City of Newburgh to Receive a $10,000 Art Works Grant

NEWBURGH – The City of Newburgh Arts & Cultural Commission has been awarded a $10,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the Newburgh Arts & Cultural Study. This project will conduct the City’s first study to inventory and assess the arts and cultural landscape.

Together with the recently re-launched Arts & Cultural Commission, the project will collect a benchmark of qualitative and quantitative data to reveal how arts and culture play a crucial role in our local economy and social wellbeing. The project will be guided by a group of stakeholders who will gather data and create an inventory of the broad range of arts and cultural activities and destinations in the City of Newburgh. They will conduct focus groups and engage residents from all neighborhoods and communities.

At the end of the project, the group intends to hold a public forum to elaborate on findings and further involve the community as it explores recommendations to guide how to collectively strengthen the arts and culture in the City.

“This recognition by the NEA speaks volumes about the role arts and culture already play in Newburgh; the potential for the future is very exciting. Through the new arts study, the residents of Newburgh will provide us with valuable information about our City, about the way our diverse cultures are expressed, and about how our communities can grow through these expressions,” The Newburgh Arts and Cultural Commission said in a statement.

“I share a deep affinity for the arts and continue to be inspired by the Newburgh arts community, as I believe arts and culture are important vehicles for social change… By promoting our city’s artist and cultural organizations, together we will build a more prosperous, safe, livable and sustainable city,” said City Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde of Ward 2 in a letter of endorsement.

To learn more about the project, the public can email newburghnyarts@gmail.com. The project website will launch in early February.

This grant is part of support from the National Endowment for the Arts for projects in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For information, visit www.arts.gov/news.