Federal NEA grants boost R.I. arts organizations

FIRSTWORKS RECEIVED $30,000 thanks to an $862,800 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that also will support the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and other arts organizations. / COURTESY FIRSTWORKS
FIRSTWORKS RECEIVED $30,000 thanks to an $862,800 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that also will support the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and other arts organizations. / COURTESY FIRSTWORKS

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – An $862,800 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts will support the R.I. State Council on the Arts and other arts organizations.
Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced the funding awards, saying RISCA will receive the bulk of it – $717,800 to support the arts and partnership agreement activities.
Community Musicworks will receive $65,000 to support free music education and performance programs for at risk youth; FirstWorks will receive $30,000 for arts and education programs; and the city of Providence will get $20,000 to put toward a project documenting and raising awareness of the history of Mashapaug Pond and its neighborhoods.
Also receiving funding are the Rhode Island School of Design, which will use $20,000 for a professional development program for artists; and the Island Moving Company, which has been awarded $10,000 to support its Great Friends Touring project.
U.S. Sen. Jack F. Reed, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the NEA’s budget, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. James R. Langevin and David N. Cicilline hailed the funding as a much-needed boost to arts in the state. They congratulated the recipients.
“Rhode Island artists contribute to our economy and help make our state a better place to live,” Whitehouse said. “These federal dollars will enable Rhode Island artists to spread the word about Rhode Island history, get young people excited about music, extend the performing arts to communities throughout the state and build new markets for their work.”
According to RISCA, there are nearly 2,700 arts-related business in Rhode Island that employ over 12,620 creative workers, and Rhode Island ranks third in the nation in the percentage of in-state jobs that are arts-related, exceeded only by New York and California.
“The federal government’s investment in the arts is vital to the work we do to ensure that the arts contribute to our state’s economy, educational offerings and quality of life,” Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of RISCA, said. “Every dollar we receive from the National Endowment for the Arts goes to provide jobs for Rhode Island artists, which in turn provides employment to the thousands of people who benefit from a strong arts economy.”
In other news, FirstWorks also received a $58,000 engaging dance audiences grant from DANCE/USA.

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