The Lafayette Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC) is pleased to announce the opening of the annual Arts in the Community-Grant cycle. The grants are available to local individuals and organizations for the 15th year in a row. The LCAC awards money, usually not exceeding $1000 per grant, to fund projects which will directly benefit the city and residents of Lafayette. Last year over $20,000 was awarded to projects which represented dance, music, visual arts, theater, poetry, film, festivals, and multi-media for children and adults. The grant application is available from the City of Lafayette website; www.cityoflafayette.com/grants. Grant applications deadline is September 10, 2018, with funds distributed in January 2019.
Last year Arts in Community supported Imagine’s Centre Stage for Kids, Motus Theater’s program “Law Enforcement Leaders Read DREAMER Stories”, Literature Out Loud/Opera on Tap, and the program “Toward Right Relationship with Native People”. Other grants have provided support to organizations such as WOW! Children’s Museum, Peanut Butter Players, Reverence Academy of Dance, Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema and Public Works Theatre Company.
The Lafayette Cultural Arts Commission looks for opportunities to collaborate with and/or provide support to community organizations to expand programming for the community. LCAC chair, Karen Raforth, highlighted that “Few people realize that the arts stimulates our city’s economy and enhances learning for our children- in addition to providing the ‘glue’ that helps keep our city thriving. Art grants support all residents-even if you are not a participant!”
According to Susan Booker, Director of Arts & Cultural Resources, more than 85 grants have been awarded for community art and cultural projects over the past 10 years. “This is a great opportunity for local artists and organizations to continue to build Lafayette’s creative, diverse and eclectic community. LCAC is in full support of this community identity and continues to nurture cultural endeavors in Lafayette.”
New Cultural Arts Commissioners this year, Jessica Manzanares, Lauren Spath Luhring, JD Mangat, and David Greene, are helping to spread the word and eager to support even more Lafayette artists. JD Mangat said, “We are trying to reach new Lafayette artists this year who may not realize how easy the grant is to complete. It is online in both Spanish and English.”
A total of more than $60,000 has been given out, helping to provide more than $400,000 worth of programming to the community. The Cultural Resources Division annually administers Arts in Community Grants and Arts in Education Grants, which provide funds for arts and cultural projects in local schools. Find out more about these comprehensive programs at www.cityoflafayette.com/culturalresources.