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Contact:
Leah Horn
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leah.horn@westaf.org
National Leaders of Color Fellowship Announces Third Year with Support from United States Regional Arts Organizations
Application for Unique Leadership
Development Experience Opens September 16th
Denver, CO, September 11, 2024—Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) has partnered for the third consecutive year with its five United States Regional Arts Organization (USRAO) counterparts in continued support for the National Leaders of Color Fellowship, a transformative leadership development experience curated by WESTAF in order to establish multicultural leadership in the creative and cultural sector. By partnering with the other RAOs (Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts), the program has expanded nationwide and its mission has become a national endeavor.
The no-cost fellowship takes place online from December 2024 through June 2025. Fellows receive access to specialists in the field, strategic learning objectives determined to deepen thought on anti-racist and culturally-oriented leadership practices, and national-level network and cohort building. Upon completion of the program, participants transition to alumni status and have opportunities to collaborate with the USRAO in their region as advisors, funding panelists, and/or other professional capacities.
“Building on the growth of the program’s first two years of this national pilot in collaboration with the other USRAOs, we’re excited to welcome the third and final cohort into this impactful pilot program,” said Anika Tené, director of grants, awards and programs at WESTAF. “Helping us to test this program over these years, we look forward to continuing LoCF within the USRAO collective as well as our external evaluation process, and preparing the program to be replicated within other like-minded organizations. The program continues to demonstrate the power of collaboration between institutions and BIPOC leaders. We look forward to fostering meaningful dialogue and strategic engagement with this year’s cohort.”
For additional information and to apply, visit artslead.org/about/leaders-of-color-fellowship. The application will open on September 16 and the deadline to apply is Sunday, October 13, 2024.
About WESTAF
WESTAF is a regional nonprofit arts service organization dedicated to strengthening the financial, organizational, and policy infrastructure of the arts in the West. WESTAF assists state arts agencies, arts organizations, and artists in their quest to serve diverse audiences, enrich the lives of local communities, and provide access to the arts and arts education for all. Through innovative programming, advocacy, research, technology, and grantmaking, WESTAF encourages the creative advancement and preservation of the arts regionally and through a national network of customers and alliances. Founded in 1974, WESTAF is governed by a 22-member board of trustees and serves the largest constituent territory of the six U.S. regional arts organizations and includes Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Learn more at www.westaf.org.
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) strengthen and support arts, culture, and creativity in their individual regions as well as across the nation. They serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which they work. They partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Learn more at www.usregionalarts.org.
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