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Our History

One of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 40 years.

Two people perform on stage, with their arms extended out from their hips and smiling at each other. In the background, two people wearing sunglasses play guitar on a stage.
Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow

It began with a merger

The United States Regional Arts Organizations were created by state arts leaders in the early 1970s to facilitate the exchange of artists across state lines.
 

In 1985, in the town of New Harmony, Indiana, two U.S. Regional Arts Organizations—the Great Lakes Arts Alliance and the Affiliated State Arts Agencies of the Upper Midwest—merged their teams, programs, and ideas to form Arts Midwest.
 

Since then, we have awarded more than 6,500 grants totaling nearly $65 million. Each year, we serve more than 700,000 individuals across more than 300 communities in the Midwest and beyond.

Learn More About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations

“In that very first meeting, we developed a vision of a regional organization that would come to represent the cultural vitality and diversity of the Midwest. We believed if we pooled our resources—human and financial—we could create an organization whose future would be limited only by the creativity and determination of its leadership and the region it would serve.”

Judy Rapanos, Arts Midwest Founding Board Chair

Past Programs

Arts Midwest’s 40 year history spans geographic and cultural borders, artistic disciplines, and purpose. Learn more about some of the ways in which we have supported creativity across the Midwest.

If you’d like more information on our history, please contact our team.