THE CONNECTICUT OFFICE OF THE ARTS
AWARDS OVER $1 MILLION IN GRANTS STATEWIDE
SUPPORTING ARTS GRANTS

The Supporting Art s grant program provides unrestricted funding to help support Connecticut's arts organizations and municipal arts departments as they pursue their mission. This type of grant is flexible rather than for specific projects or programs and gives the grantee the ability to use the funds where they are most needed.

Seventy-nine (79) FY19 Supporting Arts grants totaling $456,000.
ARTS PROJECT GRANTS

The  Arts Project grant program provides funding for the planning and implementation of arts-based projects, of all disciplines, for Connecticut audiences, communities and participants. The project must be accessible and relevant to the audience and community and must engage at least one (1) Connecticut artist in a significant project role.

Twenty-four (24) FY19 Arts Project grants  totaling $332,300.
REGIONAL INITIATIVE (REGI) GRANTS

The Regional Initiative grant program provides funding for the planning and implementation of small community art projects that align with the READI (Relevance, Equity, Access, Diversity and Inclusion) framework in combination with a strong community engagement plan. Panel reviews are conducted regionally in collaboration with Regional Service Organizations that serve as local field offices for the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

Thirty-eight (38) FY19 Regional Initiative grants totaling $138,520. 
ARTS LEARNING GRANTS

The Connecticut Office of the Arts promotes teaching and learning in, about, and through the arts, through high quality arts engagement, arts integration, arts exploration and discovery experiences. Through its Arts Learning grant program , the COA seeks to connect PK-12 schools and citizens with arts experience(s) in Connecticut.

Twenty-four (24) FY19 Arts Learning grants  totaling $37,466.
CONNECTICUT CULTURAL HERITAGE ARTS PROGRAM

The Connecticut Office of the Arts awarded a partnership grant in the amount of $11,500 to t he Connecticut Historical Society for the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) (aka Connecticut's Folk and Traditional Arts Program).

As part of COA’s grantee responsibilities to the National Endowment for the Arts , the State of Connecticut must maintain a Folk and Traditional Arts program. CCHAP has served as COA’s Folk and Traditional Arts partner since 1990. A Folk and Traditional Arts program as defined by the NEA is as follows:

The folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnic heritage, cultural mores, language, religion, occupation, or geographic region. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from
generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice. Genres of artistic activity include, but are not limited to, music, dance, crafts, and oral expression.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY:

We are still accepting applications to the Access category of the Arts Learning grant program. Arts Learning: Access grants provide funding, from $500 up $1,000, for exposure to the arts through field trips, school or classroom visits, performance(s), "informance(s)" and/or lecture demonstrations by artists or artist groups or arts venues.

Applicants who applied to and/or received a grant through COA's FY19 grant programs - Supporting Arts, REGI, Arts Learning & Arts Projects - may apply for an Arts Learning: Access grant. The application "deadline" is rolling and funds are dispersed on a first come (and eligible) first serve basis. No match is required.

Eligible applicants for Arts Learning: Access grants are:
  • PK-12 Schools
  • 501(c)(3) arts organization seeking to provide art experience(s) for PK-12 students
  • Arts program of a 501(c)(3) non-arts organization seeking to provide art experience(s) for PK-12 students

Note: Arts Learning: Access funds can be used towards transportation to/from an arts experience!
Again, congratulations to all grant recipients!
We thank you for your interest in our programs and for your continuing support.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Shapiro, Interim Director of Culture
& the
Connecticut Office of the Arts staff:
Tamara Dimitri
Adriane Jefferson
Bonnie Koba
Rhonda F. Olisky
Lourdes "Lu" Rivera
Jane Schneider
The Office of the Arts is funded by the State of Connecticut and the National Endowment for the Arts and receives support from other public and private sources.