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About Arts Midwest

We amplify Midwestern creativity, building community and opportunity across our region and beyond.

A group of dancers circles around two of them holding one up in the air.
Photo Credit: Governors State University

What We Do

Arts Midwest advances creativity across our region, building unprecedented opportunity for everyone who calls this place home. We support, inform, and celebrate 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.

 

As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, we work to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Together, we nourish the creative roots of the Midwest—and share our region’s transformative ideas with the world.

 

Arts Midwest is here to support the artists and organizations that define and redefine this place. To share ideas that make Midwesterners more visible and connected. To raise up the stories that challenge assumptions. And to build flourishing communities that are powered by opportunity, authenticity, and a deep sense of belonging.

That’s our Midwest: a place of extraordinary possibility.

See Our Impact
A map of the United States with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin highlighted.

How We Work

  • One young adult handing a plat with roots to an adult as another person watches.

    Support

    We invest in efforts that use creativity to connect people, ideas, and solutions.


    Get Support
  • Three people work in a ceramics studio making teapots.

    Inform

    We share data and ideas to support Midwestern communities in being more visible, sustainable, and interconnected.



    Explore Resources
  • A person of light skin tone and silver hair smiling and holding a copper bowl.

    Celebrate

    We share the stories of creative people, places, and organizations across the Midwest through narratives, podcasts, videos, and more.

    Read Stories

Our Mission + Vision

MISSION: To build unprecedented opportunity across the Midwest by advancing creativity.

VISION: Midwestern creativity powers thriving, entrepreneurial, and welcoming communities.

Two people in yellow outfits performing outside in front of children and adults. They leap joyously through the air with smiles on their faces.
Photo Credit: Public Space One

Frequently Asked Questions

 

As one of six United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates Midwestern creativity. Learn more about our grants and programs, explore our resources, and read our stories about the many creative people and places that power this region.

United States Regional Arts Organizations were created by state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1970s in order to transcend state boundaries and give citizens access to a greater and richer variety of arts experiences. Learn more about Regional Arts Organizations.

Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates creativity throughout our nine-state service region, which includes:

  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • South Dakota
  • Wisconsin

We also support the 42 Native Nations that share this geography.

This definition of the Midwest ties back to our history as a United States Regional Arts Organization (USRAO). There are six USRAOs across the country, each serving a distinct region of America. Originally, there were more USRAOs with smaller regions.

Arts Midwest was formed in 1985, when the Great Lakes Arts Alliance and the Upper Midwest Arts Agencies merged to create one organization. Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri have always been part of our sister USRAO, Mid-America Arts Alliance. That’s why our region doesn’t include those states—even though they’re part of the Census Midwest.

If your state is not listed here as part of our region, please check out the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations website to find the organizations that serve your area.

We offer a variety of programs and grants that help connect audiences to the arts. Please visit our Get Support page for more information on applying for a grant or bringing one of our programs to a community near you.

 

Most of our grants and programs are focused on supporting organizations in the Midwest.

However, we do offer two national grantmaking programs, NEA Big Read and Shakespeare in American Communities. Learn more about those opportunities.

If you are not located in the Midwest, please visit the U.S. Regional Arts Organization that serves your home state for more information on available grants and services.

 

 

Reports and Financials

Fiscal Year990Financial Overview
2024Download 990Download Financial Overview
2023Download 990Download Financial Overview
2022Download 990Download Financial Overview
2021Download 990Download Annual Report
2020Download 990Download Annual Report

Have questions? Contact us!

We’re here to help. Feel free to email or call us to get the answers you’re looking for.

Contact Our Team