2016Annual Report

A W o r d F r o m E d C l i f f o r dI am pleased to step into my first year as chairman of the board of directors, and on behalf of my colleagues and all of us at Mid-America Arts Alliance, I thank my predecessor Ken Fergeson for his thoughtful stewardship over the past three years.

From serving impressive numbers of people to watching the effects of the arts in small rural communities, M-AAA continues to serve its region with tremendous vigor, talent, and skill. And what a region it is. Our work with the six states served in this past year—Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas—reminds our Board and staff every day that strong arts ecosystems make for better opportunities for all our citizens. As an Arkansan and former chairman of the Arkansas Arts Council, I have personally seen the power of the arts to transform communities and to motivate families to add creative endeavors to their lives. I am thrilled to support the work that M-AAA does to foster artists, organizations, and creative culture not just in Arkansas, but also across our region and beyond.

I am also pleased to wish CEO Mary Kennedy well as she pursues an exciting new opportunity, and to thank her for her years of service at M-AAA. In a seamless resignation process, Todd Stein has stepped in as interim chief executive officer while the Board makes decisions about staffing opportunities going forward. As we embark on the next chapter of M-AAA, we look toward continued strength and stability, and are excited for the growth and changes ahead.

FY16HIGHLIGHTS

The new maaa.org launched in June 2016

T h r e e N e w W e b s i t e sFor many, a website presents the first impression of an organization. Mid-America Arts Alliance found itself with three sites that were hard to navigate and couldn’t be used on mobile devices. After a region-wide search to contract the best developers we could find, we began work with Insight Creative Group (ICG) of Oklahoma City to completely redesign and rebuild websites for M-AAA, ExhibitsUSA, and NEH on the Road. After over seven months of work, we launched three new websites at the close of FY16. They’re mobile-friendly, responsive, and full of clear, user-centric design. With these new sites, M-AAA is ready to continue growing and changing as we cultivate the best tools to bring more art to more people.

We also have upgraded security in a number of capacities, allowing for safe online donations and consistent messaging. Pageviews on maaa.org have gone up by 2,890%, and a decrease in bounce rate means people are staying longer on the site.

Visit maaa.org, eusa.org, and nehontheroad.org.

N E A — M a r k i n g F i f t y Ye a r s o f I m p a c tIn celebration of the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) fifty-year anniversary, Mid-America Arts Alliance—the nation’s first regional arts organization—created a video to highlight the importance and impact of the NEA on our region. We worked with four artists from across the region to illustrate the importance and legacy of the NEA. We look forward to fifty more years of partnering with them to serve, foster, and inspire the artists and creative culture of our region.

View the video on our website at: maaa.org/about/50yearvideo.

Kansas artist Dave Loewenstein’s studio was featured in M-AAA’s video produced by Scenic Road, December 2015

Arts andHUMANITIES

Grantmaking

Students work on murals for Watie White’s Artistic Innovations project in Omaha, NE, October 2015

As a Regional Arts Organization, Mid-America Arts Alliance is in the advantageous position to make grants directly to artists and arts organizations throughout its six states. M-AAA creates opportunities and strengthens the vitality of the arts in communities large and small.

In FY16, M-AAA made grants primarily through Artistic Innovations and the Regional Touring Program. Artistic Innovations grants support the creation of new work throughout our states, and the Regional Touring Program subsidizes organizations to bring out-of-state artists to communities for performances, exhibitions, educational programming, and more.

R e g i o n a l To u r i n g P r o g r a m

College of St. MaryWith a Regional Touring Program grant, the College of St. Mary (CSM), Omaha, Nebraska, brought Owen Cox Dance Company (Kansas City, Missouri) in collaboration with NAVO (Kansas City, Missouri), a new musical collective, to perform A Soldier’s Tale, a musical, dance, and theater experience. The visiting artists also held a string master class on the college’s campus and a musical appreciation event at Castelar Elementary School, an Omaha school that serves a population with limited access to the arts. A majority of students at Castelar attend remedial English and reading courses that occur concurrently with fine arts classes, and as a result, do not receive fine arts instruction or exposure on a regular basis.

“ I c a n ’ t t h a n k y o u e n o u g h f o r b r i n g i n g t h e g r o u p o f m u s i c i a n s t o C a s t e l a r t o d a y. M a n y o f t h e s e k i d s r a r e l y i f e v e r g e t t o e v e n s e e t h e s e i n s t r u m e n t s , s o t o s e e t h e m p l a y e d s o b e a u t i f u l l y w a s

a n i n c r e d i b l y s p e c i a l t r e a t . P l u s … I g e t t o s e e w h a t t h e y a r e a c t u a l l y r e t a i n i n g ! ! I w a s p l e a s a n t l y s u r p r i s e d w i t h s o m e o f t h e i r a n s w e r s ! T h a n k s a g a i n … w o r d s c a n ’ t d e s c r i b e h o w t h a n k f u l w e r e a l l y a r e . M y c l a s s i s s i t t i n g h e r e a n d i t ’ s a l l t h e y w a n t t o t a l k a b o u t ! I ’ m d e f i n i t e l y l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o

m o r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s l i k e t h i s ! ”—Martha Bosworth, vocal music teacher, March 2016

In FY16, $66,922 was awarded to twenty communities across M-AAA’s region.

Musician Shokhrukh Sadikov visits Castelar Elementary School in Omaha, NE, March 2016

“ P e o p l e k e e p a s k i n g m e h o w I c a n b e s m i l i n g a t a t i m e l i k e t h i s . I a m g o i n g t o l e t y o u i n o n a s e c r e t . C o m e c l o s e r. I d o n ’ t w a n t t h o s e

t h a t b e l e a v e [ s i c ] i n t h e d e a t h p e n a l t y t o h e a r. T h e S t a t e c a n n o t e x e c u t e t h e s a m e m a n t h a t w a s c o n v i c t e d . I e x e c u t e d h i m y e a r s a g o .

