New Haven Wins 7 NEA Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts has just released information about the latest round of grants for not-for-profit arts organizations nationwide, with Connecticut receiving $1,279,000 in dedicated funding. Within Connecticut, 7 of the 16 arts grants awarded will serve to support New Haven organizations in the categories of Learning in the Arts and Artistic Excellence. Grants are being made to Artspace, Elm Shakespeare Company, Neighborhood Music School, New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yale University Art Gallery and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Artspace has received support for a group exhibition titled Library Science which will take place this fall. The exhibition will examine ways in which physical, intellectual, and emotional relationships to libraries have changed as libraries adapt to the digital world. Guest curator Rachel Gugelberger plans to address the ongoing debate among bibliophiles about the effect of technology, such as the digital archiving of millions of books, on the fate of the printed book. 

The Yale-New Haven Hospital has received support for the Child Life Arts and Enrichment Program Digital Storytelling Project, which brings professional artists to teach hospitalized youth how to create digital stories. Through interactions with artists, young patients who are either living with chronic illness or who experience a lengthy or difficult hospital stay, learn arts skills and produce work that reflects their perspective on living with illness.

Elm Shakespeare Company will utilize funding for support of a production of Shakespeare’s Henry V along with accompanying educational and outreach activities aimed at providing youth with professional level theatrical training. The Neighborhood Music School has received a Learning in the Arts grant, which will provide students with in-depth, challenging learning experiences through the school’s Instrumental Impact program. 

Thanks to NEA support, New Haven residents can expect to boast of the highest level of quality and innovation in artistic programming and cultural exhibits. The New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra both got the go-ahead on major performance projects designed to engage local audiences. 

The Yale University Art Gallery, which is free and open to the public, will receive NEA funding which will help support the expansion and renovation of galleries to hold the Art Gallery’s ancient Mediterranean collection.

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman said, ​“NEA research shows that three out of four Americans participate in the arts. The diverse, innovative, and exceptional projects funded in this round will ensure that Americans around the country continue to have the opportunity to experience and participate in the arts.”