Samantha Ortega

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

Funding provides support for arts and cultural organizations in the West to help mitigate the financial threat to the sector caused by COVID-19 In June 2020, WESTAF announced its partnership with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on a new relief grant to support arts organizations in the 13-state western region. The $10 million Regional Arts Resilience Fund is a first-of-its-kind relief and recovery grant that was awarded to each of the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. The fund was designed to help mitigate the financial threat to the sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting small- and mid-sized arts...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Leah Horn 303.629.1166 leah.horn@westaf.org New Creative Vitality List showcases music cities with populations under 500,000 DENVER, CO, Sept. 30, 2020—Following up on its 30 Most Creative Small Cities list released in spring, the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a nonprofit arts service organization and leading provider of technology solutions for the arts, is excited to announce its newest Creative Vitality List™, the Top 10 Music Cities You Need to Know About.  The second in WESTAF’s series of data-driven lists that profile and celebrate the arts, culture, and creativity of America’s most vital and vibrant places and...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Leah Horn 303.629.1166 leah.horn@westaf.org Diverse group of arts and culture professionals and practitioners gathered to explore the context of and opportunities for rural arts in the West DENVER, CO, Monday, September 14, 2020—The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) announces the publication of the Arts + the Rural West session report. The Arts + the Rural West convening brought together funding and policy organizations with practitioners to consider future directions for rural arts as a policy priority and practice of the field.  This spring, WESTAF’s new Alliances, Advocacy, and Policy and Social Responsibility and Inclusion divisions collaborated...

As one of the Kennedy Center’s Social Impact initiatives, the Center will launch Arts Across America on July 27, a program to uplift artists and showcase art from communities and regions across the country in this extraordinary time of uncertainty. Over twenty weeks, Arts Across America will feature free, digital performances from over 200 diverse, visionary artists who play leadership roles in their communities, exemplify unique regional artistic styles, and are using their medium as a tool for advocacy and social justice. Arts Across America is made possible and livestreamed by Facebook and will continue through December 11, 2020. “Bringing the world...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Leah Horn 303.629.1166 leah.horn@westaf.org New fund supports the relief and recovery of under-resourced arts and culture organizations in the West DENVER, CO, July 15, 2020—The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) is proud to partner with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on a new relief and recovery grant to support arts organizations in the West. The US Regional Arts Resilience Fund was created as an urgent response to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s arts organizations. WESTAF will administer the re-granting of over $1.7 million in the fall of 2020 through approximately 30-40 awards ranging from...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Leah Horn 303.629.1166 leah.horn@westaf.org Presenting and touring subsidies for out-of-state performers and literary artists awarded to 236 arts and community organizations in the West DENVER, CO, July 8, 2020—The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) awards the 2020-2021 TourWest grants. Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, TourWest is a competitive grant program that provides subsidies to arts and community organizations within the WESTAF region for the presentation of out-of-state touring performers and literary artists. The WESTAF region includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and...