About Us

Our History

Founded in 1974, Creative West has aspired to be a force in advancing arts and culture across the western United States. As a nonprofit arts service organization founded on the belief that place is important to the creative process, Creative West works to strengthen the creative economy, support artists and cultural organizations, and advocate for arts funding and policy.

Over the last five decades, Creative West has developed innovative programs, fostered regional and national partnerships, and continually evolved to meet the changing needs of the arts sector. This rich history reflects our unwavering commitment to enhancing the vibrancy, health and accessibility of creative communities throughout the region and beyond.

Celebrating 50 Years

Take a look back on our first half century through our 50th anniversary documentary series.

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WESTAF Turns 50: The Beginning

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WESTAF Turns 50: Early Steps in Technology

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WESTAF Turns 50: Jumping into Tech

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1979

79

First Biennial Arts Exhibition, including 13 Western states and 28 participating artists

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1984

84

The WESTAF Book Awards launches, awarding $5,000 to writers and presses.

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1984---WESTAF-Book-Awards

1995

95

Launch of 900Arts, a phone number artists could call to give and receive coaching. 144 contracts are completed in its first year.

1995 - Arts900

1997

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WESTAF emerges from a reorganization as an entrepreneurial nonprofit committed to delivering solutions–from software to symposia–across the arts spectrum and funded by earned income and fee-for-service projects.

1999

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Launch of ArtJob.com, a website listing job opportunities in the arts, including full- and part-time employment, and fellowships. Within a few months, the site has over 25,000 user sessions per month.

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20

2000

00

WESTAF recognizes the need to seek new audiences and develop arts leaders among younger and more diverse communities. As a first step, it commissions a research report by Hispanic and Asian Marketing Research/Cheskin: Summary of Qualitative Research Among Target Audiences for Expansion.

2001

01

ArtistsRegister.com launches as a marketing tool for visual artists, with a searchable online database connecting artists with collectors, galleries, corporate art buyers, and public art administrators.

2002

02

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Launch of CultureGrants Online, an affordable grant software to allow organizations to move away from paper applications Software allows arts agencies to manage the grants process from submission to disbursement of funds.

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2001 - Culture Grants Online

2003

03

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WESTAF signs partnership agreement with major art fairs and the National Association of Independent Artists to create a universal application for fairs, creating the forerunner of ZAPPlication™

2004

04

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ZAPPlication launches, within a few years of major visual art fair administrators asking WESTAF to develop software allowing artists to submit visual materials for jurying

2004 - ZAPP
2004 - ZAPPlication

2005

05

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Launch of CaFÉ, a software program to administer and adjudicate public art calls, visual art competitions and fellowship-based competitions, with revenue generated from application fees, artist fees and image management modules.

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2005---CaFE-Postcard

2006

06

The WESTAF board establishes the Advocacy Funds project, which provided $10,000 to each state arts agency in the West to work with their state arts advocacy organization in support of advocacy work in their state.

2007

07

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WESTAF’s earned income projects surpasses $1 million in annual operating revenue.

2008

08

CultureGrants Online™ (CGO™) becomes Grants Online™ (GO). The software is in use in 20 states and a major rebuild is completed that involves a new software platform that will be applied to other WESTAF projects.

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2009

09

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Great Recession: WESTAF’s earned income strategy pays off! “If WESTAF no longer received NEA funding, it could continue operations because demand for its earned-income services afforded efficiencies to clients even in a weak economy.”

2010

10

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Launch of Public Art Archive, the only free, online database of completed public artworks throughout the U.S. at the time.

2010 - PAA

2011

11

WESTAF hosts its first Arts Leadership and Advocacy Seminar (ALAS) in Washington, DC, inviting WESTAF trustees and a group of arts leaders from the West to engage in briefings, meet with members of Congress, and join in a discussion of ways to generate more state government support for the work of the state arts agencies.

2012

12

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WESTAF’s hosts its first Dinner-Vention, a project developed in collaboration with Barry Hessenius, longtime editor of Barry’s Blog.

2013

13

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WESTAF conducts an assessment for the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation on the feasibility of establishing a cultural trust in the state. The results of this research were documented in “A Plan for the Alaska Cultural Trust.

2016

16

WESTAF hosts a symposium focusing on the status of state arts advocacy organizations in the United States entitled “The Status and Future of State Arts Advocacy.”

2019

19

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy line item vetoes the FY2020 budget for Alaska State Council on the Arts, eliminating all funds for the agency, leaving the agency without an operating budget and requiring all personnel to be released from state employment. WESTAF’s support for legislative advocacy is instrumental in reinstating the agency’s budget.

2020

20

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, WESTAF establishes the Western Arts Advocacy Network (WAAN) to bring together leaders from statewide arts advocacy organizations and other key advocates from across the region. The network continues to provide support, practical tools, and information to arts advocates across the West.

2021

21

Western arts advocates successfully secure over $830 million in state relief and recovery funding for the arts and culture sector.

2023

23

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WESTAF launches the Greater Bay Area Arts and Cultural Advocacy Coalition initiative, a milestone in support of city, county, and local advocacy in the region.

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Web Services powered by

Creative West

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CaFÉ is an online application submission system that strives to make art opportunities available to all by offering arts organizations an affordable submission platform and artists an easy way to apply.

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GO Smart is an affordable grants management software that offers pre- and post-application forms, panel reviewing, and data reporting for grantmakers.

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The Public Art Archive (PAA) is a free, searchable, and continually growing online database of completed public artworks throughout the U.S. and abroad, with a suite of resources and tools built for managing public art collections.

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ZAPP provides art fair and festival administrators with a suite of tools to digitally collect and jury applications, manage booth payments, and communicate with applicants all in one easy-to-use digital platform. Artists can apply to hundreds of shows nationwide through a central website.