On Oct. 11, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wyoming Arts Council's federal partner, posted guidelines and application
materials for Our Town, the agency's primary creative
placemaking grants program. Pending
availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000.
Our Town will
invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with
their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to:
• Improve their quality of life;
• Encourage greater creative activity;
• Foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and
• Revitalize economic development.
Other key information:
· Application deadline is Jan. 14, 2013 at 11:59 pm. This
deadline is earlier than last year.
· Webinars to learn more about this funding opportunity
will be held on Nov. 6 and
13, 2012, at 3:00 pm EST at arts.gov
· Program Inquiries: Email OT@arts.gov to schedule a call with an NEA design
program specialist
Projects may include arts engagement, cultural planning, and
design activities. Definitions of these activities can be found in the FY 2012 Our Town grant
announcement.
Project examples are below.
Now in its third year, Our Town has provided $11.57 million to
fund 131 projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Those
projects are diverse in geographic distribution, number and types of
partnerships, artistic discipline, and type of project. As regards population
size, in FY 2012 alone, 41 of the 80 grants supported projects in communities
with populations under 50,000.
To view a map of these projects along with descriptions and
images, visit the Our Town section of the NEA website.
Wyoming
Our Town grants:
From the NEA web site:
The
Nicolaysen Art Museum, more commonly known as the NIC, received a
$50,000 Our Town grant in 2011. The NIC is a leading center for contemporary
arts in the Rocky Mountain region. Although the museum focuses on exhibitions,
visitors can also personally engage with art creation through classes and
programs at the museum's Discovery Center.
The
museum plans to further improve community engagement with a pilot project that
will integrate public art into a low-income housing community in Casper,
Wyoming. An experienced artist will be selected to work with developers and
residents to design and plan for public art, as well as green space that will
serve as a gathering place for residents of the housing complex and the local
community. The project will take place at the Sunshine Apartments, located at a
formerly blighted site on a highly visible intersection in downtown Casper. The
Nicolaysen Art Museum will oversee the artist selection process, and the
Wyoming Development Authority, Grimshaw Investments & Development, and the
City of Casper will construct, document, and evaluate the project with the goal
of replicating the public art process in future affordable housing projects
throughout Wyoming. Casper is a town of 55,000 residents.
See a short video taken at night of the completed public art piece, "Confluence," by going to http://youtu.be/ol7RI3WYu5s
Here's a summary:
The
Strand Theater in Evanston, Wyoming, was built in 1917 and became the premier
place for entertainment, from vaudevillian acts and silent movies to modern day
films and community events. In 2007, the historic building was nearly destroyed
by a fire, with only three walls and the façade remaining intact. In 2008, the
building owners donated it to the Evanston Urban Renewal Agency.
The
agency and Sagebrush Theatre Production will use an Our Town grant for
architectural and engineering plans for the interior renovation of the Strand.
The historic theater will be transformed into the Evanston Cultural Center
serving as a performance space for Sagebrush and other arts groups, and as a cultural
hub for the community. Myers-Anderson Architecture, a local firm with extensive
historic renovation experience, will design the architectural and engineering
plans. It is anticipated that improvements to this cultural landmark will
inspire and attract new local businesses to downtown Evanston and provide a
cultural center for the city's 12,400 residents.
Info from the NEA:
The
town of Jackson, population 9,900, is conveniently located near
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole Mountain
Resort, and other natural tourist attractions. The Center for the Arts serves
as the hub for arts and education in downtown Jackson with a 41,000-square-foot
Arts & Education Pavilion, a multi-tenant facility with studios,
classrooms, and offices; and the Performing Arts Pavilion, which includes a
525-seat theater, a music center, and theater rehearsal space.
The
Center for the Arts and the Town of Jackson, in collaboration with 20
additional local organizations, are using an Our Town grant to design the green
space adjacent to the center. Renovation of this space will increase
connectivity among cultural, recreational, and retail businesses and attract
residents to participate in new arts programming at the center. Project
activities include community design charrettes and a final schematic design for
a multi-use performance park to be used for arts and cultural activities. It is
anticipated that as many as 20,000 people will utilize the redesigned public
space annually for cultural activities, markets, and fairs.
Here are some other
examples from around the country:
Art Engagement Project Examples
Union County Arts Center in Rahway, NJ Grant: $75,000
Union County Arts Center, the City of Rahway's
Redevelopment Agency, Arts Guild New Jersey, LuceGroup, Rahway Arts District,
and artistic and community partners will collaborate on RAHWAY ARTsPART, a
series of creative performances and community engagement activities.
RedLine in Denver, CO Grant: $25,000
The arts collective RedLine, City of Denver, and
seven additional organizations will collaborate on A Village Environment, a
project within the city's Sustainability Park that involves the creation of
public sculptures that will produce renewable energy. The public sculptures will
be commissioned via a competitive selection process, with the requirement of
artistic excellence and the ability to generate power.
Cultural Planning Project Examples
City of Omaha in Omaha, NE Grant: $100,000
The City of Omaha is partnering with Love’s Jazz and
Art Center and local organizations on the Street of Dreams project, part of the
revitalization plans for North Omaha’s 24th and Lake Street District. The grant
will support a feasibility and community design study to re-imagine Festival Square
and will allow the partners to engage visual artist and urban planner Theaster
Gates to transform a nearby vacant building into a central space for artists
and residents.
Santo Domingo Tribe in Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM
Grant: $100,000
The Santo Domingo Planning Department and Housing
Authority, Enterprise Community Partners, together with five local partners,
will work together on a cultural district plan for Santo Domingo Pueblo. The
plan will document the cultural heritage of the Santo Domingo Tribe,
establishing livable and culturally appropriate guidelines for historic adobe
structures and new development.
Design Activities Project Examples
Native Village of Mary’s Igloo in Teller, AK Grant:
$50,000
The Native Village of Mary’s Igloo, a federally
recognized tribe, is partnering with the not-for-profit Kawerak, Inc. and the
Cold Climate Housing Research Center on community engagement and design
activities for the Mary’s Igloo Community Development Center. The center will
be designed through three design charrette meetings with the community and with
local artists. The proposed facility will include a museum, cultural heritage
room, library, commercial teaching kitchen, artisan workshop, small business
operation spaces, lodging for tourists, gift shop, and storage.
Austin Film Society in Austin, TX Grant: $75,000
In 2000, the City of Austin collaborated with Austin Film
Society to form Austin Studios on 20 acres at the newly decommissioned
municipal airport. With the Our Town grant, the partners plan to incorporate a
decommissioned National Guard Building into the Austin Studios campus. The
remodeled building will include affordable space for film production and
education, a new exhibition and visitors center, two screening rooms, and a
plaza and lobby for public events.
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