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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded ten grants to Maine organizations totaling $981,800.

"Despite the Trump administration’s continued attempts to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues on the House Appropriations committee to stop these harmful cuts. Rural communities across the country benefit from arts grants like those awarded today in my district,” said Pingree, Vice Chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus. ”A nearly $1 million investment in these ten creative organizations will go a long way to spur economic growth, draw tourists to our state, and ensure artists want to live and create in Maine.”

The FY 2019 NEA spring grant recipients in Maine’s first district include:

• Maine Arts Commission: $756,800 (Augusta)
  • To support arts programs, services, and activities associated with carrying out the agency's National Endowment for the Arts-approved strategic plan.
• Engine, Inc.: $45,000 (Biddeford, ME)
  • To support architectural designs for the reuse of the Marble Block, an iconic historic building as a community cultural center.
• Points North Institute (aka Camden International Film Festival (CIFF)): $25,000 (Camden)
  • To support professional development services and educational programs for media artists, including the Points North Forum.
• Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (aka Haystack): $15,000 (Deer Isle)
  • To support craft workshops for Maine high school students.
• Ogunquit Playhouse Foundation: $10,000 (Ogunquit)
  • To support the development of new musicals through the New Works Program.
• Creative Portland Corporation: $25,000 (Portland)
  • To support artist fees and public art installations at bus shelters throughout Portland, Maine.
• Portland Ovations: $20,000 (Portland)
  • To support a multidisciplinary performing arts series.
• Telling Room: $15,000 (Portland)
  • To support the Young Writers and Leaders Program.
• Cultural Resources, Inc.: $20,000 (Rockport)
  • To support the Wabanaki Arts Mentorship Program.
• Terra Moto Inc. (aka Art At Work): $50,000 (South Portland)
  • To support artist fees for a public theatrical performance by Art at Work which will celebrate the history of Maine

Pingree is the co-chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Arts Caucus. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, where she oversees the NEA and arts funding.

For a full list of the FY 2019 NEA spring grant recipients nationwide, click here.