Explore Our Impact Map
Copyright Josh Edelson
Creative West supports arts advocates and organizations by helping them build advocacy capacity and networks. Creative West offers resources, training, information, and tools to empower arts advocates to effectively champion arts-related issues at the local, state, and federal levels.
Arts and cultural advocacy involves supporting and promoting artists, culture bearers, arts organizations, and the creative community. This can include raising awareness, boosting appreciation, or securing funding for artistic and cultural practices. Advocates strive to ensure that arts, culture, and creativity remain a vibrant and essential part of society, recognizing their profound impact on a community’s culture, education, economy, and overall well-being. Creative West serves arts advocates in three key ways:
Creative West builds the capacity of arts advocates and arts advocacy organizations by providing training, research, and legislative data to help them engage effectively with policymakers. Our programs provide the knowledge and skills needed to champion arts-related issues. By offering these educational opportunities, Creative West works to ensure that advocates are well-prepared to engage with stakeholders, influence policy, and mobilize communities to support the creative sector.
Collaboration is key to amplifying advocacy efforts. In building these networks, we facilitate joint initiatives, shared resources, and increased visibility for important issues that Creative West supports.
Creative West is an active member of several coalitions that span the national arts service and creative economy sectors who work to advance federal arts and cultural policy. We support the work of the Western Arts Advocacy Network, a coalition of statewide arts advocacy groups in the West.
Creative West also, on occasion, supports the development of local arts advocacy initiatives in the region such as the Greater Bay Area Arts and Cultural Advocacy Coalition. Through fostering community and collaboration, we help advocates build support systems and tap into shared expertise.
The right resources and tools are key to successful advocacy. Creative West offers helpful resources including research reports, policy briefs, and toolkits to guide advocacy strategies and actions. We also provide technical assistance to craft custom advocacy strategies in the region and provide financial support to arts advocacy work in the region.
Photo Credit: Ceylon Mitchell
Photo Credit: gallupARTS
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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.
GO Smart is an affordable grants management software that offers pre- and post-application forms, panel reviewing, and data reporting for grantmakers.
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.
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.
