discover monadnock arts:
at home!
Help our communities stay Busy, Grounded, and Sane!
Arts Alive! has always worked to utilize our platforms - social media, newsletter and websites - to host your ideas, resources, events, stories, opportunities, and more. Now more than ever, during this pandemic.

Let us help you share your event, news, resource, project ideas, etc. with others. Our Discover Monadnock Happenings newsletter is our primary vehicle to share events, live streams, online resources, to get your good news out to the general public.

Keep our community inspired, hopeful, dreaming about the future - and taking small steps in the here and now to enjoy the present moment. Help other people tear away from the constant stress of news, homeschool assignments, and worry about ... well, everything. Give them a bit of joy - some of your miraculous arts - at home!

-- Send us your thoughts for online creativity and fun! The more
ideas we find or receive, the more we will have to publish! --
let us bring you comfort & joy:
a note from the monadnock region arts community
The Arts Alive! website has an artblog. You will find
this op/ed there along with other stories of interest.
Right now, people are turning to the arts. One obvious reason is that they have the time - the time to listen, watch, learn to make or play.

Another is that the arts bring joy and comfort. 

Arts organizations are keeping doors open for folks to access the arts, continuing to support staff/employees, continuing to support art-making - all in new ways. Monadnock area arts organizations are still here - and they want to serve the community by bringing that joy and comfort and even a bit of positive distraction to everyone in our community...
CARES act funding:
NH grants available starting May 1
In April, Congress passed the  Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)  which provided the  National Endowment for the Humanities  (NEH) $75 million in supplemental funding to assist cultural institutions and humanists affected by the coronavirus. Congress and the NEH recognize that state humanities organizations are uniquely positioned to assist in dispersing this emergency funding.
 
Approximately  40 percent, or $30 million, was allocated to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities organizations to support grants to eligible entities for humanities programming and general operating support.  The remaining 60 percent, or $45 million, will be managed by the NEH.
 
New Hampshire Humanities (NHH) is scheduled to receive $370,200 in CARES Act funds to provide  General Operating Support Grants  to New Hampshire’s cultural sector. Grants will range in size from $2,500 to $10,000 and are intended for New Hampshire-based humanities and cultural nonprofits and public libraries with annual budgets of $500,000 or less.

Visit NHH below for more information!
staying connected:
regular engagement
The Peterborough Arts Collective Monthly Meetup goes virtual!
While there is no perfect replacement for getting together in person, it is helpful to see faces and hear voices of colleagues and friends! Arts Alive! is happy to support the Peterborough Arts Collective with a virtual gathering space at the usual meeting time. Bring your self, your creative joy, your pandemic stories, and something you'd like to share. Connecting with others helps us know we are not alone in what we're feeling, what we're excited about, and what we're struggling with. Who knows, you may find connections, inspiration, and answers, or at least some solidarity.  

Email  office@monadnockartsalive.org  to receive the Zoom meeting invitation. You will need a computer or smartphone with the internet and the Zoom application, or you can simply call in to join the conversation.
Arts Nonprofits Virtual Meetup & Listserv!
Arts Alive! continues to host a virtual meetup every other week - Tuesdays at 2pm - with nonprofit arts organization staff in the Monadnock Region. This meetup is focused on arts organizations that have staff and are navigating the challenges of running their businesses and sustaining beyond the pandemic. The listserv is a place to share resources, articles and ideas that will help these arts leaders think about and plan for the future and manage current challenges. For organizations not yet on the listserv or receiving meetup invites - if you would like to be included, please email  office@monadnockartsalive.org
Seeking Volunteers!
If you have extra time, and a bit of creativity and inspiration, we are seeking volunteers to host meetups, lead mini creative workshops, share and promote our arts events newsletter (currently promoting online events), and support community-building. Please be in touch if you would like to be involved:  office@monadnockartsalive.org .
Arts Spotlight:
stories from the pandemic
Arts Alive! collects and shares the stories of the arts community in the Monadnock region. In this account, we hear from Taryn Fisher. In June 2019, she opened the League of NH Craftsmen store on Central Square in downtown Keene. Artists rely on League of NH Craftsmen stores to provide an upscale gallery to present, market, and sell their work. Taryn shared with us the struggles and joys of operating her store and not being able to interact with her customers and artists.
wkbk radio saturday morning:
sound off with Chris Coates
On April 4, Arts Alive! Executive Director, Jessica Gelter, joined others to discuss the arts during this isolated time on Sound Off, a weekly radio program on WKBK hosted by Chris Coates. If you missed the program you can still hear Jessica's discussion with Chris!
online coaching:
May 1, 11
This week Arts Alive! supported an artist with limited access to the internet to apply for two separate artist relief funds - one through the NH State Council on the Arts and one through Creative Capital, a national group offering a competitive relief grant program.  How can we help you?  

