Kansas: Reimagined Spaces
The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) is encouraging creative community development through its innovative Reimagined Spaces grant program. The program combines the arts with the repurposing of underused spaces to make arts spaces and events accessible to a wider audience. Beyond public arts access, the grant promotes creative strategies for economic growth with an […]
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 […]
Pennsylvania: Operating Support
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) recently announced a new grant-making strategy designed to increase funding equity for organizations serving Black, Indigenous and/or people of color (BIPOC) and rural communities. Such groups—which tend to be smaller-capacity organizations rooted in communities with fewer resources—face numerous historical inequities and obstacles to securing funding for the arts. […]
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 […]
Arizona, Massachusetts: Youth Arts Councils
The arts constitute a vital part of youth development. They prepare students for academic success, equip young adults with the skills needed to thrive in the workplace, and foster meaningful relationships and community (learn more). State arts agencies support this growth through a variety of programs that promote artistic development and engage aspiring artists and […]
New Hampshire: Makerspace Network
The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA) is committed to uplifting maker spaces as both communal creative spaces and assets for the creative economy. As part of the New Hampshire Makerspace Network, NHSCA facilitates monthly meetings with 14 maker spaces across the state to encourage resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and new partnerships that […]
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 […]
Guam: Preserving Local Communities
The Guam Council on the Arts & Humanities Agency (CAHA), the state arts agency of the territory of Guam, works to preserve the cultural traditions of Guam and enhance the quality of life for Guam residents through programs and initiatives that celebrate local culture. A good example of this is CAHA’s partnership with the Gef […]
Nebraska: Historic Posters Reimagined
Nebraska has a long history of circulating posters encouraging social action. During times of crisis, conflict and change, posters have been an inexpensive and accessible medium for public messaging around topics like rationing, volunteerism and solidarity. Recognizing that 2020 has been a year of challenge and change, the Nebraska Arts Council, in collaboration with History […]
Massachusetts: CultureRx Initiative
At the beginning of this year, Mass Cultural Council began a unique joint venture with Massachusetts Health Connector—the Massachusetts state health insurance marketplace—to promote healthier living through cultural engagement. Aimed at the hundreds of thousands of residents who are enrolled through Massachusetts Health Connector, this program provides free or reduced-price admission to more than 100 […]