T h e o n l y t h i n g t h e S t a t e c a n d o i s t a k e m e o u t o f t h i s c a g e . N o w t h e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g t o s m i l e a b o u t .”

—From an inmate who has spent twenty-six years on Death Row

A r t i s t i c I n n o v a t i o n s

Northwest Arkansas Prison Story ProjectThe Northwest Arkansas (NWA) Prison Story Project uses the power of storytelling to create a reformed sense of self and transform inmates’ lives. Inmates employ story to connect to audiences, to one another, and to themselves. NWA Prison Story Project founder Kathy McGregor launched You Are Not Alone in November 2014 with a one-day storytelling and intensive writing workshop, and a staged reading, for the male inmates of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Without necessary funds, the You Are Not Alone project was put on hold until receiving an Artistic Innovations grant in FY16. “None of this would have been possible without the grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance,” reported McGregor.

Armed with this support, McGregor and her team returned to Pine Bluff in November 2015, and over the course of the grant period, executed two more staged readings and two additional two-day storytelling and writing workshops. With each additional reading and workshop, this arts therapy reached a new group of inmates. As more inmates participated, they reported an empowerment and connection afforded by their experiences with the program. “I’m more talented than I thought I was,” wrote one inmate.

The grant also allowed NWA Prison Story Project to present the original works of the Pine Bluff male inmates, You Are Not Alone I, in September 2015 to female inmates in Fayetteville, opening a dialogue between the incarcerated men and women. “We are more alike than I ever would have thought,” reported one inmate at Pine Bluff after his participation in the NWA Prison Story Project. McGregor sites improved communication skills of inmates, especially upon release, to be a primary goal of the program. Altogether, the group served 480 inmates in the state of Arkansas during FY16. McGregor plans to continue expanding the work, making partnerships with the warden of death row prisoners at Varner Super Max Prison in Grady, Arkansas, and also with the University of Arkansas as part of an upcoming One Book, One Community project in Northwest Arkansas.

In FY16, $140,295 was awarded to twelve Artistic Innovations recipients, from individual artistic support for a new concert to the production of a new play.

“ I l e a r n e d t o e x p r e s s m y s e l f i n w a y sI n e v e r k n e w I c o u l d

w i t h o u t t h e h e l p o f P r i s o n S t o r i e s .”

Inmates at a staged reading of You Are Not Alone in Pine Bluff, AR, November 2015

Arts andHUMANITIES

PROGRAMMING

Young visitors at ExhibitsUSA’s Grand Ole Opry exhibition at Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, OK, August 2015

Tr a v e l i n g E x h i b i t i o n sIn FY16, exhibitions traveled to twenty-eight states through two flagship programs: ExhibitsUSA and NEH on the Road. ExhibitsUSA is dedicated to bringing arts experiences to cities big and small at a discounted rate, and NEH on the Road works in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities to adapt large humanities exhibitions for touring to venues throughout the country, accessible both in scale and expense.

With traveling exhibitions, we can bring traditional Bedouin camel saddles to Melbourne, Florida; photographs by indigenous artists to Duncan, Oklahoma; and Ruby Bridges’ first grade classroom to Greenwood, Mississippi. One-of-a-kind experiences, available around the country at nonprofit rates: ExhibitsUSA and NEH on the Road reach hundreds of thousands of people every year. Serving not only audiences, M-AAA’s traveling exhibitions provide venues with every detail—handmade shipping crates, museum-quality presentation, and step-by-step instructions for hanging, promoting, and caring for exhibitions.

Last year, ExhibitsUSA launched the tours of six exhibitions—Blake Little: Photographs from the Gay Rodeo; Celebrating Picasso: Photographs by David Douglas Duncan; Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art; Sign of the Times: The Great American Political Poster 1844–2012; Traditional Arts of the Bedouin; and WAR-TOYS: Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip. ExhibitsUSA also announced the development of several exhibitions; including Once Upon a Playground, based on a new publication by photographer Brenda Biondo; Work, Fight, Give: American Relief Posters of WWII, drawn from a private collection; and Beyond Words: Visual Narratives from the Block Book to the Graphic Novel, culled from the Rare Book Collection and the Comic Art Collection in the Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books at the University of Missouri Libraries.

NEH on the Road’s exhibition Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil embarked on its tour in FY16, and Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, adapted from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art’s celebrated flagship exhibition, was placed into production.

Right, top to bottom: First graders visit NEH on the Road’s Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil at Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art in Fayette, MO, February 2016; ExhibitsUSA’s Wandering Spirit: African Wax Prints at Sioux City Public Museum in Sioux City, IA, July 2016; High school students pose with interactive materials from Spirited: Prohibition in America at Rolling Hills Consolidated Library, St. Joseph, MO, April 2016

E x h i b i t s U S AInciteful ClayIn April 2016, ExhibitsUSA’s InCiteful Clay traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for exhibition at the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Museum of Art. InCiteful Clay highlights the innovation and social commentary pervasive in contemporary ceramics, turning the medium on its head. The exhibition is organized around five themes: war and politics, the social and human condition, gender issues, environmental concerns, and popularand material culture.

OSU Museum of Art’s curator of education and public programming, Carrie Kim, wrote in a letter to exhibition curator Judith Schwartz, “Our visitors can’t stop raving about the show; we’re enjoying wonderful discourse about the work from audiences of all ages. It’s been a privilege and an honor to share your exhibition with this community. It’s, hands down, been the most engaging, thought-provoking exhibition we’ve had to date.”

