Arts Wisconsin's accomplishments since its founding in 1992:
• Recognized by local, state and global arts, business, education, government and political sectors as the only multi-disciplinary service, advocacy and development organization acting for the arts statewide, speaking up for all Wisconsin artists, arts organizations, and arts opportunities.
• Produced research on the state of arts education in Wisconsin, in partnership with the Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education and the Music for All Foundation, to be released August 2008
• Produced cultural tourism promotional campaigns in 2006 and 2007 with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to promote the arts as a major component of tourism across the state.
• Partnered with the Wisconsin Economic Development Association to produce the 2006 annual conference, "Planning for the Creative Economy," featuring best practices and models, research and information on creative people, organizations and communities, in Wisconsin and globally
• Partnered with Corporate Report Wisconsin to host a discussion with arts and comunity leaders entitled: The Arts and the Economy: How creativity underpins the jobs and the communities of the 21st century, November 2005.
• Honored with the 2004 Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts (as Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts) from the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts
• Selected as the only arts-focused social change organization to be a member of Community Shares of Wisconsin, a community funding organization based in Madison
• Recognized as Wisconsin’s state partner organization of Americans for the Arts, the national arts service organization
• Honored by Madison Magazine for grassroots arts development efforts in the Madison area, 2004.
• Providing training on legal issues for artists and arts organizations
• Provided entrepreneurial training and business skills development through over 50 "Making a Living, Making a Life" educational workshops to 2,500+ individual artist-entrepreneurs throughout Wisconsin, 2004-2008.
• Established and enhanced the ArtsPeers Advisory Network, to provide mentoring, and technical assistance to individual artists, arts organizations, and community agencies, which has served 50+ communities so far.
• Created the Legislative Action Center, a statewide web-based communications action network connecting Wisconsin arts activists (over 2,000 as of 10-2006) to elected officials statewide, and to national issues and leaders through Americans for the Arts’ national arts advocacy network.
• Organized and facilitated local and regional Wisconsin arts meetings, forums, and summits in Madison, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Appleton, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wausau and over 50 other Wisconsin communities, to foster cooperation and communication between local, regional and statewide arts, business, educational and political leaders, organizations and agencies.
• Provided technical assistance, include fiscal agent status, to 100+ emerging arts organizations such as the Madison Center for Creative and Cultural Arts, to enable them to receive grants and donations as they move towards non-profit status.
• Continuously educated local, state, and federal public and private decision-makers about the importance of supporting and investing in arts programs, arts education and arts opportunities.
• Developed and continually upgraded research, statistics and information about the current state of Wisconsin’s arts and creative industries.
• Developed and continually updated print and electronic research
and informational materials, for use by arts, business, education and
political leaders, including:
o Action Guide for Arts Activists
o Arts/Business Handbook
o Nonprofit and management information for organizations and agencies
o Services for individual artists
o Legal issues for artists and arts organizations
• Developed statewide promotional campaigns focused on the arts, cultural tourism, arts/business partnerships, and community cultural development
• Promoted cooperation between state agencies, including Departments of Commerce, Tourism, DPI and the Wisconsin Arts Board, and state and local organizations, to build awareness of the state’s creative economy and its critical role in local, statewide, and global economic development.
• Received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Wisconsin Arts Board, and Wisconsin Departments of Tourism and Commerce, to provide research, promotional and educational services for the arts industry and the general public.
• Partnered with the Wisconsin Arts Board to provide community development guidance, technical assistance, and services in over 250 Wisconsin communities.