Creative Washtenaw

Mission: To advocate for and support the artists, creative workers, organizations, businesses, educators and municipalities engaged in Washtenaw County’s arts + creative industries to ensure the greater Ann Arbor area remains a great place for ALL to create, live, work, learn, play and visit.

Creative Washtenaw is a “chamber of commerce” for the arts + creative industries. Serving the cities of Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti and the 21 townships in Washtenaw County, we function somewhat like a professional association for artists or a chamber of commerce serving the artistic community and its patrons. We nurture the relationships between our members and cross-sector partners to reach common goals and outcomes. The work of Creative Washtenaw is furthered through research, assessment and internally and externally sourced data.

Creative Washtenaw acts as an essential partner with various business, educational, government, economic, and philanthropic sectors to demonstrate the impact of the arts + creative sector on quality of life in Washtenaw County by educating the community on the value of setting policies that:

• Enable artists and creatives to make a decent living.
• Ensure that creative organizations and businesses are properly resourced.
• Provide students with access to curriculum-based education as a right, enabling them to obtain the depth of skills desired by employers in their desired field.