CORRECTION: ArtsWA will publish the grant applications for the upcoming project grants from Grants to Organizations on October 3, 2025. | | From left to right: BreAnna Jones (2008-2010 Washington POL Champion, photo by Cortney Kelley), Addi Garner (2017 Washington POL Champion, Photo by Jesse Gardner), Langston Ward (2012-2013 Washington POL Champion, Photo by Jesse Gardner) | | |
Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national poetry recitation competition for high school students. Participating students develop public speaking skills. They build self-confidence and learn to connect with literature in new ways, often discovering a new outlet for creative expression.
There are two ways to participate:
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Poetry Out Loud is open to any school in Washington State serving grades 9-12.
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POL Virtual is open to individual students who meet one or more of the criteria.
📅 Deadline to register: November 21, 2024
| NEW for the 2025-26 School Year: Poetry Forward is a statewide original poetry writing program that supports and celebrates student voices. Poetry Forward is open to all schools in Washington State serving grades 9–12, regardless of whether they participate in Poetry Out Loud. | | |
⚠️ Closing soon! Two grants from Wellness, Arts, and Military (WAM):
The Self-Directed Arts Practice (SAP) Grant provides one-time grants of up to $3,000 to pay for costs associated with taking time to practice art throughout the grant period.
The General Operating Support Grant provides up to $25,000 to organizations that offer arts programs to military connected individuals and communities.
📅 Both grants close on October 1, 2025.
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Teaching Artist Training (TAT) Lab Listening Session
Join TAT Lab for a conversation about the professional learning needs of teaching artists and community organizations across Washington State. As we adapt to changes in the field, TAT Lab wants to hear from organizations that employ teaching artists in a variety of learning communities.
💵 No registration fee
📅 Wednesday, October 15, 2025
⏰ 3:00 — 4:00 p.m.
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Grants to Organizations – Upcoming Project Grants
ArtsWA received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support three small grant programs. ArtsWA will publish the grant applications on October 3, 2025.
Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary
America 250 – Sharing History - Latine and Hispanic History in Washington State
The histories of Latine and Hispanic communities in Washington State are often overlooked in museum collections and early state narratives, despite dating back to the 18th century. Funded projects should help share and honor these stories—highlighting migration, labor, cultural resilience, community organizing, memory, and present-day voices. Projects may use any creative form and must be fully accessible to the public.
💵 $1,000 - $2,000
America 250 – Power of Place - Support for Free Outdoor Musical Performances
ArtsWA recognizes music’s ability to bring people together and strengthen community ties. To support local celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, ArtsWA will provide limited grants to help communities hire local musicians. Funding will support about six to ten projects statewide.
💵 $1,000 - $2,000
Arts and Health
Cultivating Healthy Communities - Arts, Health, and Well-Being in Rural Communities
ArtsWA will launch Cultivating Healthy Communities, a pilot grant program that uses the arts to strengthen social connections and foster belonging in rural Washington. These small grants help communities begin collaborative projects with trusted partners, such as arts and culture nonprofits, libraries, parks, green spaces, community centers, and museums.
💵 $3,000 – $5,000
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October 2: Huntingford Humanities Lecture
Washington Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield has invited Port Townsend poet Matthew Nienow to talk about poetry and wellness. During their conversation, they will share some of their own poems, and also share works from other poets. After they finish talking, they will answer questions from the audience.
🌎 Jefferson County Library, Port Hadlock
📅 Thursday, October 2, 2025
⏰ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
💵 Free with registration
| | Recap: 2025 Native Artist Professional Development Workshops | | Artists Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, Dan Friday, and Joe Seymour speak at the "The World of Public Art: What it Takes to Land a Public Art Commission (Artist’s Perspective)" panel at the 2025 Native Artist Professional Development Workshops. Photo by ArtsWA. | | The Tribal Cultural Affairs (TCA) program at ArtsWA, in partnership with Evergreen State College’s House of Welcome, hosted two dynamic Native Artist Professional Development Workshops on September 13 and 20, 2025. These workshops brought together established Native professional artists to share insights and guidance with emerging Native artists across Washington. | | | | |
Panel discussions covered a wide array of topics, including beadwork, glassblowing, photography, bronzing, fine art, public art installations, marketing and vending strategies, and pathways to museum exhibitions. Attendees received invaluable cultural and artistic knowledge, delivered by respected Native artists and TCA program leaders.
This collaboration marked the first joint effort between TCA and the House of Welcome, and it was met with enthusiastic participation and positive feedback.
