At its February 7, 2017 board meeting in Olympia, the board of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) passed a resolution urging the legislature to maintain or increase the ArtsWA budget. 

Compared to other states in the west, Washington State funding for the arts declined by the second highest percentage from FY 2016 to FY 2017, the resolution stated. The Commission's first resolution of the year also asked the legislature to support HB 1183 and SB 5300, companion bills enabling a statewide creative districts certification program to be developed and coordinated by the Washington State Arts Commission.

  Read ArtsWA Board Resolution 2017-001

The thirteen regional champions are:  Rhys Chapman, Bickleton High School, Klickitat County;  Isabella Daltoso, Vancouver School of Arts & Academics, Clark County; Elise M. Divens, Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane County; Julian Dow, Naches Valley High School, Yakima County; Addi Garner, Anacortes High School, Skagit County; Lizette Harris, Life Christian Academy, Pierce County; Kelton Hedstrom, Mead High School, Spokane County; Charles Jones, Crosspoint Academy, Kitsap County; Amir Matheney, Olympia High School, Thurston County; Laney Pham, Battle Ground High School, Clark County; Leah Sainz-Jones, Woodinville High School, King County; Drew Shipman, Mount Vernon High School, Skagit County; and Kiley Tolison, Delta High School, Benton County.

The State Poetry Out Loud Final will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, Theatre on the Square in Tacoma. The event is free and open to the public. 

Poetry Out Loud is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. It is coordinated in the state by the Washington State Arts Commission.

Sage Hill Press has been selected to publish the book in time for National Poetry Month this April. Sage Hill Press has published such works as Railtown Almanac: A Spokane Poetry Anthology, a second Railtown prose edition, and All We Can Hold, an anthology of poems about motherhood, among other fine collections of poetry and prose. 

"With the overwhelming number of submissions, not all could be accepted for the print edition," Marshall said. "However, many more poems will be shared online."  

Washington 129's  first launch celebration will be held at the State Capitol on April 13th to recognize April as National Poetry Month. Other launch events will be held throughout the state. To host an event, contact Tod Marshall at poet@humanities.org or use the form at wapoetlaureate.org/contact.  Watch for more details about  Washington 129  events on the ArtsWA Facebook page and online announcements at www.arts.wa.gov. The State Poet Laureate program is a collaboration between the Washington State Arts Commission and Humanities Washington.

Guidelines for Project Support, Cooperative Partnership, and Arts in Education grants are now available and online for organizations wishing to apply for FY 2018 funding. 

We encourage organizations who are working on arts access, arts participation, and K-12 arts education to check out additional information on our website, including complete application guidelines and review criteria. All of our grant programs have added components this year related to our agency focus on inclusion and social justice. ArtsWA seeks to invest in communities statewide, and we encourage applications from all regions of Washington State. 

Application deadlines and links to guidelines are as follows:
 

ARTS IN EDUCATION GRANTS

First Step Grant - March 20, 2017

First Step Grant Application Guidelines

 

Community Consortium Grant - March 20, 2017
Community Consortium Application Guidelines  

 

GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS

Cooperative Partnership Grants - March 14, 2017

Cooperative Partnership Grant Application Guidelines 

Project Support Level A - March 27, 2017
Project Support Level B - April 24, 2017
Project Support Level C - May 22, 2017
Grants to Organizations Project Support Application Guidelines 

This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated Washington artist Jacob Lawrence.  ArtsWA is honored to partner with the  Jacob Lawrence Gallery  to mark this anniversary with an exhibit of State Art Collection works. The series represents the outstanding creative gifts of the artist, as well as his important contribution to the struggle for social justice in American life. The 22 screenprints, created in 1977, investigate the subject of the abolitionist John Brown with narrative precision and powerful imagery, and demonstrate the vital role art can play in interpreting our history.

In addition, Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series, is on view at Seattle Art Museum. This epic series chronicles the exodus of African-Americans from the rural South to the industrial North in the decades after the First World War.

You can view all 22 screenprints in the series of The Legend of John Brown by Jacob Lawrence on My Public Art Portal, then visit the artworks in person at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery at the University of Washington. The exhibit runs now until March 4.