Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Office of Continuing Education announced that it has received a grant from the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin Inc. to support the ArtsBuild program and the "ArtsBuild Grows Arts Communities in Southwest Wisconsin" project.

Funding will be used to print and distribute recruitment/needs assessment brochures, posters and bookmarks to expand the reach of the ArtsBuild program to a more diverse population of creative entrepreneurs living in Southwest Wisconsin communities. Sue Conley, executive director of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, explained that the Community Enhancement Fund is designed to support the region's not-for-profit organizations wanting to start new, innovative programs or expand current services. The fund provides flexibility for addressing changing needs to advance the most promising, creative approaches to strengthening communities.

"Culture, and its expression through art and its many forms, is a wonderful tool to build a community," said Conley

ArtsBuild was created to encourage economic development by giving rural artists the skills they need to become entrepreneurs and thus help drive economic growth in their communities. The program has reached out to creative individuals living within Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland and Sauk counties, bringing informational meetings, workshops and networking opportunities directly to artists living in these rural communities.

According to Marian Maciej-Hiner, director of UWP Continuing Education, ArtsBuild has already become a valuable 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 and was a recipient of the 2006 UW-Extension Award for Excellence in Civic Engagement.

"We're extremely grateful to the Community Enhancement Fund for this gift that will allow us to expand the ArtsBuild network, and to build on the success of the ArtsBuild program in meeting the needs of our region's creative entrepreneurs and communities," said Maciej-Hiner.

During a recent visit to the region, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton noted, "The ArtsBuild model ... drives communities to inventory and revalue their cultural assets, make entrepreneurs of artists and turn innovative collaborations into powerful forces to leverage new investment and economic activity in a region."

Anyone interested in learning more about ArtsBuild may contact Heidi Dyas-McBeth, coordinator, at (608) 342-1314; anyone interested in learning more about this or other UWP Continuing Education programs may contact Maciej-Hiner at (608) 342-1302; and anyone interested in learning more about the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin may visit the website athttp://www.cfsw.org.

Contact: Heidi Dyas-McBeth, ArtsBuild coordinator, (608) 342-1314, dyasmc@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu