Since 2009, the Creative Community Champion Awards (formerly Arts in the Community Awards) have been presented annually by Create Wisconsin in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. These awards honor civic leaders as champions of creativity as integral to economic, educational, and community vitality in all 609 Wisconsin’s cities and villages
The 2026 Award will be presented on Thursday, October 9, 2026, during the League’s 2026 Civic Connection Conference at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley in Appleton, WI.
“We are honored to recognize elected officials and civic leaders as champions of artistry and creativity. We are glad to have worked with the League for almost twenty years to honor those who celebrate and invest in the voices and visions of creative people, organizations and businesses contributing to their community’s cultural richness and authentic sense of place, making sure that everyone in the community has the opportunity to participate in and benefit from involvement in the arts and creativity. These honorees make Wisconsin a more creative, connected, and vibrant place.”
2025: City of Milwaukee Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, for her outstanding advocacy and support of arts and cultural investment, engagement and access for all Milwaukeeans.
2024: Wisconsin municipal arts advisory committees in Amery, Appleton, Green Bay, Kenosha, Madison, Middleton, Milwaukee, Neenah, Oshkosh, Rhinelander, Sturgeon Bay, Superior, Waukesha, and Wausau.
2023: League of Municipalities, for its concern for the arts, culture, and creative economy in cities and villages throughout the state, and partnership with Create Wisconsin to recognize creative opportunities for all Wisconsinites.
2022: 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.
2021: Wisconsin’s community Poets Laureate and Writers-in-Residence, from Amery, Bayfield, Eau Claire, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Racine, Sheboygan, and Wausau.
2020: Zach Vruwink, Deputy Director of the League of Municipalities and former Administrator, City of Rhinelander and Mayor, City of Wisconsin Rapids
2019: The City of Waupaca and the Waupaca Arts and Culture Coalition for ongoing partnership on the city’s first-ever cultural plan, and Altoona Mayor Brendan Pratt
2018: Ken Juon, Board President, Artstart, Rhinelander, and Ryan Heise, Village Administrator, Village of Egg Harbor
2017: Mark Elliott, Executive Director, Northwest Passage, Webster; and Stephanie Samarripa, Anti-Graffiti Program Coordinator, City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services
2016: Creative Downtown Appleton, led by Josh Dukelow, community activist, and Paula Vandehey, City of Appleton Public Works Director; and Alan Nugent, civic leader with the Widespot Performing Arts Center in Stockholm
2015: the City of West Bend, for long-term commitment to promote the visual and performing arts in West Bend; and the Waunakee Creative Economy Initiative, a village-led, ongoing effort to grow Waunakee’s creative economy.
2014: Circuit Court Judge Joseph Boles and Pierce County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, based in Ellsworth, WI, for using the arts to improve law enforcement training in de-escalating mental health crisis calls; and Reedsburg Mayor Dave Estes, Reedsburg City Administrator Ken Witt, and Reedsburg Chamber of Commerce Director Kristine Koenecke for support of Fermentation Fest – A Live Culture Convergence and the Farm/Art DTour.
2013: Rice Lake Main Street Program, Rice Lake; and the Sheboygan Performing Arts Association, Sheboygan
2012: State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, River Falls; State Sen. Bob Jauch, Poplar; Marlene Doerr Kreilkamp, Founder/Former Director, SHARP Literacy, Milwaukee; and Anastasia Shartin, Visual Arts Director, Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson
2011: Bill Schierl, President, Arts Alliance of Portage County, Stevens Point; and former Mayor Jeff Scrima, Waukesha
2010: Lois Smith, founder of “Walls of Wittenberg,” Wittenberg; Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee; the Green Bay Neighborhood Leadership Council’s Beautification Committee, Green Bay; and The Hometown Gazette newspaper, Clayton
2009: Carol Kratchowill, Vice President, Sauk County Art Association, Merrimac; and Former Menomonie Mayor Dennis Cropp and former Dunn County Board member B. Jane Hoyt, Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, Menomonie.
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