Kim also shared the feedback of some important audiences: junior high art students.

“ I f e l t a l i t t l e u n c o m f o r t a b l e a t t i m e s , b u t I t h i n k t h a t ’ s a g o o d t h i n g . T h i s e x h i b i t r e a l l y p u s h e d m e o u t o f m y c o m f o r t z o n e a n d e x p o s e d m e t o t h e m e s t h a t I d o n ’ t u s u a l l y s e e i n a r t . I f o u n d i t r e a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g h o w t h e a r t i s t s d e c i d e d t o e x p r e s s t h e i r t h e m e s t h r o u g h c e r t a i n i m a g e s a n d

t i t l e s . O v e r a l l , t h i s e x h i b i t o p e n e d m y e y e s a l i t t l e a n d I ’ m g l a d t h a t I w a s a b l e t o v i s i t .T h a n k y o u s o m u c h f o r t h e a m a z i n g f i e l d t r i p ! ! !”

N E H O n T h e R o a dBandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of BrazilBandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil opened at the Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art in Fayette, Missouri, in January 2016. This NEH on the Road exhibition, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and organized by Con/Vida—Popular Arts of the Americas in association with Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, explores how the ancient cultures of Africa blended with indigenous and colonial Portuguese traditions to form the vibrant and complex cultural mosaic of modern Brazil.

Ashby-Hodge’s curator Denise Gebhart reported enthusiastically on the community feedback and high attendance when the exhibition visited Fayette, a town of about 2,700 people. The gallery, located on the campus of Central Methodist University, exhibits three to five shows each year, and Gebhart booked Bandits & Heroes to bring a broader view of art to the community.

“On a Sunday afternoon a young woman from Brazil, currently living in Columbia, Missouri, visited the gallery. She was with her host family and they stayed for several hours looking at and reading the panels in the exhibit. This young woman was most excited to have the opportunity to view scenes of places that were familiar to her. She happily shared her stories with any visitors to the gallery interested in hearing about the places depicted on the panels. This was her home! Her community!” reported Gebhart.

“ T h e m o s t e n g a g i n g , t h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g e x h i b i t i o n w e ’ v e h a d t o d a t e .”

Junior high students visit InCiteful Clay at Oklahoma State University Museum of Art in Stillwater, OK, May 2016

ProfessionalDevelopment

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu visits an Artist INC training at M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, April 2016

Support for artists comes in many forms. For successful communities, we need healthy artists and robust arts and cultural organizations. Artist INC and ENGAGE are programs designed specifically to help the arts thrive in business practice.

A r t i s t I N CArtist INC is M-AAA’s fastest growing program. In partnership with the University of Missouri–Kansas City Innovation Center, we served 118 people in Austin, Lawrence, Kansas City, Omaha, and Tulsa in FY16. Through Artist INC, individual artists learn communication skills, money management, basic legal issues facing artists, and more. Using local artist facilitators, embedded and respected in their individual communities, a peer-to-peer learning model fosters trust and support among participants.

In addition to expanding into Tulsa, Oklahoma, Artist INC launched in Lawrence, Kansas, in April 2016. With enthusiastic peer trainers and a lively group of artists, the program was a great success. Artists who participated in the inaugural Artist INC Live training in Lawrence remain an active community, sharing opportunities and asking one another for input and guidance. On an anonymous survey completed at the close of training, an artist reported:

“ A r t i s t I N C c h a n g e d m y l i f e . I t e m p o w e r e d m e i n a w a y I w a s a b s o l u t e l y r e a d y f o r. I t w a s a s i f I h a d b e e n a s k i n g t h e u n i v e r s e f o r t h e s e t o o l s f o r y e a r s a n d t h e n A r t i s t I N C c o m e s a l o n g a n d s a y s ‘ H e r e y o u g o ! ’ I l o v e t h a t I h a v e a b o o k a n d w o r k b o o k t o r e f e r t o f o r e v e r. I l o v e t h a t i f s o m e t h i n g p o p s u p i n m y l i f e t h a t I ’ m u n s u r e a b o u t , I h a v e r e s o u r c e s a n d a n e t w o r k n o w t h a t I c a n u t i l i z e .”

E N G A G EENGAGE strengthens existing arts organizations, amplifying an arts network that supports the wider community and focuses on best practices in governance, fundraising and financial management, and community engagement capacities.

ENGAGE Houston kicked off for a second time in April 2016. Participants met with ENGAGE coaches and have begun the deep-dive process of working toward best practices and long-term sustainability as vibrant cultural organizations. Through a $1.165 million grant, the Houston Endowment has generously supported all of this work, allowing Houston ENGAGE to continue through 2018. Elizabeth Love, senior program officer with the Houston Endowment, said that “ENGAGE is strongly aligned with the foundation’s mission to enhance the vibrancy of greater Houston, and we appreciate the program’s focus on promoting sustainability, seeding innovation, and cultivating broad audiencesamong a critical segment of the local arts and culture ecosystem.”

With the success demonstrated in Houston, M-AAA conducted a needs assessment for Kansas City in FY16.Through meetings and conversations with fifty-seven small to midsize arts organizations, service providers, and funders, M-AAA was able to determine the unique capabilities and challenges of the city’s arts and culture sector, and made recommendations to move forward in developing ENGAGE Kansas City in 2017.

