ABOUT WAA
Dedicated to advancing the performing arts in communities across the West.
A LEADER IN THE PERFORMING ARTS
Western Arts Alliance (WAA) is a membership association of touring and performing arts professionals engaged in promoting and presenting performing arts throughout the Western states and provinces. Serving members since 1967, our annual booking conference and year-round programs are essential for artists, artist managers, presenters, and other performing arts professionals in the West.
2019 showcase audience; image credit: Corporate Close Ups
2016 Independent Showcase; image credit: The Photo Group
Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna performing at the 2017 Annual Luncheon); image credit: Lisa Monet Photography
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to serve a thriving performing arts community in the West.
OUR VALUES
WAA is an expansive community where members connect, build strong relationships, share, and develop ideas.
WAA strives to support and serve an educated and engaged field of artists, agents, managers, and presenters in the West.
WAA continuously adapts to changes and shifts in the field.
WAA values inclusion and promotes diversity of thought, expression and culture that is inherent in our world.
WAA embraces colleagues at every stage of their career.
OUR VISION
We envision a world where…
Communities throughout the West believe the performing arts are essential to their daily life.
The arts celebrate humanity and engage people across cultural, social and economic orientations.
Artists and a vibrant touring network connect audiences and communities.
The field attracts, sustains, and advances a diverse cohort of professionals representing the full spectrum of the performing arts.
The West leads the way in innovation and creativity.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WAA
A brief history of WAA’s 50+ year journey: from its genesis as a 10-person convening of Californian presenters, to the West’s largest membership organization of performing arts professionals, serving members from across the United States, Canada, and overseas.
1967
Jerry Willis — Manager of Caltech Public Events, and Betty Connors — UC Berkeley Director of the Committee for Arts and Lectures (now known as Cal Performances), host a meeting to discuss the need to bring more artists to the West Coast, and the idea of “building an organization to cooperate in bookings.”
Around 10 presenters attend the meeting in Los Angeles on October 30, 1967.
WAA co-founders Betty Connors (center) and Jerry Willis (right).
1968
By September of 1968, the organization we all now know as WAA is established, as The Alliance of Western Colleges for Cultural Presentations - aka ‘The Alliance’ – and its first booking meeting is held at the International Hotel in Los Angeles.
Sol Hurok is the inaugural keynote speaker and twenty-six people attend, representing four states and 20 schools.
The International Hotel, Los Angeles - home to WAA’s first conference.
1971
Three years in, the booking meeting has expanded into a three-day conference, and professional development workshops are incorporated into the schedule of events. Artist managers and agents now exhibit as part of the conference, with 39 exhibitors participating in 1971.
1974
The organization’s name is changed to the Western Alliance of Arts Administrators.
The conference has continued to grow, with 68 exhibitors and 72 presenting organizations in attendance in 1974.
1976
WAA holds its first conference outside of California — in Scottsdale, Arizona. Attendance has reached 200.
1976 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
1979
A fire in a Monterey, California hotel room destroys all the conference registration and program materials.
1984
The board establishes The Western Arts Alliance Administrators Foundation, and is granted 501(c)(3) status.
WAA publishes its first member directory.
1987
Thom Hill is appointed as WAA’s first Executive Director in 1987.
1988
In 1988, Terry Demas succeeds Thom Hill, after Thom is appointed Dean at Citrus College.
1987 conference, San Diego
1990
Evan Kavanagh joins the organization as its third Executive Director.
Evan Kavanagh (right).
1991
WAA relocates its office to San Francisco, California and completes a two-year strategic planning process. The plan seeks to increase WAA’s cultural diversity, improve communication and advocacy, and strengthen the professional development program.
1992
WAA redefines its voting membership to include artists, agents, and managers.
With a three-year $150,000 grant from the Irvine Foundation, WAA launches the Equity Program, which aims to facilitate equitable relationships between diverse community-based organizations and mainstream presenting organizations, diversify the presenting and touring field in the region, and increase cultural understanding among artists and audiences of different cultures.
1992 conference registration, Albuquerque
1996
WAA launches its first website!
The WAA office, circa 1990-something.
1997
After nearly seven years of service, Evan Kavanagh steps down from his Executive Director position. Tim Wilson is appointed as WAA’s new Executive Director.
Tim Wilson.
1998
The association’s trade name is changed to Western Arts Alliance.
The annual conference draws 820 attendees.
The board approves expanding the staff to better serve the still-growing organization.
WAA logo of yesteryear.
2000
WAA launches the Leadership Institute — a retreat for established and emerging leaders of the field. Twenty-seven members attend the program in Carmel, California.
2003
WAA introduces the conference’s Juried (Official) Showcase, to replace the previous showcase lottery process.
2004
The WAA office moves from San Francisco to its current home of Portland, Oregon.
The Marketplace Taskforce was formed, charged to work with the board to help evolve the conference from the traditional trade show model to a more interactive and conversational format. The work of the taskforce, which was comprised of WAA members, ran from 2004 – 2007.
