The North Dakota Council on the Arts is building stronger relationships with Native communities by collaborating with Indigenous artists and culture bearers to archive, repatriate, and share traditional songs and important cultural stories. With a collaboration spanning over 10 years, the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA), 13 Native artists and the North Dakota…
Creators are the foundation of a healthy creative economy. They serve as the originators and producers of creative goods and services. As small businesses, artists and artisans generate economic opportunity while also shaping and facilitating civic engagement. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is fueling this component of the creative economy through its Creative…
Public art programs are a powerful strategy that state arts agencies employ to encourage public appreciation of the arts, enliven public space, strengthen community identity, and engage and support artists from all backgrounds. The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) has undertaken a series of steps to ensure that its Art in…
Access to the arts is essential for creating vibrant and engaged communities in our nation’s rural areas and small towns. In addition to providing cultural enrichment, arts activities can also offer economic benefits for the communities hosting them. By drawing visitors, these events can help boost local businesses and support the local economy. However, access…
The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) recently announced changes to its largest grant category, Arts Organization Support. This funding stream provides flexible resources that arts organizations use for community arts programming as well as operations. Changes to the program stem from For Everyone in Indiana—a long-term, comprehensive effort to broaden access to the arts for all…
From time to time, state arts agencies will revisit their funding categories, to recalibrate them to a changing environment. The Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA) recently completed such a grants review. Some goals of the process were to: clarify points of entry into the agency’s programs; respond to feedback from grantees, panelists, commission members…
Capital grant programs provide large-dollar funding to support the physical infrastructure of arts and cultural institutions. As a uniquely impactful type of funding, capital improvement grants empower organizations to acquire capital equipment, renovate and restore existing buildings, expand accessibility offerings and construct new spaces to serve as community anchors. With a historic investment by Gov.…
The Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) supports cultural heritage education and engagement through the Youth Cultural Heritage Grant Program. Funded by the Rasmuson Foundation, the program helps school-age children and youth have meaningful interactions with culture bearers, elders and teaching artists. Students learn traditional and contemporary art forms integral to many aspects of…
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) has been redesigning its grant programs to foster more equitable grant processes and funding outcomes. As part of this redesign, RISCA has announced significant changes to its grant programs serving organizations and artists. General operating support (GOS) grants are flexible funding grants that allow entities to pursue…
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…
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