Arts Alliance

WELCOME to Washtenaw County's home for arts and culture on the Web. Ann Arbor, and all of Washtenaw County, is rich in cultural resources of all kinds, from major museums and performances by international stars, to small town galleries and festivals.

The Arts Alliance exists to support and promote arts and culture throughout Washtenaw County. Whether you’re a tourist considering a visit, a business owner looking for a place your employees would enjoy living and working, an arts organization wanting help with your operations, or an artist wanting to promote your art, we hope you will find something interesting and useful in the pages of our site. If, after looking around, you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please contact us!

Our Mission and Commitment

The mission of the Arts Alliance is to support efforts to increase participation in arts and cultural activities, and strengthen the cultural community and organizations that provide these programs, thereby ensuring that all citizens benefit from our outstanding cultural resources.

The Arts Alliance works to create an environment in Washtenaw County where creativity and culture can flourish and the arts are accessible to all.

To realize its mission, the Arts Alliance is committed to support/create projects and services that Communicate - Facilitate - Educate - Advocate - and Celebrate the arts and its community!

2008 CANDIDATES' SURVEY ON ARTS AND CULTURE

This was the third year that the Arts Alliance conducted a survey of local candidates running for public office throughout Washtenaw County to learn their positions on arts and culture. Candidates were given two weeks to answer (2) questions:
1. What is your position on public funding for arts and culture?
2. If elected, what measurable actions will you take to ensure that arts and cultural offerings survive and thrive in Washtenaw County? Please be specific.

Candidates were contacted by email or mail (dependent on what personal information was posted on the Washtenaw County website); and of the 195 candidates contacted, The Arts Alliance received 48 responses. This represents a 25% response rate - the most responses the Arts Alliance has ever had to the survey.

37 Democratic, 10 Republican, and 1 Write-In candidate responded to the 2-question survey. Among the findings:
•           30 candidates (25 Democratic and 5 Republicans) or 64%, expressed support for public funding for the arts
•           17 candidates, 36%, referenced their personal involvement in arts and cultural activities in their responses
•           23% of respondents (11) cited the economic impact of arts and culture in their response
•           46% of respondents (22) indicated that arts and culture contributes positively to their community’s quality of life
•           The highest response rates to the survey were 48% of candidates for Washtenaw County Commissioner (11)

“We were delighted to have so many candidates respond about their views on arts and culture in our community,” said Tamara Real, Director. “Not only did we hear from more candidates than ever before, but more candidates provided specific measurable action steps to ensure arts and cultural offerings survive and thrive in our community this year.”

The Arts Alliance is a non-partisan organization that endorses no candidate running for office.

Don’t forget to vote on August 5, and feel free to share this report with everyone you know.

Click here to view the final candidates' responses. (.pdf)