Who We Are

 Since its inception, the council’s Grant Program has been our flagship service offering. Thousands of dollars have been re-granted to arts organizations throughout the Bismarck area to support cultural projects in all disciplines. We typically issue 20-30 grants each year to local arts nonprofits and individual artists.

Mission Statement
To serve our community in celebrating “art in the everyday” by cultivating and supporting all types of creative exploration and cultural artistic expression.

Vision Statement
Foster a community that believes arts, culture, and humanities are essential.

Core Values

We believe art, culture, and humanities enrich the quality of life for residents and visitors to North Dakota’s Capital City.

• Support sustainability of having a voice for arts and culture. We believe art, cultural, and the humanities provide opportunities that are vital to a healthy, prosperous society.
  
• Develop meaningful influential relationships with organizations.
  
• Achieve recognition as the premier advocate for creativity and vibrancy.
  
• Serve as the collective voice in believing in art for all - everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
  
• Bridge multi-cultural relationships through collaborative efforts on the arts and humanities. We believe unique and diverse art forms bring people together across cultures and can bridge/promote positive intercultural relationships.
  
• Unite the community through cultural heritage. We believe arts and cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group and allow us to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.
  
• Inspire community vitality through economic grown through the arts.

Our board and staff

Interested in serving on this board?

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Andrea Birst,  President, [Owner, Glance Salon]
Mary Ericsson Rennich,  Vice President, [Visual Artist]
Erica Shively, Treasurer, [Attorney, Elsberry & Shively]
Angil Wanner-Koper,  Director, [Sales & Marketing Specialist, Braun Intertec Corporation]
Dr. Daniel Devlin, Director  [Assistant Professor of Theatre, Bismarck State College]
Brandon P. Roerich, Director,  [Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU)]
Dr. Shawn Oban, Director, [BPS Fine Arts Coordinator, Principal at Myhre Elementary School
Jerry Haas, Director,  [Sr. Land Agent, North American Coal]
Jack Sitter, Director, [Visual Artist & Designer]
Will Hutchings, Director, [Planner, Bismarck Community Development]
Dr. Jason Thoms, Director  [Assistant Professor of Music, Bismarck State College]
Judith Hammer, Director  [The Capital Gallery]
Molly McLain, [Executive Director]

Dakota West Arts Council is a 501 [c] [3] non-profit charitable organization that has been working for over thirty-five years in public/private partnership with the City of Bismarck, the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District, local artists, arts organizations, corporate partners, government entities, and local organizations to support and promote arts and cultural opportunities for all. Additionally, our programs and services are supported by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, private foundations, corporate donors, our volunteer board of directors, and individuals committed to cultural development in the city.