Creative West

📍Discover open calls, grants, residencies, and more — all in one place. The new Creative West Opportunities Portal launches June 23! ⭐ Follow us for updates and be the first to explore endless creative opportunities.

The 2026–2027 TourWest application is now open 🎉

If your organization brings live performances to your community — or has been looking for support to make it happen — this grant opportunity is for you!

TourWest is a competitive grant program, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, that helps arts organizations across the Creative West region bring touring performers to their communities.

Application Deadline: June 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. MT

Apply today: https://ow.ly/U5OS50Z7IOj

Big things are on the horizon at Creative West!

Something exciting launches on June 23, 2026, to help you land your next big opportunity.

Follow us on social media, and stay tuned! ✨

Will we see you at our June Capacity Building Webinar: Program Evaluation & Impact Storytelling?

Measuring the true impact of our work is rarely a simple equation. It takes deep listening, transparency, and a willingness to navigate the complex realities of the communities we serve.

Our next capacity building webinar is designed for organizations, programs, or groups interested in strengthening how they evaluate and communicate their work.

Join us for this reflective conversation: https://wearecreativewest.org/2026-capacity-building-webinar-series

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2025-26 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students! 🎉 We’re especially excited to recognize two winners from the Creative West region: Izzy Burris of Carlsbad, California, and Elaina Stuppler of Lake Grove, Oregon.

Their original work reflects the imagination, insight and care that emerging artists bring to musical theater, and we’re thrilled to see their talent recognized on a national stage.

The winning songwriters will travel to New York City to work with mentors and prepare for a special concert on June 15, which can be viewed nationwide at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge.

🌽🫘🥑🫛🫜La Milpa: ofreciendo un espacio de sanación en tiempos difíciles
Acompáñanos el 8 de junio en Summit Community Garden para La Milpa: Ceremonia de La Siembra

Juntxs nos reuniremos en comunidad para la ceremonia de La Milpa: Siembra de Semillas y Plantines en el jardín comunitario. Algunas plantas jóvenes y delicadas, o
“plantines,” deben sembrarse más tarde en la temporada.
Mientras sembramos las semillas de La Milpa (maíz, frijol y calabaza) junto con cultivos complementarios culturalmente relevantes, honramos las prácticas indígenas ancestrales y vivas de Mesoamérica y expresamos gratitud a la tierra. Este encuentro bilingüe ofrecerá una deliciosa comida tradicional.

Ven a sembrar, aprender y crecer con nosotrxs.
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🌽🫘🥑🫛🫜
La Milpa: Offering a Healing
Space in Challenging Times
Join us on June 8 at Summit Community Garden for La Milpa: Planting Ceremony.

Together, we will gather as a community for La Milpa Ceremony: Planting the Seeds and Starts in the Community Garden. Some delicate young plants, or “starts,” must be planted later in the season.
As we plant seeds for the La Milpa (corn, beans, and squash) alongside culturally relevant companion crops, we honor ancestral and living Indigenous practices from Mesoamerica and express gratitude to the land. This bilingual gathering will offer delicious traditional food.

Come plant, learn, and grow with us.

What does it truly take to create an environment where artists are deeply supported and valued?

The Creative Labor, Creative Conditions 2026 campaign is centering artists in honest, transparent conversations about the future of artistic labor. We believe that acknowledging the realities and nuances of creative work is essential, because when artists thrive, we all thrive. 🌿

We are incredibly excited to amplify these upcoming activations in Honolulu and the Bay Area that hold space for this important dialogue:

✨Honolulu, HI (June 19): Wehiwehi and Shangri La at Bishop Museum are presenting a thoughtful artist showcase and panel discussion.
✨Bay Area, CA (June 16 & Sept 8): SOZO and Western Arts Alliance are hosting a two-part activation aimed at reframing artists as essential drivers of cultural and economic value.
✨Bay Area, CA (July 30): The Center for Cultural Innovation will explore how artists and creatives are actively building conditions for economic and creative flourishing.

We invite you to explore the activations and join us in reflecting on how we can better support the creative minds in our communities. Learn more at the event page: https://site.dorisduke.org/creative-labor-creative-conditons-2026? ✨

Stories, connection, and creativity are at the heart of the Native Arts + Heritage Fund.

The inaugural cohort of artists reflects the fund’s commitment to cultural knowledge, authentic storytelling, and community care. Grounded in a responsive, trust-based approach, this work creates space for reflection, belonging, and creative expression.

Learn more about the 2026 artists: https://wearecreativewest.org/honoring-story-and-belonging-12-artists-awarded-the-native-arts-heritage-fund/

In the final day of Creative West’s Arts Policy Exchange, we’re digging into the “business side” of advocacy, examining coalition building through an "Arts and..." analysis, doing some interactive mapping of the region’s public infrastructure for the arts, and developing a unified regional vision and strategy for the future.

We’re grateful for this space to share experiences, refine our practices, and consider new directions for our work.

🎉The 2026-27 TourWest grant application will open on June 1!🎉

This grant program supports arts and community organizations in bringing touring performers to communities across the Creative West region.

Want to learn more? Join one of our upcoming applicant info sessions:
Tuesday, June 2 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. MT: https://westaf-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/xy6AMJJYQGuqDmcDmVx8Kg
Wednesday, June 3 | 2–3 p.m. MT: https://westaf-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/xJQ9z4IhSyqurE06EbwntA

Dates to Remember:
Application portal opens: June 1, 2026 at 9 a.m. MT
Deadline to apply: June 30, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MT