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PROFILES: Arts Midwest
David J. Fraher, Executive Director Member States Arts Midwest: Connecting Arts to Audiences Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Our vision is that people in the communities we serve will find joy, meaning, and beauty in their lives through the arts. Cultural programs initiated by Arts Midwest – including performances by high-quality theater, dance, and music ensembles; educational arts activities; museum exhibitions; and conferences – reach close to one million people annually, enhancing the quality of life in hundreds of cities, towns, and rural areas across the Midwest. Current programs include Arts Midwest World Fest, a global education and outreach performing arts initiative that provides inspiring arts enrichment while instilling awareness and appreciation for other cultures in underserved communities throughout the Midwest. The Performing Arts Fund provides fee support to performing arts presenting organizations in Arts Midwest’s nine states. In doing so, it helps performing arts presenters reach their audiences in rural and underserved towns and cities across the heartland. The Midwest Arts Conference is one of our nation’s largest booking and educational conferences for the performing arts. Arts Midwest's visual arts programs strive to connect Midwest audiences with the visual culture of our region and beyond. Current and upcoming tours include Shout Freedom! Photo League Selections from the Columbus Museum of Art and Stories of the Somali Diaspora: Photographs by Abdi Roble, which includes images from our residency with photographer Abdi Roble. Additionally, Arts Midwest’s expertise has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, which has entrusted the organization with the development and on-going management of four of the NEA’s major national initiatives, including: Shakespeare in American Communities, bringing professional Shakespeare theater productions and related educational activities to Americans throughout the country; NEA Jazz Masters Live, supporting meaningful, in-depth, extended engagements featuring NEA Jazz Masters; two film documentaries on Operation Homecoming, an NEA initiative created to help U.S. troops and their families write about their wartime experiences; and The Big Read, a literature initiative revitalizing the role of literature in American popular culture through community-wide reading programs. Connected to The Big Read, Arts Midwest was selected in 2007 to develop and manage The Big Read Egypt/U.S., a collaborative Global Cultural Initiative project of the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Big Read Egypt/U.S. is designed to deepen cultural understanding and dialogue between Egyptians and Americans by encouraging citizens to read each other’s literary treasures. Finally, Arts Midwest has been a national leader in the creation and cultivation of dynamic international cultural exchanges and alliances which have linked Midwestern artists, communities, and audiences with their counterparts in more than a dozen countries worldwide, including, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Turkey, Japan, China, Chile, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and beyond. |
