[OMS_MANAGERS] NEA "Our Town" grant opportunity

[Sheri Stuart]

Please Note: This notice is being distributed over the Oregon Main
Street listserve
___________________________________________________________________
Immediate Release: October 11, 2012

Contactfor media queries: Victoria Hutter, hutterv at arts.gov,
202-682-5692
Contact for application inquiries: Design Staff, OT at arts.gov 



National Endowment for the Arts releases funding guidelines for Our
Town
Grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 available to support creative
placemaking projects

On October 11, 2012, the NEA will post guidelines and application
materials for Our Town ( http://arts.gov/national/ourtown/index.php ),
the agency's primary creative placemaking grants program. Pending
availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000. 

Our Townwill 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: 
· Complete Our Town application guidelines are available
atarts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/index.html
· Application deadline is January 14, 2013 at 11:59 pm. This deadline
is earlier than last year. For Our Town FAQs, go to
arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/FAQ.html (
http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/FAQ.html )Webinars to learn
more about this funding opportunity will be held on November 6 and 13,
2012 at 3:00 pm EST at arts.gov
· Program Inquiries: Email OT at 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 (
http://arts.gov/news/news12/Our-Town-announcement.html ). 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 ( http://arts.gov/national/ourtown/index.php
)of the NEA website. 

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. 
Sheri Stuart, Coordinator
Oregon Main Street
725 Summer St., Suite C
Salem, OR  97301
503.986.0679
www.oregonheritage.org ( http://www.oregonheritage.org/ )
 
Oregon Main Street is administered by the State Historic Preservation
Office, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

 
 
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