New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Program proposals due by October 17, 2016
The New Bedford Cultural Council will soon begin accepting applications for grant funding for community-based projects in the arts, humanities and sciences for the FY 2017 round of funding. Each year, organizations, schools and individuals are invited to apply to the Local Cultural Council for funding to support projects that promote rich cultural experiences in the New Bedford community. This year, all applicants must submit their proposals via the new online system and no hard copy applications will be accepted.
Jill Horton-Simms, New Bedford Cultural Council member said, “These grants can support a variety of artistic projects and activities in New Bedford including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies or performances in schools, workshops and lectures.”
“As the artistic and cultural hub of the region, the New Bedford takes very seriously its role in fostering the work of individual artists and arts organizations,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “One of the most important ways we do this is through our annual local cultural council grants. Over the years this relatively modest amount of funding has been put to great use by our creative community, leveraging millions of dollars in additional resources to enliven and enrich New Bedford.”
With the support of the New Bedford legislative delegation, Representative Tony Cabral and Senator Mark Montigny in particular, the New Bedford Cultural Council will again distribute funding to support local cultural programming. Previously funded projects include: New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s “Learning in Concert”; the Zeiterion’s “New Bedford Folk Festival”; Buzzard’s Bay Writing Project’s “Literacy Enrichment for Elementary Students”; New Bedford Art Museum’s “Teens Reach Beyond”; and AHA! New Bedford’s “NB Cultures.”
“Arts and cultural programming is at the heart of our downtown’s renaissance and promising economic future,” said Assistant Senate Majority Leader Mark C. Montigny. “I am pleased to have helped lead Senate efforts to ensure the New Bedford Cultural Council can continue to support this vital endeavor and look forward to the great work its funding will support in the year ahead.”
“New Bedford Cultural Council grants create jobs, promote strong economic development, strengthen our neighborhoods and help us celebrate our community,” said Rep. Cabral. “I’m proud to support our state’s investment in the Council.”
The New Bedford Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.
For specific guidelines and complete information on the New Bedford Cultural Council, please contact Jill Horton-Simms via email at newbedfordcc@gmail.com. The New Bedford Cultural Council guidelines are available online at www.mass-culture.org/New-Bedford.
