Omaha, Nebraska is a vibrant city with a deep-rooted history and culture. It is home to the Omaha Mobile Stage (OMS), a new mobile place-making project that is amplifying and elevating the stories of Jewish families who settled in Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The city is also home to many organizations that focus on arts and culture, making it an ideal destination for those looking to explore the arts. When it comes to government spending on arts and culture, Nebraska ranks 13th nationally while Iowa ranks 35th. This means that Omaha-Council Bluffs lags significantly behind in the number of existing arts and cultural organizations compared to other cities.
However, there are still many organizations in the area that are dedicated to promoting the arts. The Nebraska Cultural Fund is one such organization. Founded by Pam Snow, who sadly passed away recently, this organization works to preserve the stories of Jewish families who settled in Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa through acquisition and cataloguing. It also supports small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to groups and communities with rich and dynamic artistic and cultural contributions that are underserved. The Love's Jazz and Arts Center is another important organization in Omaha. It serves as a reference point for telling the story of North Omaha, as well as the jazz story that made it all possible.
Opera Omaha is another organization that works to provide high-quality artistic experiences, combined with genuinely transformative community and educational programming for its Omaha audiences. Partners for Livable Omaha (PLO) launched OMS to make it a flexible, safe and attractive place for communities to socialize each other, reactivate public spaces and revive the social, creative and economic life of the city. In its first year, OMS became an integral part of the process of supporting the diverse artistic community of the North 24th Street corridor, the rich sporting legacy and the history of civil rights. In Douglas County, there are many more arts organizations than in neighboring Pottawattamie and Sarpy counties. While public funding for the arts in Nebraska is comparable to that of other states, it is much lower in Iowa compared to other states. Omaha, Nebraska is an ideal destination for those looking to explore arts and culture. With its many organizations dedicated to promoting arts and culture, it is sure to provide an enriching experience for all who visit.
