Creative West

Emergency preparedness is often something we plan to get to – up until the moment we wish we already had.

We invite you to explore this together in our upcoming session, Emergency Preparedness & Risk Planning, part of our capacity building webinar series.

Join Ruby Lopez Harper, executive director of CERF+, as she shares tools and frameworks you can adapt to your own practice and organization.

We’ll explore ways to safeguard creative practices, protect organizational operations, build a readiness plan to fit specific needs and circumstances, and move from uncertainty to preparedness with practical, adaptable strategies.

Register today: https://wearecreativewest.org/2026-capacity-building-webinar-series/

An L.A. Filmmaker's Earnest Take On a South Dakota Story Kate Beecroft spent three years building a relationship with the people, the culture, and the land before shooting a single frame.

Artists and culture bearers of Guam and the CNMI — relief is here, and we want you to know that you are not walking this recovery alone. 🌺

After Super Typhoon Sinlaku, rebuilding a studio, replacing lost materials, and returning to the traditions that hold your community together takes time. Help is available.

Creative West has contributed $15,000 to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) to support artists across the Pacific. This will fund five $3,000 emergency relief grants for artists and culture bearers in Guam and the CNMI.

Why CERF+? For decades, they've stood beside artists in crisis with care, respect, and a deep understanding of creative life. They are a trusted partner, and we're proud to support their work.

Here's how to take part:
Learn more about the grants and eligibility through CERF+
Apply if you were affected by Super Typhoon Sinlaku
Share this with others in your community who could benefit

Your creative practices and cultural traditions are the heartbeat of your islands. Know someone who needs this? Tag them below or share this post so support reaches those who need it most. 💛

Tomorrow, explore how accessibility can become part of how you create.

Accessibility in Practice: ASL, CART & UDL for Artists happens tomorrow—and there's still time to join us.

Phamaly Theatre Company's Managing Director Corinne Melon and Artistic Director Ben Raanan will share practical, budget-conscious ways to build access into your work from the very start.

You'll leave with real tools to weave ASL, CART, and UDL into performances, exhibitions, workshops, and creative projects.

This isn't about checking a box. It's about widening who gets to experience what you make.

Save Your Spot: https://wearecreativewest.org/2026-capacity-building-webinar-series/

What if accessibility was the first idea that shaped your work—not the last box you checked?

Join Accessibility in Practice: ASL, CART & UDL for Artists, a session with Phamaly Theatre Company's Managing Director Corinne Melon and Artistic Director Ben Raanan.

They'll share practical, budget-conscious ways to build accessibility into performances, exhibitions, workshops, and creative projects from the start.

What you'll take away:

Ways to weave ASL, CART, and UDL into your work
Strategies you can plan from day one
How to collaborate with access providers
Tools for creating more welcoming spaces for disabled artists and audiences

Make access a natural part of your practice.

Register now: https://wearecreativewest.org/2026-capacity-building-webinar-series/

Less than one week left to apply for TourWest!⏰

If bringing live touring artists to your community is part of your organization's vision, now is the time to finalize your application. The deadline is June 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. MT.

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 connect people with live performance.

If you’ve already started your application, you have just a few more days to finish it up and click submit!

Apply now → : http://tourwest.gosmart.org

Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) is conducting a new field-wide survey to better understand the conditions shaping craft artists’ lives and work today. The survey explores financial stability, preparedness, workspace changes, support systems, market pressures, and barriers to accessing resources.

The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, is available in English and Spanish, and responses will remain confidential. A summary of findings will be shared publicly in late August.

Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) is conducting a new field-wide survey to better understand the conditions shaping craft artists’ lives and work today. The survey explores financial stability, preparedness, workspace changes, support systems, market pressures, and barriers to accessing resources.

The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, is available in English and Spanish, and responses will remain confidential. A summary of findings will be shared publicly in late August.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CERFSurvey26

Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) está realizando una nueva encuesta para toda la comunidad del oficio para comprender mejor las condiciones que están dando forma a las vidas y prácticas de artistas/artesanxs en la actualidad. La encuesta explora estabilidad financiera, preparación, cambios en espacios de trabajo, sistemas de apoyo, presiones del mercado y barreras para acceder a recursos.

La encuesta toma aproximadamente 15 minutos para completarse, está disponible en inglés y español, y las respuestas se mantendrán confidenciales. Un resumen de los hallazgos será compartido públicamente a finales de agosto.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CERFSurvey26

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This Pride Month, we're celebrating the LGBTQ+ artists who help shape our communities and inspire new ways of seeing and understanding the world.. 🏳️🌈

Art has always made room for the full truth of who we are. It gives us a way to be seen, to find each other, and to say things words alone can't communicate. The courage it takes to create from that place of openness moves communities forward—one story, one canvas, one song at a time.

To every q***r artist sharing your voice, this month, and always: thank you. Your work matters, and so do you. 💛