Many employed, many served by Arts Council grants
Over a thousand artists will be employed and over 134,000 individuals will benefit from the latest round of grants awarded by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, according to information released by the state arts agency today. The Arts Council announced its second round of grant awards for the 2009-2010 season, supporting projects by individual artists, arts organizations, schools and educational organizations in communities throughout the state.
In announcing the awards, State Arts Council director Randall Rosenbaum said that it was important to remember, particularly in challenging times, that the arts employ people and help communities. "The arts are an important part of the Rhode Island economy”, he said. “Each grant we award helps to employ an artist, even for a short period of time, and those artists – our neighbors – help support local businesses by paying rent, buying groceries, and by providing cultural programs in our communities. Our applicants tell us that over 134,000 people will benefit from the projects we just supported, and those people in turn will contribute in their own way to our state’s economic recovery.”
The Arts Council announced it had awarded a total of $354,053 in state and federal funds to 108 applicants in this latest round of grants. It received 317 applications from artists, organizations and schools throughout the state, with requests totaling $1,710,714. Grants ranged in size from $10,000 to the Rhode Island Philharmonic for an educational outreach program on Duke Ellington, funded under a special federal program entitled “American Masterpieces”, to $250 for a theatre performance for seniors program at the Warren Senior Center in Warren, RI.
[See link below for a list of grants awarded, organized by city or town]
About the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency, supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.