University of Wisconsin - Extension

A comprehensive Web site that has proven a rousing success with legions of fulfilled users celebrates its third anniversary this week.

The nonprofit site, portalwisconsin.org, was built and is maintained by seven partner organizations that focus on culture, arts, humanities and history.

Visits to the site have risen dramatically since its first year in operation. Portalwisconsin.org now receives double to almost triple the Web visitors each month as compared to the period shortly after its launch on Jan. 14, 2002. In actual numbers, the year 2004 ended with more than 400,000 visits.

The real story behind those numbers means that the wealth of Wisconsin's artists, musicians, poets, dancers, and other creative and thought-provoking assets, are on display for -- literally -- the whole world, through the Web.

It has spawned communities both in the cyber world and in the real world. Someone may search for a weekend event on the site, discover an art exhibition or a play, travel to it and enjoy it -- bringing revenue to a local economy, and self-satisfaction and enlightenment to that portalwisconsin.org user.

"We couldn't be more gratified by the reception we have received for portalwisconsin.org," said Jennifer Smith, project manager. "Not only have we brought the impressive culture of Wisconsin to ever larger audiences, we have provided other resources to the cultural community through a juried online gallery and a job posting area. Furthermore, we are working with other organizations across the country to export our knowledge and experience so this can be replicated in places like New England and Alaska."

Portal Wisconsin.org includes an ever-growing, juried online gallery with 145 artists; a statewide calendar of events; cultural news and feature stories; listings of classes and cultural organizations; virtual tours and more.

More than 500 cultural organizations around the state contribute to the site. Melanie Hovey, director of Kenosha's Lemon Street Gallery & Artspace Inc., said, "I am very proud of this important Web site, showcasing for the world the phenomenal strength and diversity Wisconsin arts have to offer."

Hovey is an artist who has served as a volunteer juror for the online gallery portion of the Web site.

The site is a project of the Cultural Coalition of Wisconsin, which is made up of seven statewide partners-Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters; Wisconsin Arts Board; Wisconsin Historical Society; Wisconsin Humanities Council: Wisconsin Public Radio; Wisconsin Public Television; and University of Wisconsin Extension-Continuing Education.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and University of Wisconsin-Extension fund the site.