Minnesota: Creative Support Grants
While cultural activities are resuming nationwide, the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic still reverberates throughout the arts sector. Arts organizations and artists must continue to retool their business practices, find ways to re-engage communities and remain flexible as a new normal emerges. To help Minnesota’s creative sector meet such challenges and navigate a time […]
Oklahoma and Tennessee: Advancing Rural Arts Development
State arts agencies play a vital role in promoting arts opportunities in rural communities that, while rich in cultural assets and traditions, may face geographic or economic barriers to arts development. The Oklahoma Arts Council and the Tennessee Arts Commission recently launched new grant programs designed to advance rural development through the arts, culture and […]
Idaho: Mexican Music Project
Musician Damian Rodriguez features in this mini-documentary film as part of the Mexican Music Project with Idaho Commission on the Arts. Video courtesy Idaho Commission on the Arts The Idaho Commission on the Arts (ICA) is dedicated to creating meaningful, authentic relationships with traditional arts communities across Idaho. As part of this drive, the […]
Louisiana: Bayou Culture Collaborative
Louisiana is facing the most acute coastal erosion crisis in the nation. Every 100 minutes, an area equivalent to a football field disappears from the Louisiana coastline. In recent decades, Louisiana’s land loss has exceeded 2,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of the whole state of Delaware. Change of this magnitude has an […]
Vermont: CreateVT Action Plan
A growing body of research demonstrates the power of the creative economy as a catalyst for growth and change, particularly in rural places and in times of crisis and recovery. To harness this power for the benefit of the entire state, the Vermont Creative Network—a collective of organizations, businesses and individuals that is backed by […]
South Carolina: Public Health Poster Series
Washing hands. Social distancing. Wearing masks. Self-care. Loving and thanking community. Getting vaccinated. These are all parts of public health messaging that evolved over the past 12 months. The Art of Community: Rural SC, a creative community development initiative of the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC), prioritized its efforts in creativity + public health as […]
Iowa: Iowa Keeps Creating: Digital Stage
The Iowa Arts Council (IAC) launched the Iowa Keeps Creating: Digital Stage initiative to support and promote local artists by showcasing their works through IAC’s digital platforms. The program is inspired by the exceptional challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic and a reinvigorated civil rights movement in the past year. It underscores the fact […]
Washington, Vermont: COVID-19 Relief Reporting
Through the course of 2020, state arts agencies (SAAs) across the nation distributed relief funds and retooled their ongoing grant programs to support cultural organizations and artists during COVID-19. The National Endowment for the Arts Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocation made relief funding possible for all states and jurisdictions, and SAAs […]
West Virginia: Rural Youth Engagement through Public Art
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH) and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts are fostering creative youth development, civic engagement and rural placemaking through their new Rural Youth Engagement through Public Art Grant. The grant provides up to $5,000 for projects that directly involve youth in planning and implementing accessible […]
Pennsylvania: Creative Business Loan Fund
In an exciting new opportunity for small creative businesses across Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) has organized the Creative Business Loan Fund. This Creative Business Loan is the direct result of a unique public-private partnership between the state, Bridgeway Capital and Community First Fund. It makes $2.2 million available to support the […]