PROVIDENCE – Eleven local arts entities and an individual artist received a combined $300,000 in National Endowment for the Arts grants to support various arts initiatives within Rhode Island, the R.I. State Council on the Arts announced Tuesday.
RISCA says the grants were part of the first round of national awards from NEA totaling $36.8 million. The grants, the arts council says, were distributed in the “Grants for Arts Projects,” “Challenge America,” “Research Grants in the Arts Research Labs,” and “Literature Fellowships” categories.
The grants range from $10,000 to $80,000. Ten grantees are based in Providence, while one is from Newport and the other is from Pawtucket.
“These awards will support projects that educate our young people, drive tourism to our cities and towns, and contribute to the economic and civic health of our state,” RISCA Executive Director Todd Trebour said in a statement.
The entities and artist that received the funding, their amounts and plans for the money, are:
- Artist Communities Alliance: $80,000 to support a conference for the artist residency field focusing on emergency preparedness and response
- AS220: $20,000 to support a youth arts education and creative workforce development program
- Capeverdean American Community Development of Rhode Island: $10,000 to fund classes in upcycling fashion design for low-income teens.
- DownCity Design: $35,000 to fund a series of free design education programs for youth.
- newportFILM: $10,000 to support a free summer film series featuring documentary films presented in outdoor settings on Aquidneck Island
- New Urban Arts: $25,000 to support a free art mentoring program for students
- Providence Preservation Society: $15,000 to support a fellowship program
- Queer.Archive.Work: $15,000 to fund an artist residency program
- RISD Museum: $30,000 to fund a mid-career retrospective exhibit on artist Liz Collins
- Julia Sanches: $15,000 to assist in the translation of the novel “It Is Always the Hour of Our Death Amen,” by Mariana Salomão Carrara from the Brazilian Portuguese
- Trinity Repertory Company: $25,000 to support the world premiere production of “Someone will Remember Us,” by Deborah Salem Smith, Charlie Thurston and Michelle Cruz
- Woonasquatucket Valley Community Build, also known as The Steel Yard: $20,000 to support an artist residency program at the Steel Yard
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.