On Friday, January 18th, Erie Arts & Culture awarded 33 organizations with funding for cultural projects at a special check presentation that took place at 10:00 am at the Urban Erie Development Corporation’s Reverend E.F. Smith Quality of Life Learning Center, 2046 East 19th Street, Erie.
As a part of our mission to “strengthen the vibrancy and vitality of the region through the advancement of arts and culture,” Erie Arts & Culture administers a competitive grants program that provides funding opportunities to organizations located in Erie County for cultural projects. Grants are made possible through contributions to the Erie Arts Endowment and the United Arts Fund, which is Erie Arts & Culture’s annual fundraising campaign.
Project grants provide up to $5,000 in financial support for cultural activities, including live performances, arts education initiatives, and public art, in the name of positive social impact.
The following grant funded projects will make a positive impact on community development.
- House of Mercy’s Eastside Mural Project, awarded $2,500, is a partnership between the Urban Erie Community Development Corporation, John F. Kennedy Center, and the grantee’s after school programs and two local artists, which will result in the creation of three outdoor murals in the their eastside neighborhood.
- The Writing Study at St. Mary’s: Space to Create, awarded $2,500 for their project Poems on State, aims to bring more beauty and poetry to downtown Erie through a public art project, which will see several short poems painted in a vibrant, illustrative style on city sidewalks down twelve blocks of State Street during the 2019 National Poetry Month.
- Awarded $2,400, the City of Erie will use their funding to wrap metal traffic boxes located in the downtown corridor with art created by local artists.
These grant funded projects will make a positive impact on diversity, access, equity, and inclusion.
- The Greater Erie Alliance for Equality, awarded $1,750, is already making plans for their LGBT Regional Juried Exhibit, which will provide LGBT artists the opportunity to celebrate their identities in a visual, artistic expression and educate others in the general community. The exhibit will open at the Erie Art Gallery during the 2019 LGBT Pride Month.
- The Partners in Dance and Partners in Arts programs of Erie Homes for Children and Adults, awarded $2,400, will involve Dafmark Dance Theatre’s Jennifer Dennehy and local artist Larry Walczak, respectively. The programs will allow adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with an interest in the arts the chance to learn about dance and perform or experience visual art instruction and work on fine motor skills.
These two grant funded projects will make a positive impact on health and wellness.
- Exploring the Arts with NAMI, a project of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Erie County awarded $1,440, will provide children, ages 5-8, enrolled with Early Connections and their families with mental health education through exposure to the arts. The event will feature a performance by a child-friendly musical artist, mental health educational lessons, including emphasis of art as a form of wellness and stress reduction, and a fun arts activity that encourages cooperation and positive self-esteem.
- Millcreek Manor, awarded $2,500 for a new creative aging program, will provide arts education to individuals in the personal care facility in an effort to improve key self-reported health markers including pain, loneliness, and social engagement.
For a complete listing of all 33 grant funded projects, see below.
AmeriMasala/Citizens Against Racism in Erie │ $2,500
Barber National Institute, Celebrating the Possibilities Art Show & Sale │ $1,000
CAFE, CelebrateErie KidZone │ $2,500
City of Erie, Downtown Traffic Box Art Project │ $2,400
Corry Area Arts Council, Thursday in the Park Concert Series │ $1,125
Dafmark Dance Theater, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall │ $2,500
Dramashop, 2019 Season │ $2,500
Early Connections, Creative Dance Residency │ $2,488
Edinboro Highland Games & Scottish Festival │ $1,450
Erie Art Museum, Second Sunday │ $2,500
Erie Asian Pacific American Association, 2019 Asian Festival │ $2,000
Erie Blues & Jazz Festival │ $2,500
Erie ClaySpace, Visiting Artist Gallery Show & Public Workshops │ $1,765
Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre, 2019 Regional Dance America Northeast Festival │ $2,500
Erie Dance Consortium, 10th Biennial Erie Festival of Dance │ $2,400
Erie Homes for Children & Adults, Partners in Dance/Arts │ $2,400
Erie Junior Philharmonic, Scholarship and Instrument Program │ $2,500
Erie Philharmonic, Simone Porter Residency │ $2,500
Erie Playhouse, Unleash Your Inner Pirate │ $2,400
Goodell Gardens & Homestead, 2019 Homegrown Harvest Festival │ $816
Greater Erie Alliance for Equality, LGBT Regional Juried Art Exhibit │ $1,750
Inner City Neighborhood Art House, Art You Can Wear │ $2,499
Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park, Arts & Education at the Arboretum │ $1,440
Millcreek Manor, Creative Aging Program │ $2,500
NAMI of Erie, Exploring the Arts with NAMI │ $1,440
Penn State Behrend, Logan Series, Music at Noon │ $2,500
PACA, 2019 Theatrical Season │ $2,500
Sisters of Mercy, House of Mercy, Eastside Mural Project │ $2,500
WQLN Public Media, Sounds Around Town 2019 │ $2,500
WQLN Public Media, Musical Minutes │ $2,500
Writing Studio at St. Mary's: Space to Create, Poems on State │ $2,500
Young Artist Debut Orchestra, Americana Strings for Spring! │ $2,454
Young People's Chorus of Erie, Concert Production │ $1,750
