Foundation for Arts Presents Six Awards to NH

The New England Foundation for the Arts presented 73 awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to arts and cultural nonprofits, totaling $840,000 through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the national U.S. Arts Resilience Fund. These awards support organizations with recovery and planning for a post-pandemic future and were made possible with support from the American Rescue Plan through the National Endowment for the Arts.

According to Americans for the Arts’ October 2021 update on the effect of the pandemic on the arts, job losses at nonprofit arts organizations nationally are three times worse than nonprofits on average. While employment has improved, many jobs have not come back and are likely to take six months or more to recover and 11% of organizations are not confident they will survive.

“These awards are possible thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the National Endowment for the Arts. Federal investment in the arts and culture sector reaches every congressional district; given the research on the economic and social benefits of the arts, this support is crucial and an essential aspect of community health,” said NEFA executive director Cathy Edwards. “NEFA is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts to deliver this critical support; we thank Acting Chair Ann Eilers for her leadership, and we are excited to support the nomination of Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson as chair.”

These NH organizations each received $10,000:

• 3S Artspace, Portsmouth
• Capitol Center for the Arts, Concord
• The Colonial Performing Arts Center, Keene
• Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, Hanover
• Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon
• Mariposa Museum and World Culture Center, Peterborough

Since the program’s inception, the New England Arts Resilience Fund has awarded nearly $2.8 million.

“New England Arts Resilience Fund awards are enabling these primarily small to mid-size community organizations -- from Stonington, Maine, to Bridgeport, Connecticut -- to cover essential expenses, including day to day operations expenses, health and safety supplies, and salary support,” said Adrienne Petrillo, senior program director, New England Presenting & Touring. “They are essential to their communities’ vitality.”