ENGAGE consultants Brian Crockett and Carla Patterson visit Heidi Van at the Fishtank Theatre

in Kansas City, MO, as part of the Kansas City Needs Assessment, February 2016

MoVINGForward

RE Source, an Artistic Innovations dance performance of Forklift Danceworks in collaboration with Goodwill of Central Texas, Austin, TX, February 2016

C r e a t i v i t y C o n n e c t sWith support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Creativity Connects: National Demonstration Projects, a special initiative undertaken by the US Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs), launched in May 2016. This initiative, part of the NEA’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, investigates the ways in which the arts can connect with other sectors, including education, healthcare, and social justice, that want and utilize creativity. The grantees, selected from each of the six RAOs—Arts Midwest, M-AAA, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Art Federation—promote excellence and demonstrate best practices in the field of cross-sector collaboration.

Stated Ella Baff, senior program officer for arts and cultural heritage at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: “This national project is emblematic of how the arts and creativity are—and should be—incorporated generously into all aspects of our work, our communities and our daily lives. Creativity is not a luxury that exists on the outskirts of society; it is at the center of all great achievement, and essential to the quality of our individual and collective experience.”

M-AAA awarded $435,365 in June 2016 to Fort Wayne Dance Collective, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Fusebox Austin, Austin, Texas; The Center for Urban Pedagogy, Brooklyn, New York; Judy Dworin Performance Project, Hartford, Connecticut; Deep Center, Savannah, Georgia; and the City of Mesa/Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona.On November 18, the grant recipients will present at the NEA’s national convening, In Pursuit of the Creative Life: The Future of Arts and Creativity in America at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

W i n d g a t e C h a r i t a b l e F o u n d a t i o nMid-America Arts Alliance received a $400,000 grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The two-year grant will strengthen and grow M-AAA’s two artist-support programs—Artist INC and Artistic Innovations. “We believe in fostering creativity and encouraging artists,” said John Brown of the Windgate Foundation. “Like Mid-America Arts Alliance, we understand that artists need support for the creation of new work, as well as capacity building for their business skills. We hope this grant will improve the work of the many talented artists in our region and lead them on a path to success.”

The grant will expand the footprint of Artist INC to new communities in M-AAA’s region, eventually serving more than 2,000 artists by 2020. In FY17, Artist INC will reach artists in three new communities: Houston, Texas, and Springdale, Arkansas, and includes beta testing of Artist INC Express in Wichita Falls, Texas, to reach artists in smaller and rural communities. This grant also increases the number of dollars for the Artistic Innovations program, which means more grants for more artists and organizations, and more chances to support artists and innovative projects throughout the region.

Artist collective Ghana Think Tank investigates gentrification for Creativity Connects grantee Fusebox

in Austin, TX, April 2015

GeographicReach

Regional Touring Program grantee CORE Performance Company performing Gaman, Conway, AR, November 2015

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M - A A AP a r t n e r S t a t e P a r t i c i p a n t s ArkansasArgenta Branch Library, North Little RockArkansas Arts Council, Little RockArkansas River Valley Arts Center, RussellvilleArkansas State University, State UniversityThe Artist’s Laboratory Theatre, FayettevilleBradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, JonesboroVisit Hot Springs, Hot Springs National ParkClinton Presidential Library, Little RockDelta Cultural Center, HelenaHot Springs Documentary Film Institute, Hot SpringsMarshall Mitchell, SpringdaleNorth Central Arkansas Foundation for Arts and Education, Fairfield BayNorthwest Arkansas Prison Story Project, FayettevilleUniversity of Arkansas Little Rock, Little RockUniversity of Central Arkansas, ConwayWildwood Park for the Arts, Inc., Little RockErika Wilhite, FayettevilleWilliam F. Laman Public Library, North Little Rock

KansasBrown County Historical Society, HiawathaNick Carswell, LawrenceCherokee Strip Land Rush Museum, Arkansas CityCity of Overbrook, OverbrookCreative Arts Industries Commission, TopekaDouglas County Historical Society, LawrenceEmporia Arts Council, EmporiaJohnson County Community College, Overland ParkJunction City Opera House Inc., Junction CityKaty Guillen and the Girls, Overland ParkLansing Historical Museum, LansingLawrence Arts Center, LawrenceDave Loewenstein, Lawrence

Matthew Lord, LawrenceMargaret R. Marco, LawrenceMargaret Weisbrod Morris, LawrenceMulvane Art Museum at Washburn University, TopekaMolly Murphy, LawrenceKirsten Paludan, LawrenceSalina Art Center, SalinaScenic Road Productions, MissionKent Smith, LawrenceKyla Strid, LawrenceCasey Whittier, Overland ParkWichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Wichita

MissouriAshby-Hodge Gallery of American Art at Central Methodist University, FayetteThe Box Gallery, Kansas CityTrilla Ray Carter, Kansas CityCottey College, NevadaEminence Area Arts Council, EminenceFoundry Art Centre, Saint CharlesKansas City Public Library, Kansas CityWhitney Manney, Kansas CityMissouri Arts Council, Saint LouisGarry Noland, IndependenceRachel Reynolds Luster, ThayerRolling Hills Consolidated Library, Saint JosephSheldon Art Galleries, Saint LouisSheldon Arts Foundation, Saint LouisEmily Evans Sloan, Kansas CitySons of Brasil, Kansas CityUniversity of Central Missouri, WarrensburgGallery 210 at University of Missouri–Saint Louis, Saint Louis

NebraskaBennett Martin Public Library, LincolnKait Berreckman, OmahaCollege of Saint Mary, OmahaFirst Presbyterian Church, LincolnLied Center for Performing Arts, LincolnFriends of Music, ColumbusFriends of the Midwest Theater, Scottsbluff

