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For Immediate Release
September 30, 2020
Information: Sarah Sidman | 206-788-3051 | sarahsidman@artsfund.org
ArtsFund, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Communications
ArtsFund Awards Additional $100,000 in Grants to Wrap its 50th Anniversary Year
SEATTLE, WA— To mark the conclusion of its 50th Anniversary year, ArtsFund is pleased to announce the awarding of $100,000 in grants to five regional arts and cultural nonprofits. This one-time allocation of “50th Anniversary Grants” is awarded in recognition of regional arts organizations’ demonstrated and future impacts advancing ArtsFund’s mission of strengthening community through the arts. Funds are being distributed as one-time unrestricted general operating support grants of $20,000 each. Today’s announcement brings ArtsFund’s total granting for 2020 to over $5.5 Million, awarded through 195 grants to 113 organizations.
Michael Greer, ArtsFund’s President & CEO, said, “ArtsFund believes that art is a tool for social change and that access to the arts is essential for community health. We congratulate these grantees and the entire sector that is working tirelessly to reimagine arts and culture for the future.” Recipients of the ArtsFund 50th Anniversary grants include:
Emerald City Music – Founded in 2015 and serving Seattle, Olympia, and Bellingham, WA, Emerald City Music has been deemed “the beacon for the casual-classical movement” (City Arts). In addition to hosting world-renowned musicians for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences, Emerald City Music’s wide-ranging partners in connecting younger adults to classical music and making traditional arts more community-centered include hospitals, youth orchestras, and schools.
Hilltop Artists – Based in Tacoma, WA, Hilltop Artists uses glass arts to connect young people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to better futures. They serve over 650 students a year through their programming, provide tuition-free glass instruction to youth who may face significant obstacles to success, and provide critical outreach services supporting students and their families.
LANGSTON – LANGSTON cultivates Black brilliance through their programming, presenting works, and fostering community partnerships that center Black art, artists, and audiences while ArtsFund News 7.01.20 page 2 honoring the ongoing legacy of Seattle’s Black Central Area. Overseeing the historic Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, LANGSTON is a cultural gathering space and a hub for Black arts and culture, housing gatherings, classes, performances, community meetings, and more.
Path with Art – Path with Art transforms the lives of people recovering from homelessness, addiction, and other trauma by harnessing the power of creative engagement as a bridge to community and a path to stability. Working out of Pioneer Square and partnering with arts and social service organizations throughout the region, Path with Art also offers programs connecting the broader community with their students and their work.
Seattle Art Museum – With three locations in downtown Seattle and wide-ranging collections, installations, special exhibitions, and programs, Seattle Art Museum builds bridges between cultures and centuries. Openly committed to promoting racial equity, Seattle Art Museum is thinking critically about the role art plays in empowering social justice and structural change.
Greer continued, “These grants honor the history of ArtsFund and represent the future of how we see arts and culture playing a role in making our communities a great place to live for all people.”
The 50th Anniversary Grants are awarded in complement to ArtsFund’s annual allocations grants, with funds raised separately for the program. Funding support came from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Mary Pigott. Additional support was provided by US Bank through ArtsFund’s Youth Arts Opportunities Fund.
For more information about ArtsFund, visit artsfund.org/50.
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About ArtsFund: ArtsFund strengthens the community by supporting the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grant making. Founded in October 1969, the Seattle-based nonprofit has been building community through the arts for 50 years and is one of the nation’s leading United Arts Funds. ArtsFund was originally founded as the United Arts Council of Puget Sound to bring corporate and civic leaders together to help establish and sustain our region’s arts and cultural institutions. At the end of its 50th Anniversary year, ArtsFund has supported nearly 240 arts nonprofits with over $89M in grants, and by providing valuable leadership and advocacy. For more on ArtsFund visit artsfund.org/50.