Plans are already underway to offer future workshops in locations throughout the state, with virtual participation options to expand access.
| | Center for Washington Cultural Traditions becomes WACultures | | The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions has a new name: WACultures. Below, WACultures Director Thomas Grant Richardson reflects on the name change and the concepts behind its new logo. | | | |
We needed a name that people could remember. The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions was accurate, but long and confusing. It wasn’t uncommon to hear funded artists misstate our name during their on-stage thank-yous. After a year of discussions with the advisory board, and the leadership of ArtsWA and Humanities Washington, we settled on WACultures, because that’s what we focus on, the many diverse cultures that coexist across the state.
The logo also is intended to “de-center” the focus, because we truly serve the entire state. The logo attempts to map the geography, from west to east, the Olympic mountains, the Salish sea, the Cascades, the eastern plains, and the Columbia River.
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Announced: 2025-2026 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Pairs
| | Ravenstail weaving apprentice Samantha Williams (Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian). Photo courtesy of the artist. | | |
WACultures, Washington State’s organization dedicated to documenting and preserving traditional skills, is excited to announce the 2025-2026 cohort of Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Pairs (HAAP) projects.
The 16 projects include traditions like Mexican dance, Japanese calligraphy, Klezmer violin and many more, and were selected from over 50 applications representing the diversity of community-based art across the state. During the year-long project, each Master Artist works with an Apprentice for 100 hours to impart artistic and cultural knowledge, techniques, repertoire, and history. The teams work in close proximity to learn the kind of specialized knowledge an apprentice needs to soon be considered a master worthy of teaching themselves.
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Get ready: ESSB 5814 and Tax Increases
Upcoming tax changes from Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814 may affect your organization's budget and operations, starting October 1, 2025.
The new law expands retail sales tax to several services, including:
- Information technology services
- Custom website development
- Advertising services
- Live presentations
Visit the official ESSB 5814 webpage for resources like special notices and a regularly updated FAQ section:
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Watch: Navigating ESSB 5814
ArtsWA, the Department of Revenue, Inspire Washington, and the WFEA presented a webinar about ESSB 5814 on September 23.
| | Back to School with Arts in Education! | | |
Did you miss ArtsWA's Back to School newsletter? Now's the perfect time to catch up! The Back to School newsletter features:
- A celebration of arts integration in Eastern Washington
- Information about Poetry Out Loud and Poetry Forward
- Curricular resources focused on creative career exploration
- A podcast featuring two young adult dancers
- An article by a youth arts leader and musician
- A call to action written by youth arts leaders
| | The 2025–2026 WAYAL cohort is here! ArtsWA welcomes a new group of youth leaders, ages 16–19, representing communities statewide from Wenatchee to Woodinville. These young creatives will collaborate with ArtsWA’s Arts in Education team to explore arts careers, develop multimedia communication skills, and gain insight into arts policy and the creative economy. With guidance from mentors, they’ll grow as leaders and artists while building community with peers across Washington. WAYAL participants receive a stipend for their work and contributions. | | | | |
WAM Podcast - Critical Role Models
In this special WAM Podcast episode, we visit SAP grantees Peter Sessum and Kevin Gaines at the Zulu Event Center in Bothell. They share how Dungeons & Dragons supports veterans, from custom campaigns to miniature painting, and how their grant helps bring D&D nights to Vet Centers across Washington.
| | Recent public artwork installations | | We Belong by Orlosky Studio. Photo courtesy of the artists. | | |
Orlosky Studio, We Belong
Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth, Vancouver, WA
We Belong is a series of three suspended glass sculptures that are visualizations of American Sign Language messages. Orlosky Studio worked with students and staff to create messages that celebrate Deaf Pride and American Sign Language. The movements of each message were captured photographically and transformed into these three-dimensional sculptures that illustrate the forms of this visual language. 128 students and staff created messages that were captured in photographs. They are all compiled in a book that can be found in the library.
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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
(Sept. 15–Oct. 15)
Hispanic Heritage Month honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of people with Hispanic heritage. In Washington, 13% of residents identify as Hispanic, with even higher percentages in Central and Southeastern regions. This web exhibition highlights artists of Hispanic heritage in Washington’s State Art Collection, reflecting the diversity of our communities and the importance of representation in public art.
| Futuras Mariposas (painting, 2024) by Nico Inzerella, at Pioneer Elementary School, Auburn, Western WA | | | | |
Celebrating Filipino American History Month (October)
Filipino American History Month recognizes the long-standing presence and contributions of Filipino Americans. Filipinos have lived in Washington since the 1880s and today make up the third-largest Asian American group in the state. This web exhibition features artists of Filipino heritage in Washington’s State Art Collection, honoring their impact on culture, history, and public life in our communities.
| I Choose Light (2019) by Nikita Ares, located at Simcoe Elementary, Wapato, Central Washington | | | | |
