Thought Leadership and reach            The 2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit Report is Here! The inaugural Creative Vitality Summit took place in September 2021 and brought together over 40 creative economy experts, arts and culture leaders, and equity champions across the field to discuss the future of the creative sector and to formulate a more concrete vision of equitable possibilities and realities for the arts field and beyond. The recently released conference report examines opportunities and challenges for creative workers and creative entrepreneurs; the mechanics of building a creative economy that supports community leadership, social capital, and...

Social Responsibility & inclusion            State of Colorado Taps WESTAF Trustee Brandy Reitter as New State Broadband Director WESTAF Trustee and Emerging Leaders of Color (ELC) alumna Brandy Reitter will serve as the next executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office. As the state prepares for significant increases in funding to expand high-speed broadband connectivity efforts in Colorado, Reitter will lead the state’s broadband strategy during a time of robust advancement and development of Internet connectivity—particularly for rural areas. “Working in municipal government has given me a window into how challenging broadband expansion can be for...

Social Responsibility & inclusion            ELC Alum Featured in Grammy Interview Delbert Anderson (Emerging Leaders of Color alumnus, 2021) was recently interviewed by journalist Morgan Enos about the difficulties of being a Native American musician in today’s music industry. Anderson’s interview is accompanied by other Indigenous artists who share their thoughts and experiences in going through similar situations. Check out the interview and learn more about what’s next for Anderson. Read the full article ALLIANCES, ADVOCACY & Policy              WESTAF to Create Bay Area Arts Policy Seminar with Funding from Hewlett...

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND REACH            2021 Creative Vitality™ Summit Concludes On Monday, September 20 and Tuesday, September 21, WESTAF’s inaugural Creative Vitality™ Summit brought together 40 creative economy experts, arts and culture leaders, and equity champions across the field to discuss the future of the creative sector. With nearly 500 registered participants, this year’s Summit will go down as one of the largest convenings in WESTAF’s history. To learn more about the Summit, please visit the event website and be sure to check out the pre-conference paper to learn more about some of the topics covered...

INCLUSION & EQUITY                                         WESTAF ELC Alumna Joins Social Responsibility and Inclusion Team We are thrilled to welcome Ashanti McGee as WESTAF’s new Grants and Access Manager. Ashanti is an artist and arts advocate who has called Las Vegas, Nevada home for over 25 years. She began her arts administrative work assisting local grassroots and nonprofits with grant writing and management and continued working in this area for over a decade. In 2014, she was selected as the Nevada representative for WESTAF's...