JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -The Missouri Arts Council has awarded 362 annual grants in 63 communities for fiscal year 2017 totaling more than $4.7 million to support arts events, performances, education, and services throughout the state.
The annual grants are reaching 100 percent of the state Senate districts and 95 percent of the state House districts. The organizations supported are as diverse as Kacico Dance in Kansas City, Hispanic Festival, Inc. in Florissant, Maplewood Barn Theatre in Columbia, and Pro Musica in Joplin. The 362 grantees include community arts agencies such as the Raintree Arts Council in Clarksville and the West Plains Council on the Arts. The grants fund programs in arts education, arts services, community arts, dance, electronic media, festivals, folk arts, literature, minority arts, multidiscipline, music, theater, and visual arts. The 362 annual grants total $4,757,789.
The Council will also award approximately an additional $350,000 throughout the 2017 fiscal year via Express grants. These grants support smaller-scale projects primarily in arts education, community arts, minority arts, and performances by artists in the Missouri Touring Directory.
In FY2016, the Missouri Arts Council awarded 582 annual and Express grants combined, supporting 166 communities.
“With increased funding from Gov. Nixon and the Legislature, along with additional grant dollars from the National Endowment for the Arts, we’re able to help hundreds of organizations throughout the state support and promote the arts,” said Executive Director Michael Donovan. “Here in Missouri we value the arts and their contributions to our communities, culture and economy. I appreciate all of our partner organizations for making the Missouri Arts Council a success.”
The grants are awarded through volunteer advisory panels of Missouri arts professionals and community representatives. The panelists review the applications to evaluate artistic quality, community involvement, and management ability. The resulting scores are used in a funding formula to determine the grant amounts.
The complete list of annual grants is on the Missouri Arts Council’s main website, missouriartscouncil.org. The types of grants offered and the guidelines for eligibility and application are on the Council’s granting website, mac.culturegrants.org. For more information, contact the Missouri Arts Council at moarts@ded.mo.gov.
