Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Office of Continuing Education is pleased to announce that its award-winning ArtsBuild program has received $2,500 from Chancellor David Markee and an additional $200 from Mittie Nimocks, dean of the UWP College of Liberal Arts and Education. The ArtsBuild program operated with start-up grant funding from UW-Extension, and was threatened with having to curtail its programming when those funds were exhausted. The generous support from UWP will allow ArtsBuild the time it needs to transition to new funding sources.

Chancellor David Markee noted, "ArtsBuild is an excellent example of UWP's outreach to create meaningful partnerships that bring community and economic development to Southwest Wisconsin. The achievements of ArtsBuild have been recognized through numerous awards. Its overwhelming success is evident in the replications that are occurring in other regions of Wisconsin. UWP is proud to support this innovative endeavor designed to assist and support Wisconsin's creative community."

ArtsBuild has also been fortunate to receive a grant of $4,000 from the Wisconsin Arts Board, "in recognition of the community arts development that ArtsBuild has accomplished over the past three years in Southwestern Wisconsin." The Arts Board grant, which is made possible through the National Endowment for the Arts' "Challenge America" program, will allow ArtsBuild to continue offering programs and services through fiscal year 2007.

"We are so extremely grateful for the support that we have received from the Wisconsin Arts Board and from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville," says ArtsBuild coordinator, Heidi Dyas-McBeth. "Without their generosity, we wouldn't be able to continue offering local artists the help they need to succeed."

ArtsBuild was launched in 2004 with the goal of encouraging economic growth in Southwest Wisconsin by giving local artists the skills they need to become successful entrepreneurs. Though a young program, ArtsBuild has already become a valuable economic resource in Southwest Wisconsin and has generated much local enthusiasm among the region's artists. In 2006, ArtsBuild was named the Top Rural Development Initiative by Wisconsin Rural Partners.

As ArtsBuild moves forward into the future, the focus will remain on facilitating the growth of the regional economy by strengthening the capacity of area artists and building on the artistic, cultural and historic assets of the region. Anyone interested in more information about ArtsBuild may go tohttp:// www.uwplatt.edu/cont_ed/artsbuild or contact Dyas-McBeth, Arts Build coordinator, atdyasmc@uwplatt.edu or (608)342-1314.