Donna Gunn, LincolnHigh Plains Arts Council Inc., SidneyHot Shops Art Foundation, OmahaMetropolitan Community College Foundation, OmahaAnna Dewey Nance, OmahaNebraska Arts Council, OmahaNebraska Museum Association, LincolnNebraska State Historical Society, LincolnRobert M. Merryman Performing Arts Center, KearneyTassel Coordination Council Inc., HoldregeUniversity of Nebraska–Omaha, OmahaKara Weander-Gaster, NorfolkWatie White, Omaha

OklahomaJennifer Alden, Broken ArrowMarjorie Atwood, TulsaCherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, EnidChisholm Trail Heritage Center, DuncanClaire Collins, TulsaGlenn Davis, TulsaKyle Dillingham, Oklahoma CityEdmond Historical Society and Museum, EdmondGrace Grothaus Grimm, TulsaLiving Arts of Tulsa, TulsaMandy Messina, Oklahoma CityMolly O’Connor, Oklahoma CityOklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma CityOklahoma City Community College Foundation, Oklahoma CityOklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Oklahoma CityOklahoma Family Center for Autism, EdmondOklahoma State University Museum, StillwaterOklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Oklahoma CityPrice Tower Arts Center, BartlesvilleBarron Ryan, TulsaTulsa Performing Arts Center Trust, TulsaUniversity of Tulsa, Tulsa

TexasAdmiral Nimitz Foundation, FredericksburgAltharetta Yeargin Art Museum, Houston

FY16 PROGRAMPARTICIPANTS

Apollo Chamber Players, HoustonArlington Museum of Art, ArlingtonArs Lyrica Houston, HoustonBayou City Performing Arts, HoustonBell County Museum, BeltonBrazos Valley Museum of Natural History, BryanCatastrophic Theatre, HoustonCity of Austin, AustinCulture of Health–Advancing Together, HoustonYvonne De La Rosa, SeguinEl Paso Museum of Art, El PasoEl Paso Museum of History, El PasoForklift Dance, AustinGlasstire, HoustonHouston Boy’s Choir, HoustonHouston Chamber Choir, HoustonHouston Early Music, HoustonHouston Maritime Museum, HoustonHouston Palestine Film Festival, HoustonJohn E. Conner Museum, KingsvilleLiving History, HoustonLone Star Ballet Inc., AmarilloLutcher Theater Inc., OrangeMain Street Theater, HoustonMildred’s Umbrella Theater Company, HoustonMusiqa, HoustonAnuradha Naimpally, AustinNational Museum of the Pacific War, FredericksburgNext Iteration Theater Company, HoustonOrange Show Center for Visionary Art, HoustonProject Row Houses, HoustonPhilip Rogers, AustinSalvage Vanguard Theater, AustinSixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, DallasSouthwestern Adventist University, KeeneSpacetaker, HoustonTemple Railroad & Heritage Museum, TempleTexarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, TexarkanaTexas Boys Choir, Fort WorthTexas Commission on the Arts, AustinWayland Baptist University, PlainviewMeghan Wells, AustinWest Bay Common School Children’s Museum, League CityWindSync, Houston

N a t i o n a l P a r t i c i p a n t s

ArizonaMuseum of Art, University of Arizona, Tucson

CaliforniaCalifornia State University Dominguez Hills, CarsonMuseum of History and Art Ontario, OntarioTemecula Valley Museum, Temecula

Connecticut Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London

District of ColumbiaAmerican University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Washington

FloridaAppleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, OcalaCollier County Museums, NaplesCrealdé School of Art, Winter ParkWebber Gallery at College of Central Florida, OcalaWest Florida Historic Preservation Inc., Pensacola

GeorgiaGwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, Buford

IowaCharles H. MacNider Art Museum, Mason CityLiving History Farms, UrbandaleSioux City Public Museum, Sioux CityBart Vargas, Council Bluffs

KentuckyLaurel County Public Library, London

LouisianaHistorical City Hall Arts & Cultural Center, City of Lake Charles, Lake CharlesMeadows Museum of Art, ShreveportOuachita Parish Public Library Main Branch, MonroePaul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, University of Louisiana–Lafayette, LafayetteWest Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen

MarylandRoland Park Country School, Baltimore

MichiganInterlochen Center for the Arts, InterlochenYpsilanti District Library, Ypsilanti

MinnesotaHistorical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead

MississippiMuseum of the Mississippi Delta, Greenwood

North CarolinaCape Fear Museum of History and Science, Wilmington

New JerseyHudson County Community College, Jersey CityKean University, Union

OhioNational Afro-American Museum, Wilberforce

PennsylvaniaSardoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre

South CarolinaUpcountry History Museum, Greenville

South DakotaNorthern State University, Aberdeen

TennesseeCustoms House Museum & Cultural Center, Clarksville

UtahBrigham City Museum Gallery, Brigham CityPark City Museum, Park CitySaint George Art Museum, Saint George

West VirginiaMarion County Public Library System, Fairmont

Above: Students visit Our Lives, Our Stories: The Greatest Generation at Marion County Public Library in Fairmont, WV, September 2015; M-AAA

Director Kathy Dowell visited a Cherokee artist’s studio in Tahlequah, OK, December 2015

Left: Artist Garry Noland installs his work Civilians at

M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, February 2016

F Y 1 6 D o n o r s$100,000+The Houston Endowment, Inc.The Andrew W. Mellon FoundationWindgate Charitable Foundation, Inc.