2006
The annual conference takes place in Long Beach, California.
Long Beach is part of the Marketplace Taskforce's ongoing work to reinvent the conference. The Commons (formally the Resource Room) features new exhibit options, hospitality areas, and more accessible hours. The conference also offers new hospitality and networking opportunities.
Entryway - 2006 conference, Long Beach, California.
2007
WAA celebrates its 40th anniversary.
WAA introduces Performance West, a festival of full-length performances organized in conjunction with the conference, and continues to transform the conference into a more interactive and conversational design.
2009
In the midst of the global recession, WAA membership and conference attendance drop by more than 20 percent.
WAA holds a plenary conversation about how the economic crisis is changing — and may forever change — the field of performing arts touring and presenting.
2010
Western Arts Alliance, Arts Midwest, and South Arts collaborate to develop Presenting 101 — a standardized curriculum for beginning and early-career presenters.
2013
WAA launches new web-based membership management system and re-designed website.
2014
WAA establishes Launchpad — a professional development and mentoring program for emerging artists and early career agents and managers, sponsored by the NEA and an anonymous donor.
In November 2014, WAA’s retreat, formerly known as the Leadership Institute, returns under its new name, the WAA Institute. The program is hosted in San Antonio, Texas.
The WAA board establishes CODA, an advisory council of former board members, patrons, and supporters.
Antonio Gómez at the 2014 WAA Institute.
2015
WAA’s 2015 conference takes place in Vancouver, Canada — our first ever conference outside the United States.
Vancouver’s pre-conference program includes the Indigenous Performance Symposium — a day-long exploration of Indigenous performance, practice, and protocols.
WAA creates a new affinity group focused on Latino/a/x arts and arts professionals: Conexiones: Latino Arts @ WAA. Conexiones is dedicated to advancing Latino/a/x engagement, participation, and programming at WAA and communities across the West.
WAA, in partnership with the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), receives a two-year, $100,000 grant for the Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) program to showcase regional performing artists to international audiences.
Larry Grant, Elder of the Musqueam Nation (center) at the 2015 Indigenous Performance Symposium in Vancouver; image credit: Coast Mountain Photography.
2016
WAA’s 49th Annual Conference takes place in Los Angeles. With 800 attendees, it’s the best attended conference since the recession in 2008. The Commons includes 189 exhibitors.
Western Arts Alliance receives a further $25,000 in funding for the Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) program from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
2016 Official Showcase audience; image credit: The Photo Group
2017
WAA turns 50!
The annual conference takes place in Seattle, WA.
2018
WAA establishes the Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program, thanks to generous lead support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
The program aims to provide educational and professional development resources for US-based Indigenous artists and presenters that will build audiences for Indigenous performing arts.
2019
The inaugural Black Arts @ WAA program is held at Leimert Park, the historic center of LA’s Black community, as part of the 2019 pre-conference program.
The initiative seeks to recognize, champion, and uplift Black artists and ensembles as it works to address systemic racism and implicit bias in the field of touring and presenting.
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors gives the conference keynote.
At the 2019 annual membership meeting, Tim Wilson announced that he would be stepping down as Executive Director at the end of September 2021.
Patrisse Cullors delivers the 2019 Black Arts Symposium keynote; image credit: Corporate Close Ups.
2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WAA partners with Arts Midwest on a joint virtual conference, focused on mapping a way forward through the global crisis.
At the 2020 annual membership meeting, Tim Wilson announces that he will extend his tenure-end date by one year, to help stabilize the organization during the pandemic.
In December 2020, WAA introduces measures to help support the membership through the financial challenges of the pandemic. The temporary dues policy includes dues waivers for any member for whom paying anything would be a hardship, as well as a Pay What You Can membership option. WAA commits to offer this policy through the end of September 2021.
2021
WAA forms two new affinity groups — Hyphen+Asian, and QWAA (Queer WAA), focused on the Asian Pacific Islander (API) and LGBTQIA+ communities respectively.
The 2021 conference is held as a hybrid event. The in-person component, originally planned for Albuquerque, New Mexico, is relocated to WAA’s homebase of Portland, Oregon following notification that the hotel could no longer meet their hosting obligations.
Around 200 in-person attendees and 300 virtual attendees participate in the conference.
In December 2021, WAA releases a request for proposals from executive search firms as part of the recruitment process for the next Executive Director, with a hiring timeline of August 2022, giving Tim and the new ED time for a smooth and successful transition.
Centering Queer Work panel at the 2021 hybrid conference.
2022
After an extensive ten-month search process, Joshua Heim is appointed as WAA’s new Executive Director, to succeed Tim Wilson.
The appointment is announced at the 2022 WAA Annual Conference in Calgary, AB — the first fully “back-to-business” conference since the onset of the pandemic.
WAA receives a $300,000 grant award from the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) to support the expansion of the Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) program
Tim & Josh at the 2022 conference in Calgary.
