At the Arizona Commission on the Arts, we believe Arizonans possess boundless creative potential. We think creativity should join other valuable resources on Arizona’s 21st-century list of “5 Cs.” We know that creativity thrives here, and that together we can put that creativity to work in support of Arizona’s most prosperous future.
So today we are proud to launch NextAZ, a statewide planning initiative designed to empower communities to activate creative assets and co-create ideas to fuel our state’s next 50 years.
Coinciding with our agency’s 50th anniversary, NextAZ will include a range of activities, such as focused research, meaningful community collaborations, targeted grantmaking, professional development, and inventive cross-sector partnerships.
But above all, NextAZ is about you. This initiative and its programs focus on listening to your stories, your triumphs and aspirations; learning about your unique talents and your community’s challenges and opportunities; and leveraging–lending our creative and collaborative skills to help Arizonans, and Arizona communities, achieve their most significant goals.
So to begin the work of NextAZ, we invite you to participate in NextAZ: Creative Spark, a crowdsourcing experiment wherein Arizona residents like you can submit original images, poems, testimonials, audio or video clips representing the power of creativity in your own life and community.
Your stories, talent, and dreams drive NextAZ. We want to learn from and with you. Visit www.azarts.gov/nextaz/creative-spark to learn more and share your creative spark.
We can’t wait to discover what inspires you!
Banner photo by Russell McGuire. Learn more about this photo at www.azarts.gov/nextaz/the-long-road.
