BRATTLEBORO — All businesses face challenges during an economic downturn, but both the local and national arts scenes have been particularly affected. Perhaps that's because many who would otherwise patronize the cultural activities in a better economy consider such expenses a luxury and not of significant importance, therefore considering activities such as music, theatre, and visual arts optional.
This drop in arts-related activity also leads to job cuts for many theaters, museums, and arts organizations (especially nonprofits) around the country who not only lose patrons, but often state and national funding as well.
One local example is the the Windham Art Gallery, a program of the Arts Council of Windham County and the oldest continuously operated art cooperative in New England, which has closed its doors at 69 Main St. on April 26 after 20 years.
With fewer patrons comes less public interest and less funding, forcing arts organizations to make dramatic program cuts or, like the art gallery, closing altogether.
Enter the Vermont Arts Council (VAC) with a new program, the Art Jobs Grant.
Introduced in February by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Art Jobs Grant was created to help boost the national arts economy through the creation and protection of arts-related jobs, as well as investing in various key, national arts priorities.
This particular act both understands and acknowledges the importance of the nonprofit arts industry both on a state and national level. With this new act, the NEA recently distributed $19.8 million nationally and awarded the VAC a $250,000 grant to distribute in turn to various arts organizations throughout the state, especially in support of those projects that concentrate on the preservation of arts-related jobs. The grant should allow the VAC to assist 20-30 organizations throughout the state.
Who can apply for the Art Job Grant program? Any Vermont-registered, not-for-profit organization that has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, complies with all the legal requirements for state grant recipients, and has submitted all required reports on previous council grants received in the past.
Arts organizations that qualify may also apply for other grants through the NEA or the New England Foundation for the Arts. These grants will be awarded in $5,000 amounts to arts organizations with annual budgets of up to $150,000, and grants up to $10,000 are awarded to organizations with budgets of $150,000 and over. These grants are also non-matching, meaning the recipient is not required to contribute an amount equal to the grant from other funding sources.
The types of not-for-profit organizations and projects these grants will fund include salary support for jobs that are critical to an organization's existence and are either in jeopardy of being eliminated or have already been lost because of the current economy. The program will also grant fees for previously engaged artists of contracted work to maintain or expand already-existing projects.
The specific guidelines were posted on the VAC Web site (vermontartscouncil.org), which began accepting applications on April 17 and will take them through May 13. Successful applicants will be notified on July 30.