Mission & Values
Mission:
The Performing Arts Foundation ENTERTAINS, EDUCATES and ENRICHES the community by offering world class programming, which develops a lifelong appreciation for the arts in its citizens and enhances the quality of life in the region.
The Grand is the home base for the Performing Arts Foundation, Inc., a private nonprofit community arts organization established in 1972.
Objectives and Roles:
The Performing Arts Foundation strives to provide extraordinary experiences for all through:
- Diverse Programming: Showcasing a wide variety of high-quality programming, bringing the best of the performing arts to the region.
- Exceptional Customer Service: Creating a welcoming and accessible environment, considering all guests as if they are guests in our home.
- Access For All: Eliminating social and economic barriers that restrict access to the arts, ensuring everyone gets to experience the transformative power of the arts.
- Education and Engagement: Promoting and developing a love for the arts through programs, activities and performances.
The Performing Arts Foundation works to achieve these objectives through a number of vital roles serving the community:
As a Presenter: Presents the annual mainstage performing arts series as well as the Arts in Education Series, the 10×10 Series, the Community Engagement Series, and the Lift Every Voice Series.
As an Arts Destination: Operates The Grand Theater and auxiliary spaces as a home for touring arts productions, multiple local arts events, and community gatherings.
As a Community Arts Activator: Facilitates the Arts in Education program, including the school matinee series, artist residency programs, and Central Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble. Over 15,000 students each year are impacted by the program. Also engages the community through innovative opportunities for all generations, at free or low cost.
As an Economic Driver: Has a total economic impact of $5.1 million per year to the Wausau area, with an average of 135,000 guests from throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states attending events each season.
Our Land Acknowledgement:
It is with gratitude and humility that we, the Performing Arts Foundation, recognize the land The Grand Theater occupies is the ancestral home of the Menominee Nation, the Oglala Lakota Nation, and the Anishinabek Nation. We pay our respects to these communities and their elders both past and present, as well as future generations as we commit to building a more inclusive space for all.
Our Commitment to DEAI:
The Performing Arts Foundation recognizes the importance of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. This statement is not an end-all, it is a starting point and will constantly evolve as we as an organization learn. This is a starting point for us to form actions that will help make an impact in our community.
We believe in the transformative power of the arts to enrich lives, enhance our region, and build better communities. We also recognize the true value and the critical role that diversity serves in helping The Grand Theater and our greater Wausau region thrive.
We are committed to sustaining a diverse, inclusive, accessible, and equitable space where everyone who walks through our iconic theater doors — patrons, artists, employees, volunteers, and vendors — feels valued and respected regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, or ability.
All are welcome at The Grand Theater! We want to be a transformative force in our community. We commit to providing fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement and to creating space for culturally diverse voices to be heard with a desire to help make our community a more welcoming, safe, and accepting place for all.
The entire season at The Grand is supported in part by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. These performances are also supported in part by the Community Arts Grant program of the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, the B. A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation, and the City of Wausau’s Room Tax Funding.