Nebraska

Meet Your Federal Arts Advocacy Captain

Petra Wahlqvist

Petra Wahlqvist serves as the Executive Director of Nebraskans for the Arts (NFTA). She is thrilled to help shine a light on the integral role the arts play in creating a brighter future for all Nebraskans. Petra has over 20 years of experience as a project coordinator, producer, grant writer, and educator in the arts.

Petra is a former Nebraskans for the Arts board member (2013-16). She served as the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Lied Center for Performing Arts for eight years, where she created projects with artists such as the Actors’ Gang, STREB, and Pilobolus, and curated and coordinated statewide performance tours. Along with Becky Boesen, she is the Co-Founder of BLIXT Locally Grown, a Nebraska nonprofit dedicated to growing goodness with the arts. You can learn more about BLIXT’s programs here. 

Petra has taught at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film at UNL and at Nebraska Wesleyan’s Theatre Department. Before moving to Lincoln in 2008, Petra worked as a theatre maker on multiple international tours, and as a Performing Arts Specialist and Mentor with Artis, a performing arts education company in London, UK.

In her spare time, Petra loves to knit, spend time with her pet chickens, and serve her favorite nonprofit organizations.

Favorite Art Form: Theatre, especially new works, theatre for young audiences, and theatre for social justice

Contact Petra Wahlqvist

We've created a Zoom background for you and your state! 

To download right click the image below and select "Save Image As" from the drop down menu - Your computer should prompt you to designate a name for the image and choose a location to save the image - Once you have made these selections, click the save button. 

For instructions on how to enable and use the virtual background feature on Zoom for your own use - Click Here