Contact: Anne Katz, Arts Wisconsin
608 255 8316| akatz@artswisconsin.org
The tenth annual Arts in the Community Awards, presented by Arts Wisconsin in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, honor communities and civic leaders around the state for championing the arts as integral to economic, educational and community vitality.  The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, August 31, 2018.  Visit www.artswisconsin.org for full nomination information.

The award winners will be recognized at the League of Municipalities’ annual conference in Wisconsin Dells on Thursday, October 25.   In addition, Anne Katz, Arts Wisconsin Executive Director, will lead a workshop  discussion on Wisconsin’s creative sector at the conference.  The awards are original works of glass art created by Matthew Heindl of Maatwerk Studio in Blue Mounds, WI.

Generous sponsors of the Awards (to date) are:
  • Redevelopment Resources of Wausau and Madison, WI, providing customized solutions for the development and redevelopment of communities.
  • Vierbicher Associates of Madison, Pewaukee, Prairie du Chien and Reedsburg, WI, providing consulting services to guide and deliver quality land and community development.
“The Arts in the Community Awards are a wonderful way to celebrate the visionary leadership in and for the arts in Wisconsin’s communities,” says Arts Wisconsin Board of Directors President Ann Huntoon.   “We’re proud to partner with the League of Municipalities to present these awards, and appreciative of the sponsors who make the awards possible.”
Arts Wisconsin is Wisconsin’s voice for the arts and leading community cultural development organization. Founded in 1992, Arts Wisconsin is the premier independent statewide membership organization speaking up and working for the arts, arts education and the creative economy across Wisconsin. The organization’s mission, to speak up, advocate for, and advance the arts, creativity and culture throughout Wisconsin, connects and serves the wide-ranging and creative constituency of people, organizations, businesses and communities making the arts come alive in every corner of Wisconsin.  More info at www.artswisconsin.org.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities is a voluntary nonprofit and nonpartisan association of cities and villages that acts as an information clearinghouse, lobbying organization and legal resource for Wisconsin municipalities.  More info at www.lwm-info.org.
Previous Arts in the Community Award honorees are:
  • 2017:  Mark Elliott, Executive Director, Northwest Passage, Webster, and its cornerstone therapeutic arts program In a New Light, which uses photography as a medium for expression and healing, supported by the National Park Service and other national, state and local funders and exhibited in more than 40 locations locally and nationally; and Stephanie Samarripa, City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, Milwaukee, which is committed to ensuring that public art is created in neighborhoods with, by, and for the residents of that neighborhood, reclaiming public space through art as sources of pride for residents and the community.
  • 2016: Creative Downtown Appleton, led by Josh Dukelow, community activist and radio host, and Paula Vandehey, Director of the City of Appleton Public Works; and Alan Nugent, business and cultural tourism leader and a founder of the Widespot Performing Arts Center and the Stockholm Merchants Association in Stockholm, WI
  • 2015:  The City of West Bend, for its commitment to promote the visual and performing arts in West Bend; and the Waunakee Creative Economy Initiative, for this Village-led, ongoing effort identify existing sources of creativity and innovation throughout the village, and foster their growth into a formidable sector of the local economy.
  • 2014:  Circuit Court Judge Joseph Boles and Pierce County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, based in Ellsworth, WI, for a program using a variety of arts disciplines as teaching tools to improve law enforcement training in de-escalating mental health crisis calls, and Reedsburg Mayor Dave Estes, Reedsburg City Administrator Ken Witt, and Reedsburg Chamber of Commerce Director Kristine Koenecke for support of Fermentation Fest – A Live Culture Convergence and the Farm/Art DTour. 
  • 2013:  Rice Lake Main Street Program, Rice Lake; and Sheboygan Performing Arts Foundation, Sheboygan
  • 2012:  State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, River Falls; State Sen. Bob Jauch, Poplar; Marlene Doerr Kreilkamp, Founder and former Director, SHARP Literacy, Milwaukee; and Anastasia Shartin, Visual Arts Director, The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson
  • 2011:  Bill Schierl, President, Arts Alliance of Portage County (now CREATE Portage County), Stevens Point; and Jeff Scrima, former Mayor, Waukesha
  • 2010:  Lois Smith,  founder of “Walls of Wittenberg,” Wittenberg; Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee; The Green Bay Neighborhood Leadership Council’s Beautification Committee, Green Bay; and The Hometown Gazette newspaper, Clayton
  • 2009 :  Carol Kratchowill, Vice President, Sauk County Art Association, Merrimac; and Menomonie Mayor Dennis Cropp and former Dunn County Board member B. Jane Hoyt, on behalf of the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, Menomonie.
Contact Anne Katz at Arts Wisconsin for more information, 608 255 8316 | akatz@artswisconsin.org.
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