The Connecticut Office of the Arts, part of the Department of Economic and Community Development, is giving 114 organizations grants ranging from $500 to $28,540, totaling $397,354 statewide, in the fiscal 2017 disbursement by the Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund.
Kristina Newman-Scott, executive director of the arts office and the state’s historic preservation officer, said in a statement released Thursday that the current national political climate made these grants especially necessary.
“Given the specter of potential federal funding cuts for the arts, these funds that we distribute through the state’s arts endowment fund are critical,” Newman-Scott said. “With this fund, the agency can give operating and capital support to a diverse array of arts organizations that are doing really important work in their communities, many of which are in underserved rural and urban areas.”
The fund was established by the state legislature in 1988. The grants are given through interest on the fund, which is managed by the state treasurer. Recipients can use the funds to continue their programs and operations, for capital projects or to establish endowments.
Organizations are eligible for grants if they raised at least $15,000 in matching funds from private contributions for the two most recent fiscal years. That amount used to be $25,000. The lowering of the qualification amount was authorized last year by the state legislature, Newman-Scott said during a phone interview Friday.
“We thought it was important to make sure smaller arts organizations were able to enter into the endowment,” she said. “Raising $25,000 is not a big deal for larger institutions but it’s quite a bit of money for a small arts organization to raise.”
She added that a bill proposed by DECD that is currently making its way through the state legislature would increase the amount, “ideally double,” offered each year by the endowment.
“We need to find new ways to fund new artists and arts organizations,” Newman-Scott said. “Arts has struggled year by year. It’s often the thing that gets cut first. We want to find ways to stabilize our arts funding to better make the endowment a really good resource for Connecticut arts organizations.”
The fiscal year 2016 endowment granting pool was $385,301 spread across 130 organizations. This fiscal year’s $397,354 amount was the first increase in the endowment offering since 2010. In that year, 95 organizations were disbursed grants totaling $852,200. The amount of distributed funds has steadily decreased since then, while the number of organizations funded has, with a few exceptions, increased.
The agencies, and grants, are as follows:
Bridgeport: Bridgeport Symphony, $975; Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, $2,641.
Danbury: Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut, $500.
Darien: Darien Arts Council, $500.
East Haddam: Goodspeed Opera House, $5,708.
East Lyme: Eastern Connecticut Ballet, $500.
East Windsor: Open House Players of Broad Brook, $500.
Essex: Community Music School of Centerbrook, $500; Essex Winter Series, $500; Ivoryton Playhouse $2,537.
Fairfield: Fairfield County Chorale, $521; Fairfield Historical Society, $27,050; Fairfield Theatre Company, $4,730.
Farmington: Hill-Stead Museum, $6,170.
Greenwich: BackCountry Concerts, $1,358; Bruce Museum, $28,530; Greenwich Arts Council, $2,675; Greenwich Ballet Academy, $878; Greenwich Choral Society, $950; Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, $1,143.
Guilford: Guilford Art Center, $1,379; Shoreline Arts Alliance, $594.
Hamden: Eli Whitney Museum, $1,779.
Hartford: Artists Collective, $1,950; Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, $28,540; Charter Oak Cultural Center, $11,815; Cinestudio, $500; Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA), $844; Connecticut Guitar Society, $500; Greater Hartford Arts Council, $5,708; Hartford Chorale, $674; Hartford City Ballet, $500; Hartford Performs, $3,037; Hartford Stage, $5,708; Hartford Symphony Orchestra, $5,708; Judy Dworin Performance Project, $2,997; Mark Twain House & Museum, $5,250; Real Art Ways, $3,497; TheaterWorks, $8,805; Unified Theatre, $2,501; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, $5,710.
Litchfield: Litchfield Performing Arts, $1,601.
Middletown: Artists for World Peace, $1,843; Greater Middletown Chorale, $500.
Naugatuck: Shakesperience Productions, $1,179.
New Britain: Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, $559; New Britain Museum of American Art, $5,708; New Britain Youth Theater, $500.
New Canaan: Silvermine Guild of Artists, $2,868.
New Haven: ArtSpace, $2,960; Elm Shakespeare Company, $2,308; International Festival of Arts & Ideas, $13,939; Neighborhood Music School, $6,791; New Haven Ballet, $897; New Haven Chorale, $2,164; New Haven Folk, $500; New Haven Symphony Orchestra, $5,708; Shubert Theater / CAPA, $2,582; Site Projects, $1,016.
New London: Connecticut Lyric Opera, $500; Connecticut Storytelling Center, $584; Eastern CT Symphony, $1,639; Expressiones Cultural Center, $778; Flock Theatre Company, $1,615; Hygienic Art, $500; Lyman Allyn Art Museum, $3,482.
New Milford: TheatreWorks, $500.
Norwalk: Center for Contemporary Printmaking, $4,804; Creative Connections, $1,285; Music Theatre of CT, $1,118; Norwalk 2.0, $500; Norwalk Symphony Society, $961; Norwalk Youth Symphony, $515.
Old Lyme: Florence Griswold Museum, $28,237.
Old Saybrook: Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, $1,574.
Pomfret: Opera New England of NE CT, $500.
Putnam: Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut, $500.
Ridgefield: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, $3,712; Ridgefield Chorale, $747; Ridgefield Playhouse, $3,506; Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts, $1,431.
Salisbury: Music Mountain in Lakeville, $893.
Sharon: Tri-State Center for the Arts, $4,489.
Sherman: Sherman Chamber Ensemble, $500.
Simsbury: Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center, $500.
Southington: I-Park Foundation in Plantsville, $5,978.
Stamford: Ballet School of Stamford, $500; Curtain Call, $1,286; Intake Organization, $555; Stamford Center for the Arts, $2,787.
Stonington: Mystic Art Association, $2,291; Salt Marsh Opera Company, $1,759.
Thomaston: Landmark Community Theatre, $500.
Torrington: Five Points Gallery, $2,031; Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, $914; Northwest CT Association for the Arts / Warner, $5,666.
Wallingford: Wallingford Symphony Society, $500.
Washington: After School Arts Program, $1,782; Pilobolus, $14,853; Washington Art Association, $1,698.
Waterbury: Mattatuck Museum, $5,708; Palace Theater Group, $3,910; Seven Angels Theatre, $1,104; Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, $3,320.
Waterford: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, $5,708.
West Hartford: Ballet Theatre Company, $1,555.
Weston: Music on the Hill, $695.
Westport: Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, $1,931; Music for Youth, $687; Westport Arts Center, $2,837; Westport Country Playhouse, $5,709.
Wilton: Weir Farm Art Center, $975.
Windsor: Windsor Art Center, $500.
Winchester: American Mural Project / Wall of America Foundation of Winsted, $13,760.
