What is the Wisconsin Arts Board?

The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency responsible for the support and development of the arts throughout Wisconsin. Since 1973, the Arts Board has supported artists and arts organizations with funds from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

What is an Arts Board Panelist?

Each year, the Wisconsin Arts Board relies on the services and expertise of many volunteer panelists, who review grant applications and make recommendations the Board. Panels bring together artists, arts professionals, educators, community members, and others actively involved in the arts. Their participation is solicited by Arts Board staff on a panel-by-panel basis. The Arts Board also welcomes nominations for panelists from constituents and private citizens through an open nominations process, whereby the nominator submits the panelist form on behalf of the consenting nominee.  All panel meetings are open to the public.

Panelist Profile

Prospective panelists should be at least 18 years of age and possess experience in one or more of the following areas:

- An artistic discipline (music, theater, visual arts, dance, literature, folk/traditional arts, and multi-/interdisciplinary-arts)
- Arts education
- Financial or organizational management for nonprofit organizations
- Public art aesthetics and processes
- Community-based arts projects

Our Panelists Reflect Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Arts Board seeks panelists with some degree of familiarity with Wisconsin’s arts communities and the ability to work well in a group. In addition, the Arts Board looks for panelists who are willing to commit time and energy to the review process and who will exhibit sensitivity in making constructive critical comments on grant applications. To help reflect the diversity of the state on all panels, the Arts Board considers gender and sexual orientation, geography, racial and cultural diversity, and artistic discipline diversity in selecting panelists. The agency also seeks balance among the professional groups encompassed by the arts, such as practitioners, administrators and educators.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, email us at artsboard@wisconsin.gov, or call us at 608-266-0190.​​

Our Grant Programs

• Creation and Presentation (general operating support for non-profit organizations)
• Creative Communities (support for specific arts projects)
• Woodland Indian Arts (support for traditional and contemporary Native American arts projects and activities)
• Folk Arts Apprenticeships (supports re​spected traditional artists in ​​​teaching their skills to committed and talented apprentices)

You can find the complete list of programs and services, as well as guidelines for each of our grant programs, on our website.

The next four questions will go through each of our programs in the order they are listed above, and the subcategories that 3-5 person peer review panels are assigned to for those programs. Please select each subcategory within each grant program that you are interested in serving on a peer review panel for.