Arts Midwest presents and sponsors performances and exhibitions seen by more than half a million people annually throughout the Midwest and around the world.

Current Programs & Activities

• ArtsLab, through a proven peer-learning environment, engages arts leaders at around deep learning, building the resilience and relevance of cultural organizations and strengthening the place of arts and culture within Midwestern communities.

• The Arts Midwest Conference, bringing together performing artists, artist managers/agents, performing arts presenters, and service organizations engaged in connecting the performing arts to audiences across the Central United States.

• Arts Midwest Folkefest tours traditional music ensembles from Finland and Sweden for week-long residencies in communities throughout our region.

• Arts Midwest Touring Fund, supporting the inter-state touring of professional performing artists to communities throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin nd the Native nations that share this geography.

• Arts Midwest World Fest, presenting international musical ensembles in intensive week-long residencies in smaller Midwest communities.

• Creating Connection is a national movement focused on making arts, culture, and creative expression a more recognized, valued, and expected part of everyday life.

• NEA Big Read encourages communities to come together over the love of a good book.

• Shakespeare in American Communities supports high-quality, professional productions of Shakespeare’s plays and related educational activities for middle- and high-school students in underserved schools throughout the United States.

• We the Many a project of Arts Midwest that seeks to expand the understanding of what it means to be a Midwesterner through the creative exchange of voices, cultures, and ideas.