Garcia, Eric Hayashi, Kimberly Howard, Amir Jackson, Aaron Miles, and Tey Marianna Nunn have championed these advancements and serve as important ambassadors for WESTAF’s efforts to create a more equitable arts and culture field. In 2020, the Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) will transition to the Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC) and continue the work of advising WESTAF on how best to align its programs and operations around these important principles.
Check out more photos from the gallery session, board meeting, and MAC presentation.
GO Smart Partners with South Arts on Jazz Road Program
In early 2019, GO Smart partnered with WESTAF’s sister regional arts organization South Arts as it began its inaugural Jazz Road program. Jazz Road facilitates support to American touring musicians, specifically in the jazz genre. GO Smart services were offered free of charge to South Arts to administer the grant application, run a panel review, and collect final reports. Thirty-one artists were granted nearly $360,000 in the initial round of funding, with the next cycle of touring support as well as a new initiative supporting residencies launching in early 2020.
2020 Advocacy Funds and Executive Directors Forum
WESTAF’s Alliances team is working on the launch of the fiscal year 2020 State Advocacy Funds program in the coming weeks and is planning the upcoming Executive Director Forum, which will take place this January in Reno. Each state in the WESTAF region is eligible to receive funds to support annual state-level advocacy activities. WESTAF also convenes the executive directors of the state arts agencies in the West through a forum each year to discuss issues in the field, share knowledge and practice, and consider ways to increase support for these agencies. Also in the works is a strategy for supporting federal advocacy activities in 2020, which will soon be announced to partners in western states.
CaFÉ Releases Simplified Pricing Plans
CaFÉ, WESTAF’s call for entry application management program for the arts, recently released two simple pricing plans along with new add-on services, making it even more budget-friendly for small and large arts organizations. CaFÉ’s promotional email service continues to grow in popularity—the add-on service sends an email to artists on behalf of the participating call, reaching an audience of over 190,000 artists. Call administrators can choose the region and art discipline of the email recipients, and pricing for this service starts at just $100.
