New England Arts Resilience Fund Awards $1.806 million to Support Arts Infrastructure

Fund makes grants to leading regional cultural nonprofits for recovery and resilience, invests in historically under-resourced organizations

A community class at Clemmons Family Farm; photo courtesy Clemmons Family Farm.

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) is pleased to announce awards totaling $1.806 million to 71 arts and cultural nonprofits in New England through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the national United States Arts Resilience Fund.

The Fund, an initiative of the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (Arts Midwest, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation) was made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It was created in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s arts infrastructure and supports organizations with recovery and planning capital for a post-pandemic future. The program was funded nationally through a $10 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and amplified in New England with funding from the CARES Act.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the creative sector. An ongoing study from Americans for the Arts estimates financial losses to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations at $10.2 billion, with an estimated loss of $10.7 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences (as of August 3, 2020).

Despite the numerous challenges noted by the 135 Fund applicants, several opportunities were surfaced, including:

  • an increase in engagement with the public through digital channels and advances in technology;
  • an ever-greater emphasis on advancing equity internally and externally during a period of change and reflection;
  • and playing a leading role in building community cohesion by fostering dialogues and collaborations.

With awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, the New England Arts Resilience Fund prioritized organizations, communities, populations, and art forms that have historically had less access to major financial resources for sustainability. The Fund sought in particular to support organizations that are led by and deeply engage communities of color. View the list of grant recipients: 

View Grant Recipients

Recipient

City

State

Award

3S Artspace

Portsmouth

NH

$20,000

826 Boston

Boston

MA

$30,000

Abbe Museum

Bar Harbor

ME

$50,000

Abilities Dance Boston

Boston

MA

$10,000

Angkor Dance Troupe

Lowell

MA

$10,000

ANIKAYA

Somerville

MA

$10,000

Aquinnah Cultural Center

Aquinnah

MA

$25,000

Art At Work

Portland

ME

$10,000

Artists Collective

Hartford

CT

$50,000

Artists For Humanity

Boston

MA

$30,000

ArtsEmerson

Boston

MA

$30,000

Artspace New Haven

New Haven

CT

$30,000

AS220

Providence

RI

$30,000

BAMS Fest, Inc.

Boston

MA

$35,000

Bates Dance Festival

Lewiston

ME

$20,000

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Pao Arts Center

Boston

MA

$20,000

Burlington City Arts

Burlington

VT

$35,000

Capitol Center for the Arts

Concord

NH

$30,000

The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center

West Rutland

VT

$20,000

Catamount Arts

St. Johnsbury

VT

$20,000

Clemmons Family Farm

Charlotte

VT

$50,000

Community Engagement Lab

Montpelier

VT

$35,000

Community Music Center of Boston

Boston

MA

$35,000

Company One Theatre

Boston

MA

$20,000

Dartmouth College, Hopkins Center for the Arts

Hanover

NH

$20,000

Double Edge Theatre

Ashfield

MA

$30,000

DownCity Design

Providence

RI

$35,000

FirstWorks

Providence

RI

$30,000

Flynn Center for the Performing Arts

Burlington

VT

$20,000

The Front Porch Arts Collective

Boston

MA

$16,000

Global Arts Live

Cambridge

MA

$20,000

GrubStreet

Boston

MA

$20,000

HartBeat Ensemble

Hartford

CT

$20,000

Helen Day Art Center

Stowe

VT

$25,000

Indigo Arts Alliance

Portland

ME

$25,000

JAG Productions

White River Junction

VT

$10,000

Ko Festival of Performance

Belchertown

MA

$20,000

Lebanon Opera House

Lebanon

NH

$20,000

Mariposa Museum and World Culture Center

Peterborough

NH

$25,000

MASS MoCA

North Adams

MA

$30,000

Mixed Magic Theatre

Providence

RI

$25,000

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County

Bridgeport

CT

$35,000

New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA)

Brattleboro

VT

$30,000

New Repertory Theatre

Watertown

MA

$35,000

Next Stage Arts

Putney

VT

$20,000

Northern Stage

White River Junction

VT

$20,000

NXTHVN INC.

