Social Responsibility & inclusion           
ELC Alum Featured in Grammy Interview

Delbert Anderson (Emerging Leaders of Color alumnus, 2021) was recently interviewed by journalist Morgan Enos about the difficulties of being a Native American musician in today’s music industry. Anderson’s interview is accompanied by other Indigenous artists who share their thoughts and experiences in going through similar situations. Check out the interview and learn more about what’s next for Anderson.
Read the full article

ALLIANCES, ADVOCACY & Policy             

WESTAF to Create Bay Area Arts Policy Seminar with Funding from Hewlett Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts team has awarded a grant to WESTAF to develop an arts advocacy and policy seminar over 14 months in the Bay Area. The project will be led by WESTAF’s alliances, advocacy and public policy team in collaboration with the marketing and communications team and in partnership with Californians for the Arts. Further details will be shared in the coming months.

WESTAF to Create Bay Area Arts Policy Seminar with Funding from Hewlett Foundation

Ten artists, companies, and ensembles were selected in the first phase of the National Endowment for the Arts Performing Arts Discovery program being managed by WESTAF and delivered by the Western Arts Alliance in collaboration with sister regional arts organizations. Versa-Style Dance Company, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, and acoustic picker Cary Morin were selected from the West in the first round alongside artists from other regions. The ten artists and groups were showcased at the Western Arts Alliance Conference and at the Arts Midwest Conference. A selection of these artists were also featured at the National Endowment for the Arts/International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA) Americas Cultural Summit 2021 in November 2021. Read on for information on phase two of the program—now accepting applications!

Applications Open for Second Phase of Performing Arts Discovery Program

The U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, led by WESTAF and the Western Arts Alliance (WAA) are now accepting applications for phase two of the Performing Arts Discovery Program (PAD). An additional 20 applicants will be selected, with all 30 PAD artists and/or ensembles working remotely with the PAD showcase production team beginning in March 2022 to develop professionally produced live performance videos. These videos will be featured on a dedicated platform as well as included in selected international online showcases later in 2022.
Learn more and apply today

WESTAF Moderates Fieldwide Conversation at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Pre-Conference

WESTAF Deputy Director David Holland moderated a fieldwide conversation, “The Future of Presenting and Booking: The Role of Convenings in an Altered Landscape,” at the recent APAP Pre-Conference. The session brought together panelists Kevin Stone, president, Florida Professional Presenters Consortium; Loni Boyd, co-chair, Wisconsin Presenters Alliance; Christine Lim, board member, California Presenters; Gail Boyd, president, Gail Boyd, President, North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA); and Thia Knowlton, senior vice president, IMG Artists, over 160  attendees, and the APAP team to discuss the ways presenters are approaching programming and the booking cycle as a result of the challenges and opportunities of the last 18 months and ways that convenings and conferences can play a role in supporting the work moving forward. A moderated panel, breakout groups, and a collective wisdom share-out considered the challenges to the viability of touring from audience, public health, health and safety, mental health, programming, contractual, technical and logistical, and financial perspectives. It also considered ways to evolve and innovate the booking conference format in ways that are inclusive, accessible, and impactful.

David Holland Elected Co-Chair of the Creative States Coalition 

Ernesto Balderas, communications director, Utah Cultural Alliance; Claire Rice, executive director, Arts Alliance Illinois; and WESTAF Deputy Director David Holland were elected as Co-Chairs of the Creative States Coalition at their conference in Charleston, South Carolina the week before last after being nominated. They will serve a national member network of 50 state arts advocacy organizations, national arts service organizations, state arts agencies, and regional arts organizations across the country.
WESTAF WEB SERVICES                                 
ZAPP® and GO Smart™ Team Up in Collaborative Webinar

ZAPP and GO Smart recently teamed up to offer a collaborative webinar to showcase to ZAPP clients what the grant process entails. ZAPP has also created several resources from this webinar for questions regarding potential future grantmaking endeavors. CaFÉ™ Opens Free Call to Artists of All Mediums

In recognition of the hardships that the pandemic, ongoing racial injustice, climate change and more has brought to the artist community, CaFÉ will showcase the work of artists from the past two years through its Recharge the Arts call. CaFÉ will feature selected artwork on their website, social media pages, and other spaces to highlight the resiliency, endurance, and talent of the artists who use the platform! The call is open to all mediums and is free to apply. The deadline to apply has been extended to Friday, December 17, 2021.

Visit CaFÉ’s call details page to apply!
Public Art Archive to Present on a Panel at the 50th Annual Art Libraries Society of North America Conference

In spring 2022, Public Art Archive Manager Lori Goldstein will be presenting on a panel moderated by CollectionSpace during the 50th annual conference of The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA). The panel will focus on different types of engagement, accessibility trends and emerging technologies that can help online databases like Public Art Archive create more equitable relationships between organizations as well as how these databases can be utilized as teaching tools. CVSuite™ Releases First in Series of DataEd Videos

A premiere video released for DataEd by CVSuite™—the first in a series of video installments—dives into the questions, methodologies, and practices to better understand and analyze creative economy data. Part one focuses on defining the creative economy and ways to look at the creative economy through data analysis.
Watch part one now!
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