Walker Elected to Arts Midwest Board of Directors
For Immediate Release February 16, 2005
(Des Moines, Iowa)—Cyndi Pederson, Director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, has been elected to the Arts Midwest board of directors, a non-profit regional arts organization that serves the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Located in Minneapolis, Minn., Arts Midwest is one of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States. Its history spans more than 25 years of connecting people throughout the Midwest to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries.
“Arts Midwest is a wonderful resource for Iowa,” Walker said. “Its focus is regional and its impact is global. I look forward to working with the board to continue developing and promoting programs and events that cross regional, national and international boundaries in a way that fosters greater enjoyment and understanding of different cultures as only the arts can do.”
Annually, cultural programs initiated by Arts Midwest—including performances by high-quality theater, dance, and music ensembles; educational arts activities; visual arts exhibitions; and conferences—reach close to a million people, enhancing the quality of life in hundreds of cities, towns, and rural areas across the Midwest.
Throughout its programming, Arts Midwest maintains a commitment to artistic quality and to reaching underserved audiences and communities. Its Midwest Worldfest has brought international artists to Sioux City and Waterloo/Cedar Falls, and a number of visual arts exhibits have been presented to Iowans through Arts Midwest.
Since Arts Midwest’s inception, performing arts programs have been the heart of its existence. With assistance from Arts Midwest, artists such as theater companies, chamber music ensembles, ballet companies, jazz musicians, storytellers, and ethnic dance groups reach out to rural and urban communities with inspiring performances and educational activities including master classes, school visits, and lecture-demonstrations designed to educate and illuminate.
Each year, Arts Midwest supports approximately 400 performances and 800 educational outreach activities in more than 100 different communities. Arts Midwest also is a cooperator for two National Endowment for the Arts national initiatives: “Shakespeare in American Communities” and NEA Jazz Masters on Tour.
“Shakespeare in American Communities” is a national theater initiative sponsored by the NEA and the Sallie Mae Fund in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The largest tour of Shakespeare in American history, “Shakespeare in American Communities” brings professional theater productions of Shakespeare and related educational activities to Americans throughout the country, visiting more than 570 small and mid-size communities in all 50 states.
With a $1 million appropriation from the Department of Defense, the Arts Endowment also brought the tour to families on military bases. In addition to performances, the tours include artistic and technical workshops, symposia about the productions, and educational programs in local schools.
NEA Jazz Masters on Tour will reach audiences in all 50 states through performances, educational activities, and speaking engagements. Launched in 2004 with 16 participating presenters, NEA Jazz Masters on Tour is expanding to the entire country. NEA Jazz Masters on Tour is sponsored by Verizon with additional support provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Arts Midwest is governed by a volunteer board of directors composed of 14 arts, community, and business leaders who represent the collective interests of the Midwest region. In addition, it works with volunteer advisors and colleagues from the field who help shape programs and services to fit the needs of the hundreds of artists, organizations, and communities it serves.
Arts Midwest’s partners and investors include the National Endowment for the Arts, foundations, corporations, individual supporters, and its nine-member state arts agencies. As members of Arts Midwest, state arts agencies (Illinois Arts Council, Indiana Arts Commission, Iowa Arts Council, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Minnesota State Arts Board, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, South Dakota Arts Council, and Wisconsin Arts Board) ensure access to Arts Midwest’s programs and services for constituents in their state. Through strategic alliances, key programs reach into Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and beyond.
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