By appointment on Zoom or Telephone
  • May 1, 10am - 3pm
  • May 11, 12pm - 4pm
keene art walk 2020:
popular event is still planned!
Arts Alive! is involved in the planning of Keene ArtWalk. At the latest meeting, the decision was made to continue with the event with as many businesses and artists as are able to participate. The committee may be changing the dates slightly to accommodate making the event more accessible and safe. We are building a health and safety plan and thinking about how to make other changes to the event to ensure it meets guidelines and expectations laid out both by the government and local health workers who are heroically serving on the front lines.
Please stay tuned!
ewing arts awards:
will still happen this year!
Nominations for these annual awards are open through midnight, May 15!

Self nominations are encouraged!

The Ewing Arts Awards recognize artists and organizations of excellence in the Monadnock region. The definition of art is broad - from film-makers to architects to musicians to traditional crafts, and more. The award also recognizes arts presenters of excellence. There are additional categories for lifetime achievement and community engagement and this year we have added an award for an arts advocate - someone who is taking a stand to create positive change around how arts are valued. The awards are named in honor of the late Ruth and James Ewing, who made many contributions to the local arts community through their stewardship of The Keene Sentinel and through personal philanthropy.  

Since there will be no in person awards event this year, winning artists will be invited to be recognized at the 2021 Ewing Arts awards celebration. In addition, this year, individual videos or a montage of winners' in a single video will be featured on  www.sentinelsource.com  in July.

other resources:
arts alive! is here for you!


Some good news about the Stimulus ! The package includes $75 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to distribute to arts & culture nonprofits. Visit NH State Council on the Arts to stay updated

Unemployment has been extended to self-employed folks! Get your application in today - you can do it online. The system may not have been caught up to the new laws, so if you get an immediate denial message, have patience someone will follow up with you via phone or email with a new special worksheet to fill out so they can get your unemployment account moving. Learn more

Workshare - a NH program to help organizations cut employee hours without full layoffs, but also allows those employees to collect partial unemployment. Learn more   

SBA Emergency "Loans" for nonprofits, businesses & sole-proprietors - The CARES Act has opened up emergency loans for operations & payroll that may convert to grants if certain criteria is met. Learn more  

Equity, Inclusion, and Care: The US Department of Arts & Culture (a non-government organization) has this great and insightful blog post with resources on who to consider equity, accessibility and care for all of those that benefit from the arts. Here.

Even Arts Alive! needs some guidance in this crisis. See Americans for the Arts fantastic webinar .  
arts alive! is supported by:

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Hoffman Family Foundation
Eppes Jefferson Foundation
Putnam Foundation
Savings Bank of Walpole
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Carl & Ruth Jacobs
The Keene Sentinel
The City of Keene, NH
Southwest Regional Planning Commission
Dew Construction Corporation
Tom & Barbara Putnam
The Arts Alive! Board of Directors
Arts Alive! Members & Creative Businesses
And our greater community of donors!