DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Announces Over $9 Million in Grants

Photo by PoPville flickr user Pablo Raw

From a press release:

“The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) board of commissioners recently approved $9,191,280 in funding recommendations as part of the agency’s FY17 grant awards, including $352,200 for new acquisitions to the District’s Art Bank Collection. This announcement comes on the heels of September’s 202Creates, an initiative of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s that spotlighted the District’s creative economy sector.

“These grant awards support a wide range of projects and professionals working in a variety of arts and humanities disciplines across the District of Columbia,” said Arthur Espinoza, Jr., Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. “These grants are investments in the District’s creative economy, and are critical to supporting the work of our arts and humanities professionals.”

“We are proud to be able to support the work of these individuals and organizations through our grant programs,” said Kay Kendall, Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. “We look forward to seeing the exciting creations and contributions from the District’s cultural sectors.”

DCCAH awards these grants through a competitive process. Applications from individuals and organizations are reviewed by independent panels that then make award recommendations to the DCCAH board of commissioners. Commissioners are the final authority on grant awards. Award recipients are notified in early October. Those applicants not receiving funding are offered technical assistance to support future applications.

DCCAH intends to award 481 grants in FY17 in the following categories:

$915,000 to support 179 individual artists and humanities practitioners throughout all 8 wards;
$5,100,000 to support the general operations of 74 arts, arts education and humanities organizations providing services to residents throughout the District;
$450,000 in dedicated funding to 28 organizations residing and/or providing services to residents East of the Anacostia River; 16 reside East of the River and 12 will provide services East of the River;
$306,000 for 19 organizations providing arts education programs in the District;
$1,000,000 through 16 grants to support arts and humanities facilities improvements throughout the District;
$300,000 to support 7 public art project grants proposed by community artists or entities;
$352,200 for the acquisition into the District’s Art Bank Collection of 86 fine art works by local artists;
$768,080 for 72 projects, events and festivals occurring throughout the District during the fiscal year.”