Our mission
Championing Artistic Expression for a Stronger Community
Friends of Dane Arts is dedicated to fostering a vibrant arts community in Dane County, Wisconsin. We believe in the transformative power of the arts to enrich lives, strengthen communities, and celebrate our shared humanity. We champion artistic expression in all its forms, from visual arts to performance, and we work tirelessly to bridge the gap between creators and the public. Our mission is to be the steadfast partner and champion of every artist and organization that enriches our cultural life, ensuring they have the resources and visibility required to thrive and continue their essential work. We accomplish this through strategic grant-making, robust advocacy, and collaborative community programming, always operating under the conviction that local art is the clearest expression of a community’s unique identity, values, and soul, and therefore deserves our utmost care and support.
Our Vision
A Future Where the Arts Are Recognized as Essential Infrastructure
Our vision is for Dane County to be universally recognized as a national model for cultural vitality and equity, a place where the arts are integrated into daily life, fully accessible to all residents, and viewed as an indispensable pillar of civic health and economic resilience. We strive for a future where sustainable funding for the arts is the norm, where every K-12 student receives robust arts education, and where the diversity of our population is fully reflected in the diversity of our artists and arts organizations. This future is one where the creative economy is a major employer, where public spaces are continually animated by artistic expression, and where every neighborhood can boast its own thriving local cultural center or creative hub, cementing Dane County’s reputation as a place defined by innovation, beauty, and deep, empathetic connection through shared cultural experiences that transcend demographic lines.
Our Values
Integrity, Equity, Partnership, and Artistic Freedom
Our operations and decisions are guided by an unshakeable set of core principles that define who we are and how we serve the community. Integrity demands transparency in our grant-making and accountability in our financial stewardship, ensuring public trust remains paramount. Equity is central, driving us to actively dismantle systemic barriers and prioritize funding for artists and organizations who have historically been marginalized, ensuring resources are distributed fairly across all demographics and geographic areas of the county. Partnership underscores our belief that we achieve more by working collaboratively with local government, businesses, and other non-profits, seeing ourselves as facilitators rather than sole actors. Finally, Artistic Freedom is sacred; we champion the right of creators to explore challenging, diverse, and sometimes controversial themes, recognizing that art must be allowed to speak truth to power and reflect the complexity of the human experience without censorship or undue influence, ensuring a robust and courageous cultural dialogue.
Our Impact
Transforming Individual Lives and Strengthening the Social Fabric
The most profound impact of Friends of Dane Arts is the quiet transformation that occurs at the individual and community level, fostering greater empathy, critical thinking, and social cohesion across Dane County. We measure our success not just by the number of grants distributed, but by the number of young people whose trajectory was changed by an inspiring arts mentor, the number of isolated seniors who found community in an adult workshop, and the reduction in community-wide stress and anxiety that comes from living in a beautiful, culturally rich environment. By supporting public art and accessible programming, we create common ground for diverse communities to interact and appreciate their shared humanity, effectively strengthening the social fabric against division. We are building a legacy of creativity and cultural literacy that will endure, ensuring that the next generation inherits a county where the pursuit of beauty, meaning, and shared cultural experience is not just possible, but actively celebrated and strongly supported as a cornerstone of civic life and human flourishing.
Programs/Services
Catering to Creatives from Childhood to Retirement
Friends of Dane Arts takes a lifespan approach to cultural engagement, offering support and programming that caters to every age group, from early childhood to seasoned seniors, ensuring that cultural participation is a lifelong opportunity. For children and youth, we fund grants that support in-school residencies, summer arts camps, and after-school programs that provide foundational skills and exposure, often targeting low-income areas to ensure equity of access. For emerging and mid-career artists, our services include professional development workshops on topics like grant writing, marketing, and legal issues, alongside project grants to support new work. For older adults, we support programs that use art as a means of social connection and cognitive engagement, such as senior choir groups and therapeutic art classes in retirement homes, recognizing the value of continued creative output and cultural appreciation throughout every stage of life’s journey.
FAQ’s
Answering Your Questions About Friends of Dane Arts
We are committed to transparency and providing clear answers about our funding process, community involvement, and the impact of our organization across Dane County.
What is the primary focus of Friends of Dane Arts and how do you distribute your funding?
Friends of Dane Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening the arts and culture sector throughout Dane County, Wisconsin, operating under the belief that creativity is vital for a thriving community. Our funding is primarily distributed through a competitive, application-based grant process that includes several cycles per year, with distinct programs targeting individual artists, established cultural organizations, and specific projects focused on arts equity and education, ensuring a broad and fair distribution of resources. All funding decisions are made by a diverse, rotating panel of community experts and stakeholders who evaluate applications based on artistic merit, community impact, financial need, and alignment with our strategic goals of promoting cultural equity and accessibility across the region.
How does your organization ensure the funding is reaching diverse and underserved communities within Dane County?
Ensuring equity is a core value, and we have implemented several strategic measures to guarantee that our funding reaches diverse artists and organizations, especially those historically under-resourced in marginalized communities across all areas of Dane County. We maintain an Arts Equity Initiative with dedicated grant streams specifically designed for organizations led by and serving people of color, individuals with disabilities, and low-income populations, using application language that is accessible and culturally sensitive to reduce barriers to entry. Furthermore, our Community Engagement Manager actively conducts outreach and provides personalized technical assistance to applicants from underserved groups, helping them navigate the process and strengthening their proposals to ensure the most equitable and impactful distribution of our funds.
Can individuals who are not full-time professional artists apply for grants from Friends of Dane Arts?
Yes, our grant programs are designed to support a wide spectrum of creative individuals, not exclusively those who identify as full-time professional artists, reflecting our commitment to fostering creativity at all levels of community engagement. We offer grants for emerging artists, community-based project creators, and arts educators, and we are open to applications from individuals who demonstrate a clear commitment to their craft and propose projects with significant cultural or community benefit within Dane County, regardless of their primary source of income. We encourage all individuals with a compelling and well-planned artistic project that aligns with our mission to review our guidelines and apply, as we believe deeply in nurturing all forms of local talent and creative expression across the county.