WESTAF Update Notes #101 | January 2019
From Leah Horn, Director of Communications, WESTAF
This is the 101st in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF.
 
Update on Emerging Leaders of Color Program 2018
In the fall of 2018, WESTAF hosted 13 arts administrators for its seventh annual professional development program for emerging leaders of color. The program was facilitated by faculty Margie Johnson Reese, a longtime national arts leader; Salvador Acevedo, Vice President of Culture Strategy for the San Francisco-based innovation strategy consulting firm Scansion; and Tamara Alvarado, Executive Director at the Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation. The effort was organized by Chrissy Deal, WESTAF’s Manager of Multicultural Initiatives. The 2018 cohort now joins a 90-member alumni network of professionals of color across the WESTAF region. In 2019, WESTAF intends to reconvene a cohort comprised of the alumni of this program to examine issues facing arts administrators of color today.
The 2018 participants included: Andre Carbonell, Co-Executive Director/Program Development Coordinator, Slam Nuba/Apprentice of Peace Youth Organization, Denver • Antoine Girard, VSA-TOURS, The Broad, Los Angeles • Laili Gohartaj, Associate Director of Development, Oakland Symphony, Oakland • Victoria Gonzalez, Digital Strategist, Latino Cultural Arts Center, Denver • Tara Gumapac, Head of the Fine Arts Department, Department of Education, Art Resource Teacher for Ko’olau Aina Momona Academy, Kaneohe, Hawai’i • Rezina Habtemariam, Director of Student Equity and Engagement, Shoreline Community College, Seattle • Jennifer Kleven, Grants and Memberships Manager, Neon Museum, Las Vegas • Annette Luján, Volunteer Coordinator, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque • Humberto Marquez Mendez, Community Engagement Manager, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland • Renato Olmedo-González, Manager of Annual Giving, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City • Moana Palelei HoChing, Creative Director, Pasifika First Fridays, Sandy, Utah • Elisa Radcliffe, Arts Learning Manager, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix • and Nathalie Sanchez, Visitor Engagement Supervisor, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.  
 
Public Art Archive™ Collection Management Tool Official Launch
The Public Art Archive has begun onboarding the public art collections of early adopters of its new Collection Management System. The system was developed in partnership with CollectionSpace specifically for the management of public art collections. In addition to bringing on new clients, the team has completed the migration of 13,000 artwork records and over 34,000 images contained in the Archive’s old database to the new system. The Archive team is currently preparing to launch a new front-end interface for the system and they will soon also release a new and more streamlined “search” and “explore” functionality on the site. Team members are also at work developing gaming and social media apps that will encourage deeper and more sustained engagement with public art throughout the world.
 
TourWest Program Turns 25!
WESTAF’s TourWest program is celebrating 25 years of making funding available to presenters in the 13-state WESTAF region. Underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts, the TourWest program seeks to help nonprofit presenters bring high quality performing artists to underserved communities throughout the region. Rural parts of the WESTAF region are especially targeted for the grants made through this program. Examples of rural communities that have been successfully served through this program include: Wallace, Idaho, population 761; Carrizozo, New Mexico, population 996; and Cordova, Alaska, population 2,239. The 2019 TourWest cycle opens in mid-January and closes on April 1st. For information on applying, call 303-629-1166 or email madalena.salazar@westaf.org.
 
CaFE™ Launches New Homepage, Further Site Redevelopment Underway
The CaFE team closed out 2018 with a new and improved homepage and plans to roll out many exciting updates during calendar year 2019. At the start of the new year, the artist side of CaFE will become a fully accessible site on a mobile device or tablet. The CaFE team is also making improvements to the application page, which will make it easier for applicants to save work, upload images, and understand workflows. The new year will also bring an update to the CaFE juror review and scoring pages. New features such as zoom and full screen capabilities will be coming in mid 2019.