1973 – On August 2, 1973, Governer Patrick Lucey signed the budget bill approving the creation of a statutory arts council, the Wisconsin Arts Board.
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1977 – Within four years, 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties were reached by program-supported projects.
An image from a Wisconsin Arts Board brochure on “The Performing Artists 1977-1978.”
Wisconsin Arts Board logo from the 1980s to 1992.
1980 – In 1980, Wisconsin’s Percent for Art Program was established for the purpose of placing artwork in public settings, helping to beautify public buildings and urban environments, and draw attention to the wealth of artistic expertise within our region. Percent for Art also encouraged the employment of visual artists.
1981 – In 1981, the Folk Arts Program was created, another means through which the Wisconsin Arts Board (WAB) fulfills its mission to study, encourage and assist artistic and cultural activities in the state, and assist communities in creating and developing their own arts programs. Now called the Folk and Traditional Arts Program, these missions are executed today through the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program and the Creative Communities grants.
1991 – The Arts Board developed an advisory committee titled “Access to the Arts for Persons with Disabilities,” and hosted the annual meeting of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in Milwaukee.
1998 – 1998 was a big year for the Wisconsin Arts Board! Wisconsin celebrated its Sesquicentennial, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Wisconsin Folklife Festival both took place. At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C., Wisconsin was a highlighted program with 120 artists presenting and showcasing their skills. The Wisconsin Folklife Festival was built from this event and was held in Madison.
2001 – In 2001, the Wisconsin Arts Board developed the Woodland Indian Arts Initiative. This program provides a foundation of cultural and economic support for traditional and contemporary Native American arts in Wisconsin and works to develop an arts network dedicated to providing administrative support of the same, representative of Wisconsin’s twelve federally-recognized tribes, bands and urban Indian communities. The WIA provides financial support for arts projects and efforts that directly benefit Wisconsin’s Native American communities.
Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture, A cross-disciplinary approach to education that turns traditional arts and practices into content for curriculum that meets Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. WTLC helps with local culture projects and professional development opportunities for teachers, including an annual cultural tour of the state. Current partners are WAB, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, and Chippewa Valley Museum.
2002 -- Around 2002, the website Wisconsinfolks.org was developed as a way meet over 70 traditional and ethnic dancers, musicians, cooks, craftspeople, and regional specialists; learn details of how they make their art; understand how their art is connected to cultural life in Wisconsin; find out how to hire these artists for public presentations and to discover links with cultural arts in your own community. The website was awarded the 2003 International Educator Award for Excellence in Cultural Programming by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
2004 – During this time, the Wisconsin Arts Board transitioned from paper grant applications to online and has functioned online since then.
2011 – The Wisconsin Arts Board moved offices into the Department of Tourism in July 2011 and continues to operate within this department.
2015 – The National Endowment for the Arts celebrated their 50th anniversary. In collaboration with the Wisconsin Arts Board, they released a video highlighting the arts and culture of Wisconsin. The NEA supports the Wisconsin Arts Board through annual funding.
2017 – In 2017, the Wisconsin Arts Board began our most recent broad-based, inclusive planning process with the clear intent to create a 3-year plan that reflected the diversity of Wisconsin, identified opportunities and challenges, and showed how best to invest resources while deepening capacity, recognizing emerging arts initiatives, and inspiring participation in and appreciation of WI's arts and creative sector. To create the plan, thirteen town meetings and seven affinity group listening sessions occurred during FY18.
2020 – Following the global pandemic, the Wisconsin Arts Board adjusted to these novel circumstances by offering grant implementation and reporting flexibility, facilitating Listening Session meetings for arts leaders, and creating a new state-wide grant program from the NEA American Rescue Plan for the Arts. In FY22, the Folk and Traditional Arts programs supported twelve folk arts apprenticeships and several arts-focused projects.
https://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/Pages/COVID-19-Update.aspx
The Wisconsin Arts Board vision is inspired by a quote from the late Robert E. Gard, Professor Emeritus of Community Theatre, University of Wisconsin: “If we are seeking in America, let it be for the reality of democracy in the arts. Let art begin at home and let it spread through the children and the parents, and through the schools and the institutions, and through government. And let us start by acceptance, not negation—acceptance that the arts are important everywhere, and that they can exist and flourish in small places as well as large, with money or without it, according to the will of the people. Let us put firmly and permanently aside the cliché that the arts are a frill. Let us accept the goodness of art where we are now, and expand its worth in the places where people live.”