Create Wisconsin Day, Wisconsin’s most important statewide creative sector conference, was presented by Create Wisconsin, the state’s community cultural development organization, on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison.  A pre-conference took place Tuesday, February 20, at the new Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras Center for Music.

Participants represented Appleton, Bristol, Cedarburg, Cudahy, Evansville, Franklin, Green Bay, Green Lake, Janesville, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee, Mineral Point, Neenah, Oregon, Prairie du Sac, Sheboygan, Spring Green, Stevens Point, Superior, Viroqua, Waterloo, Waupun, Wausau, and Whitewater, and a wide range of organizations, agencies, disciplines, creative endeavors, and interests.

These are Create Wisconsin’s legislative priorities for 2024-2025:

  • Invest in Wisconsin’s creative assets by increasing funding for grants awarded on a competitive basis by the Wisconsin Arts Board to creative industries that have a demonstrated strategy to increase economic activity or positively impact a community through increased community gathering, a cultural highlight, or unique service, or that propose a new creative endeavor or to expand a current creative enterprise.

    • “Creative industries” means organizations, individuals, and companies whose products and services have their origin in artistic, cultural, creative, and/or aesthetic content, as a critical sector in resilient and sustainable community and regional economic development.

  • Rural Creative Economy Development Program:  to establish legislation to provide much needed state support to economic development and promotional organizations and local government agencies for the purpose of cultural planning and creative economic development programs. Eligible projects will serve the rural creative economy and creative industries through hob and business creation and capacity-building, workforce training and development, community and sector planning, development and engagement, and products or services with artistic, cultural, creative, or aesthetic qualities. 

  • Action Wisconsin is a coalition of people and businesses working to create and retain jobs, enhance the economy, and promote tourism state-wide through film and television production. Wisconsin is one of only five states lacking a film office and one of ten without any production incentives. Without these essential resources in place, the state is missing out on significant economic opportunities. We seek a bill to create film & television production incentives and a state film office, to grow jobs and investment through more film and television programs and projects produced throughout the state. Click here for information via Action!WI.

  • creating a tax credit aimed at attracting video game companies to Wisconsin. Under the legislation, an owner of a copyright in “digital interactive media or entertainment” — such as a video game development studio — could get a refundable income tax credit equal to 30% of the qualifying salary or wages and 30% of other related spending in Wisconsin. The video game industry dwarfs both movies and television, and is expected to grow 8.7% per year between 2024 and 2027.  Click here for more information.

Thanks to our advocacy partners:

Thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters:

Contact Create Wisconsin with questions, comments, and ideas.