News Details

October 19, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Creative Community Champion Award 2026
Presented to the City of Oshkosh
by Create Wisconsin in partnership
with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities

Since 2009, Create Wisconsin's Creative Community Champion Awards have been presented annually in partnership with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, to recognize civic leaders as champions of creativity as integral to economic, educational, and community vitality in all 609 Wisconsin's cities and villages.

In 2026, Create Wisconsin has honored the City of Oshkosh for its exemplary concern for and investment in the city's arts and cultural development, infrastructure, community access, and civic engagement, including outstanding long-term support in and commitment to the re-imagination and stability of The Grand Oshkosh, support for the Oshkosh Public Museum, the creation of a city department dedicated to cultural development and access, and support of the Museum, Arts and Culture Board as a public committee concerned with arts and cultural opportunities for all city residents.

The award was presented to City of Oshkosh City Manager Rebecca Grill, Ald. Karl Buelow, The Grand Oshkosh Director Joseph Ferlo, and Department of Cultural and Enrichment Services Director Anna Cannizzo, at the League of Municipalities' Civic Connection Conference in Appleton, WI, on October 8, 2026.

The Grand Oshkosh
The City of Oshkosh owns The Grand Oshkosh and has long provided meaningful financial support and a formal public-private partnership for its operations and major capital projects.

The Grand Oshkosh is currently undertaking a transformative reimagining of the arts complex in partnership with the City. Front of house hospitality areas and backstage dressing room and stage areas will be overhauled and upgraded. Two performance spaces, one indoor and one outdoor, will be added, resulting in three performance space options-the historic 142 year old stage, the Grand Lounge, and an outdoor stage at Opera House Square. The project is expected to be completed no later than fall 2028. The City of Oshkosh has committed $5 million and The Grand is has raised $6.5 million to date, and continues its fundraising effort, again demonstrating a true public-private partnership befitting this city-owned jewel box theatre.

The current modernization follows a long legacy of civic involvement and community preservation, most notably the 20-year "Save the Grand" campaign led by local residents in the 1970s and 1980s that successfully placed the building on the National Register of Historic Places and restored it for a 1982 reopening, and a major campaign to remedy significant structural issues in 2009-2010.

The Grand Oshkosh has been a unique and critical engine of economic development and a commitment to civic engagement for Downtown Oshkosh, the Opera House Square District, and the community overall.

Oshkosh Public Museum and the Department of Cultural and Enrichment Services
The Oshkosh Public Museum was established in 1924 after Edgar Sawyer gifted the City of Oshkosh his grand home two years earlier to be used "for the benefit of the public". Today, its mission is to preserve and promote history, art, and culture for Oshkosh residents and visitors by stewarding collections, creating educational experiences, and providing access to the unique heritage of the Lake Winnebago region.

When the City implemented key organizational and operational restructuring efforts in late 2025, a new department, Cultural and Enrichment Services, was created. Oshkosh Public Museum Director Anna Cannizzo was appointed to lead as its inaugural director.

The Oshkosh Public Museum collaborates with the Oshkosh Public Library, and oversees the Oshkosh Public Museum, Parks Services & Events, Senior Services, and Fund Development Services, under the Cultural & Enrichment Services department umbrella. The department oversees arts and culture programs and events, local history interpretation, and community enrichment initiatives across the city. The creation of this new department is a reflection of the City of Oshkosh's commitment to its exceptional quality of life assets by creating more opportunities for positive economic impact, enhancing access to cultural and enrichment opportunities for all residents, growing community engagement, and fostering a vibrant, inclusive atmosphere across Oshkosh.

The City's Museum, Arts and Culture Board has played a key role as a municipal citizen advisory committee dedicated to strengthening arts and cultural engagement programming and education, cultural heritage preservation and access, public art projects, associated policy development, and supporting advancement opportunities for the communities shared cultural legacy.

The City of Oshkosh has kept its promise of strengthening the economy, enriching the cultural fabric and access to cultural and enrichment opportunities for all Oshkosh residents. We are pleased to celebrate that commitment, with this award.

About Create Wisconsin and the League of Municipalities
Create Wisconsin is Wisconsin's community cultural development organization, enabling creative opportunities for everyone, everywhere in the state and activating and strengthening Wisconsin's creative economy, workforce and communities. www.createwisconsin.org

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities is a voluntary, nonpartisan association established on December 14, 1898, to represent, support, and advocate for Wisconsin's cities and villages. www.lwm-info.org

A list of Creative Community Champion Award honorees since 2009 is below.

For more information on the Creative Community Champion Awards and the arts, culture and creativity in Wisconsin, contact Anne Katz at Create Wisconsin, 608 255 8316 I akatz@createwisconsin.org.

Creative Community Champion Awards (formerly Arts in the Community Awards) have been presented to:

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 Wisconsin 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 the cities of 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 Sheboygan Performing Arts Association 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: William 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.