$50,000–$99,999The Brown Foundation, Inc.Louetta M. Cowden Foundation, Bank of America, TrusteeHall Family Foundation

$25,000–$49,999The Cross Foundation, Inc.Muriel McBrien Kauffman FoundationWilliam T. Kemper Foundation, Commerce Bank, Trustee

$10,000–$24,999Capitol Federal FoundationCooper FoundationLouis and Elizabeth Nave Flarsheim Charitable FoundationFrancis Family FoundationGilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock FoundationH&R Block FoundationKirkpatrick Family FundFrank and Ann Uryasz

$5,000–$9,999City of Kansas City, MO, Office of Culture and Creative ServicesJ. Robert and Karen DuncanTodd and Connie DuncanC. Kendric and Mary Ann FergesonAlison and John FerringHallmark Corporate FoundationNancy and Kenneth KranzbergJudith and Frank SabatiniSONIC, America’s Drive-inTricor BraunJohn Steele Zink Foundation

$1,000–$4,999Ameritas Charitable FoundationMarian AndersenLona BarrickBillie and Howard BarnettBruce H. BranyanEd CliffordKim and Tom DinsdaleCarolyn DillonDouglass and Nina FreedDenise and Hershey GarnerJohn Gaudin and Dr. C. E. PattonTom and Candy HenningNancy Lee and Jonathan KemperMary KennedyKym Koch and Mickey ThompsonHolbrook Lawson and Rick HolderMcCasland FoundationDorothy MorrisDon and Barbara MunroNola Ruth and Martin RibackHarold Tenenbaum and Zach TallonMelissa ThomaArt and Carol ThompsonJames Tolbert III and Elizabeth TolbertRichard J. and Karen J. VierkKathleen Patton Westby Foundation

$500–$999Michael DonovanKathy and David DowellSara EpsteinPat Friesen and Chuck JasperGarbo Hearne and Archie Hearne, IIIShirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr.Ruth and James KeeneJanice LeeBrad and Linda NicholsonGregory and Lamonica PerrinPaula PfluegerMarianne Kay RonanRuth and Alvin SitemanTodd SteinTom and Sue TallmanMildred and Dr. Douglas Witte

Under $500Ann AlspaughAmazon Smile FoundationAnonymousSuzi Aron and Joseph LevinThe Arts FederationDr. and Mrs. Keith AshcraftCliff Baker and Guy CouchChristine BialJon and Ann BohlkeCarl and Karen BraseeDale W. BrockJo BrownTim BrownPatricia BryantJack and Sally CampbellKaren and Chris CampbellSilvia B. CohnSteve CraysDon DagenaisGerald and Kit DimonMadison and Calvin DuganCarl and Janet EskridgeLinda and Marc FrazierJune and Edmond Freeman, IIIJorge GarciaGary Gibbs, Ph.D.Kay Goebel, Ph.D.Linda GramseJay and Valerie HannahAngelette HartLinda HatchelJessica HeikesCharles and Margaret HermesStephen and Marcia HillDon and Jan HindsTravis and Sue HinerRichard HuffBeth IngramDonald and Alice Ann JohnstonKaren J. KeithMargaret A. KeoughThe Kerr Foundation, Inc.Susan Koenig and Mark YoungPatricia A. Konopka

Ted Kooser and Kathleen RutledgeCharles H. KopkeRobin and Ann KoozerLynette and Paul KriegerMary LaRocheIvan LundbergBetty MaltbiaBeth MaggardAntzee MagruderAdair MargoDr. and Mrs. Martin MassengaleTom and Brenda McDanielArt and Edana McSweeneyLarry and Cindy MeekerTom MillikenMarilyn and Earl MitchellBud and Phyllis NarvesonCy and Katie NorthDr. Thomas Pawley, IIIJoy PenningtonKristy Eddy PetersonNancy PilkingtonMaggie PriceBillye Proctor ShawJoe and Hannah RobsonJennifer RoeBob and Charlotte RonanSabatini Architects, Inc.Dan and Nichole SabatiniRegina SchneiderHarry and Joan SeayRandel ShadidAmber SharplesBarry and Dale SharonSarah SonnerMerle StalderPhyllis StoughDick and Nancy TrammelObert and Virginia UndemSteve WakeAmanda WiltseSuzanne WiseMichelle WolfeCharley Young and Elizabeth Wheeler

DONORs &Giving Society

“Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), to me, is a “best kept” secret in the region it serves. M-AAA partners with federal, regional, and state organizations to enable arts, humanities, and individual artist activities to be enhanced and shared throughout Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. This collaborative approach makes arts more accessible to more people and broadens the scope of what our region can offer to its varied audiences, whether in urban or rural communities. Being a Giving Society member enables the donor to assist M-AAA in sustaining these programs across a variety of venues and at the same time exposes more people to performance and visual arts experiences. I am an enthusiastic supporter and encourage others to join the Giving Society.” – Rich Vierk, Nebraska Board member and M-AAA Secretary

G i v i n g S o c i e t y$100,000+Carolyn Dillon, Hutchinson, KSJ. Robert and Karen Duncan, Lincoln, NECarl and Lee McCaffree, Overland Park, KSNancy and Peter Meinig, Tulsa, OKJudith and Frank Sabatini, Tokepa, KS

$50,000–$99,999Marian Andersen, Omaha, NESally and Rob Baird, Springfield, MOBillie and Howard Barnett, Tulsa, OKC. Kendric and Mary Ann Fergeson, Altus, OKTerrence and Catherine Ferguson, Omaha, NEAnn Garvey, Wichita, KSNancy Lee and Jonathan Kemper, Kansas City, MONancy and Kenneth Kranzberg, Saint Louis, MO

Joan and Mitchell Markow, Saint Louis, MOSarah Rowland, Kansas City, MOJames Tolbert III and Elizabeth Tolbert, Oklahoma City, OK

