Grants to Organizations - Arts Participation Initiative Case Study

The impact of Arts Commission funding is evident in Wapato, a small town in south central Washington State, where our investment contributed to economic and community development, diverse cultural participation, and leveraging of additional funding.

The Northwest Learning and Achievement (NLA) Group, a local nonprofit that organizes youth activities, helped spark a downtown revitalization by transforming a vacant lot on Wapato's main street into a central city park. With Arts Commission funding, five metalwork sculptures representing the unique cultural heritage of Wapato's Hispanic, Native American, Japanese, Filipino and European residents were created and installed in a three-year project involving 200 Wapato students and five professional artists.

The youth provided images of local life and history; the artists provided the technical knowledge of concrete sculpture, bronze casting, and metal fabrication; and the Arts Commission provided training and financial support. The NLA Group's project did more than enliven a vacant lot on Wapato's main street; it brought residents, business people, and city officials together, illuminated the town's potential and sparking other revitalization efforts.

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) spotlight.

Engaging Washington Communities Through the Arts (PDF)