Creative Community Champion Award Recognizes City of La Crosse and Pump House Regional Arts Center Partnership
Award honors civic leaders as champions and communities in Wisconsin focused on creativity as integral to economic, educational, and community vitality.

La Crosse, WI, October 17, 2022 - The Wisconsin Creative Community Champion Awards (formerly Arts in the Community Awards) are presented by Create Wisconsin in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. These awards honor civic leaders as champions and communities in Wisconsin focused on creativity as integral to economic, educational, and community vitality.

In 2022, Create Wisconsin is pleased to honor the City of La Crosse for its support of and investment in the arts, culture, and creativity as essential to community well-being, quality of life, and economic, workforce, and civic growth and strength. The 2022 award will be presented to La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds and other city leaders at the League’s conference in La Crosse on Thursday, October 20, 2022.

La Crosse is a community defined by a strong sense of place in its location on the Mississippi River, and is known for its livability and access to creative experiences and opportunities. One of the most visible and impactful components of the city’s involvement with the arts and creativity has been its partnership with the Pump House Regional Arts Center. The building is owned by the City and operated by the Pump House Regional Arts Center, Inc., a nonprofit organization. Since 1977, the Pump House has been an important key to the City’s support of the arts. Programs include exhibition opportunities for every student in the La Crosse School District and opportunities for students in 32 districts in the region, Artspire, a free community celebration of the arts, the Compassion Project, and the development of sidewalk poetry and murals at the Pump House and in other areas of the city.

The Pump House was instrumental in the formation of the City of La Crosse Arts Board, a city advisory committee. The Arts Board serves as a forum to receive proposals and forward them to the appropriate council committee, advocates for the arts by commenting on policies and plans of the City and by seeking non-City funding for its advancement; and analyzes gaps and opportunities in programming, support, funding, and promotion for the arts, cultural activity and economic development. With a shared vision of a community connected and inspired by the arts, the City of La Crosse Arts Board is a major sponsor of Artspire and has accomplished a significant number of projects since its establishment in 2011, including the development of public artworks throughout the downtown, consulting with city staff and advisors to establish policies for the acceptance and creation of public art, and currently, efforts to establish the Nii Hosto Art Park, north of downtown.

The awards are sponsored by the League of Municipalities, Guardian Fine Arts Services, and Heid Music.