$25,000–$49,999Dr. and Mrs. Keith Ashcraft, Mission Hills, KSJune and Edmond Freeman, III, Little Rock, ARJoan Horan, Leawood, KSDorothy Morris, Hot Springs, ARDon and Barbara Munro, Hot Springs, ARArt and Carol Thompson, Eagle, NERichard J. and Karen J. Vierk, Lincoln, NE

$10,000–$24,999James Clement, Jr., Dallas, TXEd Clifford, Bentonville, ARVince and Cindy Dasta, Kansas City, MOKim and Tom Dinsdale, Grand Island, NEAlison and John Ferring, Saint Louis, MOScott Francis, Kansas City, MODouglass and Nina Freed, Sedalia, MOGregory Glore, Saint Louis, MOKay Goebel, Ph.D., Oklahoma City, OKMary Kennedy, Kansas City, MOJanice Lee, Manhattan, KSAnn Liberman, Saint Louis, MOAdair Margo, El Paso, TXMarilyn and Earl Mitchell, Norfolk, NE

Jeannette Nichols, Kansas City, MOCarol and Scott Ritchie, Eastborough, KSNola Ruth and Martin Riback, Columbia, MOFranny Seward, Lincoln, NEEve Simon, Omaha, NEFrank and Ann Uryasz, Kansas City, MOMildred and Dr. Douglas Witte, Tyler, TX

$5,000–$9,999John Paul and Eddie Marie Batiste, Dallas, TXSharon and Lance Beshore, Joplin, MODavid and Dee Dillon, Cincinnati, OHAlejandrina Drew, Dallas, TXPatricia Evans, Ponca City, OKDr. Scott Ferguson, West Memphis, ARLillie and Louis Fontenot, Houston, TXLinda and Marc Frazier, Tulsa, OKJohn Gaudin and Dr. C. E. Patton, North Little Rock, ARShirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr., Mission Hills, KSJoanie Holt, Midland, TXDonald and Alice Ann Johnston, Lawrence, KSRuth and James Keene, Omaha, NEKym Koch and Mickey Thompson, Oklahoma City, OKMary Landen, Omaha, NEHolbrook Lawson and Rick Holder, Tulsa, OKHarolyn O’Brien, Leawood, KSSue Renken, Lincoln, NE

Richard L. Sias, Oklahoma City, OKBillye Proctor Shaw, Abilene, TXSteve Taylor and Linda Gill-Taylor, Edgerton, MO

$2,500–$4,999Lona Barrick, Ada, OKLeslie Blanton, Houston, TXJo Brown, Lincoln, NEBarbara Dodge, West Memphis, ARWilliam H. Dunn, Sr., and Jean Dunn, Prairie Village, KSDenise and Hershey Garner, Fayetteville, ARGarbo Hearne and Archie Hearne, III, Little Rock, ARTom and Candy Henning, Lincoln, NECharles H. Kopke, Kansas City, MOBill and Peggy Lyons, Kansas City, MOTom and Jill McGee, Kansas City, MODr. Thomas Pawley, III, Jefferson City, MOJames Pickel, Oklahoma City, OKBetty and Norris Price, Oklahoma City, OKMarianne Kay Ronan, Albany, MOBess Sanders, Hot Springs, ARMelissa Thoma, Little Rock, ARObert and Virginia Undem, Billings, MT

Please join these generous donors in supporting M-AAA. To learn how you can help ensure more art for more people,please contact Jennifer Roe at 816-421-1388 x222 or jennifer@maaa.org.

MORE

ARTFOR MORE

PEOPLE

Opposite page: Giving Society members attend a private preview of Traditional Arts of the Bedouin at M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, April 2016

From left: Suzanne Wise, executive director of the Nebraska Arts Council, Karen Vierk, and Rich Vierk in Lincoln, NE, June 2016

Billie Barnett, Civic Leader, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Lona Barrick, Executive Officer, Division of Arts and Humanities, The Chickasaw Nation, Ada, Oklahoma

Gay Bechtelheimer, Chair, Arkansas Arts Council/Teaching Artist, El Dorado, Arkansas

Patricia Bryant, Chair, Texas Commission on the Arts/Owner, Patty A. Bryant Communications, Amarillo, Texas

Ed Clifford, CEO, The Jones Trust, Bentonville, Arkansas/M-AAA Chairman

Michael Donovan, Executive Director, Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis, Missouri

J. Robert Duncan, Chairman Emeritus, Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska

C. Kendrick Fergeson, Chairman, NBC Oklahoma, Altus, Oklahoma/M-AAA Past Chairperson

Alison Ferring, Civic Leader/Artist, St. Louis, Missouri

Lillie Fontenot, Civic Leader/Consultant, Accent Management/Chesterfield Engineering, Houston, Texas

Linda S. Frazier, Civic Leader, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Douglass Freed, Civic Leader/Artist, Sedalia, Missouri

Denise Garner, Founder/Chair, Feed Communities, Fayetteville, Arkansas

John Gaudin, President, Argenta Wealth Management, North Little Rock, Arkansas/M-AAA Treasurer

Dr. Gary Gibbs, Executive Director, Texas Commission on the Arts, Austin, Texas/M-AAA Vice-Chairperson

Garbo Hearne, Owner, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas

Candy Henning, Chair, Nebraska Arts Council, Lincoln, Nebraska

Joan Horan, Civic Leader, Leawood, Kansas

Peter Jasso, Director, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Topeka, Kansas

Ruth Keene, Civic Leader, Omaha, Nebraska

Nancy Lee Kemper, Civic Leader, Kansas City, Missouri

*Mary Kennedy, CEO, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, Missouri

