Five national arts-development projects involving Minneapolis-based Artspace Projects received support from the National Endowment for the Arts through grants announced Tuesday, July 12. The NEA grants total $600,000 and are part of a package of 51 NEA "Our Town" grants announced by NEA chairman Rocco Landesman.
"In most cases this is seed money that advances the initial planning and gets us into position to compete for additional support for many of these projects," said Colin Hamilton, vice president of creative capital at Artspace.
Artspace is collaborating with NEA "Our Town" grant recipients in New Orleans, Memphis, Honolulu, Hamilton, Ohio; and Minneapolis. The grants are as follows:
$100,000 to New Orleans' Claiborne Cultural Corridor Plan for the redevelopment of a major cultural artery including an Artspace live/work project and cultural campus on the site of a former school in the Treme neighborhood.
$100,000 to the Hyde Family Foundations in Memphis, Tennessee to help Artspace identify a site and develop plans for a 50 to 70 unit live/work project in the city's South Main Arts District.
$150,000 to the PA'I Foundation of Honolulu, Hawaii for a two-part program including an Artspace live/work project in Hawaii and activities involving visual artists, dancers and musicians.
$50,000 to Artspace Hamilton Lofts of Hamilton, Ohio, a parthership between Artspace and the city of Hamilton, to transform two historic buildings into 36 units of affordable live/work space for artists and their families plus 3,00 sq. ft of retail frontage.
$200,000 to the Hennepin Theatre Trust of Minneapolis to create a Hennepin Avenue Cultural Corridor connecting Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to the Mississippi River via Hennepin Av. The program envisions converting to cultural use what are now vacant and underdeveloped public and private spaces along Hennepin Av. Partners in the project are Artspace Projects, the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performance Arts, Walker Art Center and the City of Minneapolis.
