This past spring the Arizona Commission on the Arts reported that the additional $1 million “Rainy-Day Fund” allocation that had bolstered our grantmaking budget for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 was not included in the state’s budget for Fiscal Year 2016. At that time we reaffirmed our resolve to be “evermore strategic, diligent and creative in the deployment of the Arts Commission’s resources.”
This week we announced a pair of initiatives born of that resolve. Leveraging the generous support of local and national partners, we have developed two major initiatives designed to serve Arizona’s residents in creative new ways.
A $225,000 grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust will fund AZ Creative Aging, a comprehensive three-year initiative that provides training to teaching artists, supports the development of high-quality arts programs for older adults, and embeds creative aging knowledge and best practices in the community.
Partnering with three of Arizona State University’s most innovative arts programs and funded by a $30,000 grant from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the Arts Commission will pilot AZ ArtWorker, a new artist-to-artist professional development program that creates opportunities for Arizona artists to learn from national and international artists who are at the frontlines of contemporary art and community practice.
As initiatives, AZ Creative Aging and AZ ArtWorker maximize two of the arts sector’s distinctive talents: to power the development of imaginative solutions to community challenges, and to leverage creative partnerships for mutually-beneficial outcomes.
Stay tuned as specific AZ Creative Aging and AZ ArtWorker activities and events are confirmed. You are a key collaborator in this work, and you continue to inspire us to discover new opportunities to support and advance Arizona’s arts sector.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Booker
Executive Director
Arizona Commission on the Arts
