By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
“Unbelievable,” said Susan Roe, president of the North Adams Arts Council, describing an $8,190 grant the council will receive.
The Indiana Arts Commission announced last week it has awarded more than $350,000 of $3.5 million in grants for art and creativity to northeast Indiana communities.
In addition to the Decatur-based arts council, the Creative Arts Council of Wells County is receiving $11,141 and another $2,000 was given to the Decatur Arts Commission.
A total of 46 northeast Indiana organizations and projects are among 338 recipients across the state. The grants were awarded for two programs: Arts Organization Support and Arts Project Support.
Roe told WZBD.com that the arts council funds will be devoted to the Decatur Sculpture Tour, which held its 11th annual event last month.
The grant, she said, “will go a long way. It will prove very helpful as several sponsors (of the sculpture tour) we’ve had in the past didn’t step up this year.”
Roe noted that the local arts council, which is located in the former police station on N. Fifth St., has been awarded grants by the state commission in the past, “but never of this volume.”
“All across Indiana we have seen the positive impact that investing in arts and creativity has on quality of life,” Anne Penny Valentine, chair of the Indiana Arts Commission, said in a statement announcing the grants.
“Each of the projects and organizations selected to receive funding are doing exceptional creative work in and for Hoosier communities. The commission is excited and honored to support the work these organizations are doing to engage the public, develop their communities and encourage creativity across our state.”
The grants were reviewed by over 120 panelists from around the state and country with expertise in the arts, community development and nonprofit management, the release said.
