Amplifying Midwestern Creativity

Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates arts organizations and creative communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond.

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Joyful, loud, and Midwest proud

Read about creative ideas, people, and projects happening in our region and beyond.

April 8, 2025

Art and Veterans: A Welcoming Community Combo in Grand Forks

By Frankie (Amy) Felegy

Arts for Vets is a North Dakota initiative since 2016 offering community space for teaching, learning, and of course, creating.
- North Dakota
Meet Tamra Jetter, a Community Connector for Iowa Youth

April 7, 2025

Jetter works broadly across cultural genres to continue her family’s long legacy of promoting Black history and culture in a town where it’s otherwise dwindling.
- Iowa
- Midwest Culture Bearers Award
This Health Center’s Art Collection Is Medicine to Its Community

April 2, 2025

The Oyate Health Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, is just as much a place of healing as it is a place for connection, Native art, and rooting in place.
- Native Nations
- South Dakota
Midwest Women Who’ve Made Music History

March 27, 2025

Women have changed the course of rock n’ roll, jazz, and R&B through the years. Here are some of the most innovative musicians from across the Midwest to know.

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Grant Opportunities and Programs

We support efforts that connect people, ideas, and solutions through creativity. Learn more about our grantmaking initiatives and our community programming.

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Photo Credit: LunART

What’s at Stake if Federal Funding for Museums and Libraries Disappears

A new White House Executive Order calls for eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Here’s what that could mean for the nation—and the Midwest.

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An enthusiastic woman with grey hair holds a painting depicting a wild west scene in front of a group of families.

Photo Credit: Max Hill

Participants at the Missoula Public Library learn about the history of Montana through art.

20 Small Midwestern Arts Organizations Receive Cultural Sustainability Grants

Meet the small Midwestern arts organizations that have received a total of $1.09 million.

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A group of young dancers from Bi-Okoto's Okoto Kekere (Pre-professional group) performing outdoors at Washington Park, during the World Drum Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 21, 2024. The children are dressed in colorful outfits with floral-patterned skirts, black tops, and matching headwraps. Each holds a blue and white fly whisk, used as a traditional African dance prop. They are mid-movement, showcasing synchronized, rhythmic dance steps. The performance takes place on a stage with a black backdrop and trees in the background, while drummers seated behind them play traditional African drums.

Photo Credit: Bi-Okoto Drum & Dance Theatre

Bi-Okoto’s pre-professional group perform a vibrant traditional African dance at Washington Park during the World Drum Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Public Funding for the Arts in the Midwest: 2025 by the Numbers

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) released new data on 2025 legislative appropriations to state arts agencies across the country. Here’s what the numbers look like in the Midwest—and why they matter.

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Black chorus members performing on stage in front of a church themed stained glass backdrop

Photo Credit: Rebecca Owen, courtesy of Black Arts MKE

Black Nativity by Langston Hughes Student Matinee at Black Arts MKE

Catch World Fest Artists in Your Community This Spring

Farah Siraj, LADAMA, and A Moving Sound will return to the Midwest in Spring 2025 for one last World Fest tour.

Catch World Fest Artists in Your Community This Spring

A woman with outstretched arms is seen from behind, facing a large number of middle school aged students on bleachers who are mimicking her pose.

Photo Credit: Val Ihde

LADAMA leads a school assembly at Crivitz Middle School as part of their week-long World Fest residency in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Joyful, loud, and Midwest proud

Art and Veterans: A Welcoming Community Combo in Grand Forks

Meet Tamra Jetter, a Community Connector for Iowa Youth

This Health Center’s Art Collection Is Medicine to Its Community

Midwest Women Who’ve Made Music History

Grant Opportunities and Programs

What’s at Stake if Federal Funding for Museums and Libraries Disappears

20 Small Midwestern Arts Organizations Receive Cultural Sustainability Grants

Public Funding for the Arts in the Midwest: 2025 by the Numbers

Catch World Fest Artists in Your Community This Spring