Dear Friends,

We are pleased to share the accomplishments of Mid-America Arts Alliance during our 2018 fiscal year.

In FY18, new and expanded funding relationships led to the creation of more opportunities for artists and arts and cultural organizations across our region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

• Through our programming, including the national traveling exhibition programs ExhibitsUSA and NEH on the Road, Mid-America Arts Alliance reached 142 communities in 34 states.
• M-AAA acquired the Artist INC program from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, which will ensure the continued success of this important artist professional development program throughout the region.
• We launched Artists 360, a new program supported by the Walton Family Foundation in the Northwest Arkansas area, which will provide grantmaking and professional development support to 60 artists over the next three years.
• ExhibitsUSA expanded its educational content with a generous grant from the Hearst Foundations, building strong community engagement capacities.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities renewed its cooperative agreement with M-AAA to continue the NEH on the Road program through June 30, 2020.
• The Houston Endowment awarded M-AAA a grant to continue to serve the organizational development needs of arts and cultural organizations via Engage Houston through 2020.

We also witnessed the deep resiliency and strength of artists and arts communities. With the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, we saw artists losing opportunities as well as the very space and supplies they needed to create. We partnered with the Texas Commission on the Arts to give constituents the chance to donate directly to artists and arts organizations struggling in the wake of the storm.

We are deeply grateful for our enduring relationships with the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, whose support is essential to our ability to serve artists and arts and cultural organizations throughout our region and beyond.

To our state arts agency partners, stakeholders, collaborators, and donors, we thank you for your vision and support of our mission. To the staff and board of directors of M-AAA, your dedication and compassion ensures our ability to flourish.

Todd Stein, President and CEO, and Rich Vierk, Chairman of the Board of Directors