Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced five National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant awards totaling more than $900,000 for organizations in Maine’s first district congressional district.
“I am pleased to announce that the NEA has once again made a significant investment in Maine’s creative economy,” said Pingree, co-chair of the bipartisan congressional Arts Caucus. “From the performing arts to youth writing programs, these NEA grants will go a long way to supporting Maine artists and the communities that benefit from their work.”
Maine Arts Commission -- $749,400
To support arts programs, services, and activities associated with carrying out your agency’s NEA-approved strategic plan.
Maine College of Art (aka MECA) -- $40,000
To support the exhibition Traces, Tracks, & Pathways: Making Migration Visible.
The exhibition, developed in collaboration with Colby College and the Institute for Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, will examine ways to understand displacement, exile, and mobility, by presenting artwork and stories that interpret loss of home and the pursuit of a new one. The exhibition will include works by artists exploring issues of migration such as Jason De Leon, Mohamad Hafez, Patricia Tinajero, Edwige Charlot, Emily Jacir, and Daniel Quintanilla. The exhibition will expose a regional audience to the complexities of displacement and migration and will be accompanied by talks and dialogues with local community members at a variety of venues, as well as an online compendium of pertinent readings and a printed exhibition catalogue.
Portland Ovations -- $25,000
To support a series of multidisciplinary performing arts presentations.
Immersive and interactive performances will include presentations by artists and ensembles including theater company 600 Highwaymen, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, and dance company Keigwin & Company, among others. Many of the presentations will take place in site-specific locations throughout Portland, and may include local artists and community members in performances.
Telling Room -- $15,000
To support the Young Writers and Leaders Program.
The nine-month writing and literary arts program offers training in creative writing, public speaking, and visual arts to high school students who are English Language Learners. Working with a mentor, each student explores a variety of forms of writing, crafts a personal narrative, creates rich multimedia projects, and participates in public performances. The program also offers one-week seasonal intensives.
Waterville Regional Arts and Community Center (aka Waterville Creates!) -- $75,000
To support community engagement and design for historic Castonguay Square.
Located in the center of town, the square will be the focus of a community design process that will include an introductory placemaking workshop, community design charrettes, and meetings with key stakeholders, all led by a professional design firm. The project will be a partnership of Waterville Creates!, the City of Waterville, and Colby College. The square's renovation, conceived as a reinvigorated public gathering space and focus of community pride, is being driven by recent private investment in downtown Waterville, which has a population of 16,000.
These awards are part of a second major round of NEA grants for fiscal year 2018. Today’s announcement includes more than $80.5 million in grants across all artistic disciplines that were awarded to nonprofit organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These grants are for specific projects and range from performances and exhibitions, to healing arts and arts education programs, to festivals and artist residencies.
More information is available here.
