MADISON, Wis., June 16 —The Wisconsin Arts Board (WAB) today launched Art Works, a campaign to reveal the lead role creativity plays in fueling the state’s economy. The statewide effort kicks off with distribution of a news brochure that is, in itself, a work of art.
With its Art Works campaign, the Wisconsin Arts Board anticipated National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chair Rocco Landesman’s determination to help the public understand that “art works.” Art Works layers multiple meanings into a single powerful message. It evokes the plays, paintings, dances, films and other creations of artists; it describes the way art can transport, inspire, challenge and transform its viewers/audiences; and it reminds us that making art is work, creates jobs, and contributes to the economy.
“Art Works uses impactful photography to portray how creativity and art are in motion, everywhere around the state, as economic drivers,” said Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, chair of the Wisconsin Arts Board. “And Art Works describes the Wisconsin Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts in their service to state and nation. With our systems of support in place, art and artists and arts and creative professionals work to enrich our culture, our lives and livelihoods in communities everywhere.”
The ubiquity of art and creative expression takes center stage in the campaign, reminding decision-makers that
- Wisconsin’s artists are an entrepreneurial force, creating new products and services and starting small businesses that contribute to a strong creative economy.
- Wisconsin’s nonprofit arts organizations provide outlets for the work of these artists and animate the communities in which they live.
- Creative and talented people of all types – in the arts, sciences, business and technology - want to live and work in places where they can benefit from the productive interactions of a population that is diverse by every measure.
- Wisconsin’s arts and cultural organizations provide places and events for these interactions to occur and play a direct role in developing a community’s creativity quotient, with outreach and educational programming that engages all ages.