“Equity, Accessibility, Social Justice.” A Closer Look at Western States Arts Federation
/
Denver, Colorado. Arina P Habich/Shutterstock
We periodically publish quick overviews of grantmakers on our radar, looking at recent developments and key details about how they operate. Today, we’re taking a look at Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a Denver-based regional arts organization dedicated to strengthening the west’s arts ecosystem through grantmaking, advocacy, networking, technology support and partnering with state arts agencies. WESTAF operates in 13 western states and the Pacific jurisdictions of Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Established in 1974, WESTAF grew out of the arts and humanities committee of the Federation of Rocky Mountain States, an organization founded in the 1960s to elevate issues of concern for the interior West. The committee focused on three issues that animate WESTAF’s work today — supporting state arts agencies, funding touring performers and artists, and serving as a connector between local communities, state governments and federal agencies.
It’s been a busy few years for WESTAF, which serves the largest constituent territory of the six U.S. regional arts organizations (RAO), which are like-minded entities that receive public and private support to strengthen the the arts in their geographic areas. In 2021, it netted an unrestricted $8 million gift from MacKenzie Scott and has put the funding to good use. With its 50th anniversary coming up next year, I figured it was a good time to check in with Christian Gaines, executive director and Yield Giving open call evaluation panelist, to learn more about this important regional grantmaker. Here are a few things to know about WESTAF.
It has a broad charter
Any discussion about arts grantmaking has to be framed against the backdrop of today’s fraught post-pandemic environment. Crisis-era emergency funding has dried up, the artist safety net is still riddled with holes and performing arts organizations are struggling with escalating costs due to persistently high inflation. All the while, there’s a lingering sense among the larger body politic that the arts remain an expendable asset — good to have, but not critical.
WESTAF addresses these issues on multiple fronts, balancing grantmaking and other forms of non-financial support. In an email to IP, Gaines described WESTAF’s charter as supporting “underrepresented and rural communities, leadership development, advocacy, convenings, research and consulting, and various resources aimed at helping state arts agencies succeed.”
According to WESTAF’s 2022 annual report, direct funding through grantmaking within its 13-state jurisdiction totaled $2.8 million for the fiscal year — a 333% increase over 2019. WESTAF attributed this jump to “increased investment from the National Endowment for the Arts and private foundations.” Partners and donors listed on its site include the David and Lucile Packard, Hewlett, Kenneth Rainin and Mellon foundations.
It launched two programs with Scott funding this year
In January 2023, WESTAF launched the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Artist Fund to support BIPOC artists. The fund, which was made possible through the MacKenzie Scott gift, received over 450 applications representing a broad range of disciplines. In the spring, WESTAF announced 18 awardees who each received an average of $10,000 in unrestricted support plus four virtual group coaching sessions.
Also in January, WESTAF announced it committed an initial $500,000 from the Scott and Jewett gift to launch the State Arts Agency Innovation Fund to support state arts agencies’ efforts to enhance their service to individuals, families, communities and cultural industries. Gaines called the fund a “new and relatively unique ‘unrestricted expenditure program’ supporting employee wellness, strategic programming, equity and professional development resources for the state arts agencies in our region.”
It partners with other regional arts organizations
Last year, WESTAF teamed up with its five fellow RAOs to launch the inaugural National Leaders of Color Fellowship, a leadership development program focused on BIPOC leaders committed to the advancement of cultural equity in the arts. The fellowship virtually convened 52 BIPOC arts and culture leaders from across the country between October 2022 and May 2023.
“The program portion culminated in a virtual summit, which included chairs and executive directors from each U.S. RAO as well as observers from national arts service organizations, to learn more about fellows’ perceptions and understandings of each RAO’s work, with a particular emphasis on how to invest more in social justice programs, progress and accountability,” Gaines said.
Advocacy is a huge priority
WESTAF is among a small number of grantmakers that invests in arts advocacy and cultural policy through its Western Arts Advocacy Network. At the federal level, its advocacy strategy focuses on four areas: federal cultural agencies, equity and justice, creative workers and infrastructure. Gaines told me that WESTAF recently submitted testimony to the House and Senate Interiors Appropriations Subcommittees, submitted comments on the Indian Arts and Crafts Bill and regulations on the Digital Equity Act, and supported the reintroduction of the Advancing Equity through the Arts and Humanities Act.
In March, WESTAF assembled a delegation of Colorado-based arts leaders who traveled to Washington, D.C., to make the case for more federal support to legislators on both sides of the aisle. Speaking to the Denver Gazette, delegation member and Colorado Theatre Guild President Betty Hart noted that the arts “generate $14 billion in revenue every year and account for 100,000 jobs,” contributing more to the Colorado economy than transportation, mining and skiing.
It bankrolls touring troupes
WESTAF’s TourWest grant program supports touring performers and literary artists throughout its vast 13-state and Pacific jurisdiction. Since its inaugural year in 1994, TourWest has allocated approximately $500,000 annually. In fiscal year 2022, it allocated $586,000 to 160 organizations and published the “Impact Assessment Results” report. Fifty-six percent of the reports’s 152 survey respondents worked for an organization that had an operating budget below $350,000. Click here to learn more.
It has two new tech initiatives in the works
Gaines mentioned two tech-related initiatives not currently listed on WESTAF’s site. The first is a business intelligence tool to help artists and organizations navigate the gig economy.
Throughout the years, WESTAF has also collected an extensive amount of data via its technology platforms, such as ZAPP, which lets artists apply for free to multiple festivals and events via a single website. Last year, WESTAF built a “data lake” — essentially a data repository — “to centralize this information for business intelligence, research and exploration,” Gaines said. “We are excited for this opportunity to understand how our users use our systems to further our understanding of the arts sector as a whole and improve the usability of our products.”
WESTAF is also adopting “accessibility best practices so that users and visitors with disabilities or visual or hearing impairments can navigate and engage with our sites,” Gaines said. The work, which is the outgrowth of last year’s accessibility audit, will also find WESTAF partnering with accessibility consultants “to identify areas for improvements and advise us on resolutions. We are committed to making our platforms accessible to all and to proactively building accessibility into every step of our development processes.”
It will soon be a half-century old
As noted, WESTAF has a big milestone coming up, which has Gaines and his team in a reflective mood. He said his organization “continues to grow and evolve in critical ways, particularly in understanding and acknowledging that WESTAF has contributed to the systemic, inequitable power structures that simply have not justly supported people of color in our sector,” he said. “For the past 20 years, equity, accessibility, social justice and other restorative approaches to our work have become an increasing focal point for WESTAF, as they will continue to be.”