Nancy Kranzberg, Civic Leader/Performing Artist, St. Louis, Missouri

Holbrook Lawson, Chair, Oklahoma Arts Council/CEO Holbrook Campbell Lawson, LLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Larry Meeker, Chair, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission/Adjunct Professor, Lake Quivira, Kansas

F Y 1 6 M - A A A B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s

BOARD

Joy Pennington, Executive Director, Arkansas Arts Council,

Little Rock, Arkansas

Gregory Perrin, Assistant Vice President and Executive Director for

Development, Diversity and Community Engagement, University of Texas,

Austin, Texas

Paula Pfleuger, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones, Norfolk, Nebraska

Nola Ruth, Chair, Missouri Arts Council, Columbia, Missouri

Amber Sharples, Executive Director, Oklahoma Arts Council,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Melissa Thoma, Principal, Thoma Thoma, Little Rock, Arkansas

Art Thompson, President, Cooper Foundation, Lincoln, Nebraska

Kym Koch Thompson, Principal, Koch Communications,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Frank D. Uryasz, President, The National Center for Drug-Free Sport, Inc.,

Kansas City, Missouri

Richard J. Vierk, Managing Partner, Vierk & Associates, LLC,

Lincoln, Nebraska/M-AAA Secretary

Suzanne Wise, Executive Director, Nebraska Arts Council, Omaha, Nebraska

Mildred Knape Witte, Civic Leader, Tyler, Texas

Emeritus Directors*Marian Andersen, Civic Leader, Omaha, Nebraska

John Paul Batiste, Civic Leader, Dallas, Texas

Carolyn Dillon, Civic Leader/Clay Artist, Hutchinson, Kansas

Ann Garvey, Civic Leader, Wichita, Kansas

Kay Goebel, Ph.D., Psychologist/Civic Leader, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Donald A. Johnston, Executive (ret.) INTRUST Bank/Civic Leader

Lawrence, Kansas

Dorothy Morris, President, Morris Foundation, Inc., Hot Springs, Arkansas

Don Munro, Chairman/CEO, Munro and Company, Inc., Hot Springs, Arkansas

Thomas D. Pawley, III, Professor Emeritus, Lincoln University,

Jefferson City, Missouri

Betty Price, Civic Leader/Artist, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Wallace Richardson, Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott (ret.),

Lincoln, Nebraska

*nonvoting director

Opposite page: The Board of Directors meets at M-AAA headquarters in November 2015

Right, top to bottom: Gregory Perrin and Dorothy Morris, Lincoln, NE, June 2016; Ken Fergeson and Ed Clifford, Kansas City, MO, November 2015; Judge Jan Gradwohl, Robert Duncan, and Marian Andersen, Lincoln, NE, June 2016

STAFF

F Y 1 6 S t a f fChristine Dotterweich Bial, Program Specialist

Tim Brown, Curatorial Assistant

Karen Campbell, Director of Development

Steve Crays, Marketing and Constituent Services Coordinator

Kathy Dowell, Director of Arts and Humanities Programming

Madison Dugan, Development Associate

Jorge Garcia, Preparator

Linda Gramse, Executive Assistant

Angelette Hart, Operations Manager and Accessibility Coordinator

Jessica Heikes, Assistant to Preparation and Registration

Margaret A. Keough, Director of Marketing and Communications

Mary Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer

Ivan Lundberg, Senior Accounting Manager

Beth Maggard, Communications Manager

Betty Maltbia, Program Administrator

Dottie Martin, Database Specialist

Art McSweeney, Fabrication and Preparation Manager

Edana McSweeney, Director of Professional Development

Kristy Eddy Peterson, Education Curator

Maggie Price, Graphic Design Coordinator

Jennifer Roe, Grant Writer

Regina Schneider, Facilities and Office Manager

Sarah Sonner, Ph.D., Humanities Curator

Todd Stein, Chief Operating Officer

Amanda Wiltse, Marketing and Constituent Services Manager

Michelle Wolfe, Registrar

Charley Young, Accountant

Clockwise from top: M-AAA staff attend a Royals baseball game, Kansas City, MO, July 2016; Madison Dugan, Steve Crays, and Amanda Wiltse

at a Giving Society preview event, Kansas City, MO, April 2016; Kristy Peterson, Mary LaRoche, Kathy Dowell, and Sarah Sonner

during a visit to an exhibition in Washington, DC, June 2016

We are proud to partner with these

organizations

On the front cover, clockwise from top: M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, September 2016; Participants in artist Watie White’s Artistic Innovations project in Omaha, NE, October 2015; First Friday at M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, August 2015; Outdoor festivities for First Friday at M-AAA headquarters in Kansas City, MO, September 2015; Artist Tunde Odunlade visits Wandering Spirit: African Wax Prints in Kansas City, MO, April 2016

This page, clockwise from top: M-AAA exterior during performance by the Artist’s Laboratory Theatre of Arkansas, Kansas City, MO, February 2016; Curator and artists of InCiteful Clay at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference in Kansas City, MO, March 2016; Nebraska artist Kait Berreckman performs for First Friday, Kansas City, MO, March 2016; Students work on Only in Death, an Artistic Innovations project of Autism Oklahoma in Edmond, OK, July 2015; Printmakers from Tom Huck’s Evil Prints (a former Artistic Innovations grantee) visited Kansas City, MO, for First Friday, June 2016

2 0 1 8 B a l t i m o r e A v e .K a n s a s C i t y , M O 6 4 1 0 8( 8 1 6 ) 4 2 1 - 1 3 8 8f a x ( 8 1 6 ) 4 2 1 - 3 9 1 8w w w . m a a a . o r g