New Haven

CT

$25,000

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater

Middletown

CT

$15,000

Opera House Arts

Stonington

ME

$20,000

Piti Theatre Company

Shelburne Falls

MA

$10,000

Puppet Showplace Theater

Brookline

MA

$20,000

Queen Ann Nzinga Center, Inc

Plainville

CT

$25,000

Raw Art Works

Lynn

MA

$30,000

Real Art Ways

Hartford

CT

$30,000

Rhode Island Black Storytellers

Providence

RI

$25,000

Rhode Island Latino Arts

Providence

RI

$20,000

Sandglass Theater

Putney

VT

$25,000

Seacoast African American Cultural Center

Portsmouth

NH

$10,000

SPACE

Portland

ME

$30,000

The Steel Yard

Providence

RI

$30,000

Teatro ECAS

Providence

RI

$20,000

The Theater Offensive

Boston

MA

$50,000

Tomaquag Museum

Exeter

RI

$35,000

University of Massachusetts, Fine Arts Center

Amherst

MA

$20,000

Urbano Project

Boston

MA

$25,000

Vermont Abenaki Artists Association

Burlington

VT

$20,000

Vermont Jazz Center

Brattleboro

VT

$20,000

Veronica Robles Cultural Center

East Boston

MA

$20,000

WaterFire Providence

Providence

RI

$30,000

The Yard

Chilmark

MA

$30,000

ZUMIX

East Boston

MA

$35,000


“Every arts organization in New England has been affected by the pandemic,” said Adrienne Petrillo, Senior Program Director, New England Presenting & Touring. “With many strong applications reflecting the vibrant cultural ecosystem in New England, awards were made with an emphasis on greater reach, especially to the historically under-resourced organizations who are essential to our region’s future.”


“These grants complement NEFA’s emergency funding support to artists, made in April 2020. We recognize how essential cultural organizations are to our communities, and as partners to artists. We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation’s leadership, vision and thought-partnership with the six regional arts organizations, and to our partners at the National Endowment for the Arts for the CARES Act support, enabling this fund to extend its impact,” said NEFA executive director Cathy Edwards. “We are also grateful to the 15 application reviewers who helped understand the applications and make difficult decisions.”

View Application Reviewers

  • Anonymous (CT)
  • Anonymous (MA)
  • Taylor Ho Bynum (VT)
  • Luis Croquer, Independent Curator, Former Director and Chief Curator of the Rose Art Museum (MA)
  • Stephanie P. Fortunato, City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism (RI)
  • Neha Gandhi, Associate Producer, MELA Arts Connect (CA)
  • Angela Han, Consultant (Washington D.C.)
  • Orlando Hernandez, independent artist (RI)
  • Jennifer Hutchins, Maine Association of Nonprofits (ME)
  • Margaret Jacobs (Akwesasne Mohawk) (NH)
  • Adriane Jefferson, Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven (CT)
  • Toby MacNutt (VT)
  • Nat May, Program Officer, Onion Foundation (ME)
  • Madeline Sayet (Mohegan), Executive Director, Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program (CT)
  • Carrie Zaslow, Executive Director, Providence Revolving Fund (RI)

 

The New England Arts Resilience Fund is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded $1,270,000 to NEFA as part of Mellon’s $10,000,000 investment in the six Regional Arts Organizations to support arts organizations across the country. Additionally, through the federal CARES Act, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded $568,000 to NEFA to support the region’s nonprofit cultural organizations.

About NEFA

The New England Foundation for the Arts invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation. NEFA accomplishes this by granting funds to artists and cultural organizations; connecting them to each other and their audiences; and analyzing their economic contributions. NEFA serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England’s state arts agencies, and private foundations. Learn more at www.nefa.org.

 

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