Art on the Atlanta BeltLine Receives Grant Funding to Support Arts and Culture Programming
Art on the Atlanta BeltLine recently received $75,000 in grant funding to support arts and culture programming along the corridor. The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs awarded $50,000 to the annual exhibition from the Municipal Support for the Arts program. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) approved a Grants for Arts Projects award in the amount of $25,000.
Art on the Atlanta BeltLine, a part of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s Arts and Culture Department, is the largest outdoor, temporary art exhibition in the south. This $75,000 in grant funding will directly support the exhibition along 12 miles and in 20 communities surrounding the BeltLine corridor on the west, south, and east sides of Atlanta.
“People have come to expect a rich arts and culture experience when on the Atlanta BeltLine,” said Clyde Higgs, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. President and CEO. “Support from the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts continues to elevate Atlanta’s stature in the art world and supports the local arts economy.”
The Art on the Atlanta BeltLine linear gallery is a welcoming and accessible way for visitors to experience the multi-use trails. The exhibition represents artists from across Atlanta, the nation, and the world. Works are found in a variety of mediums—sculpture, murals, dance, music, theater, photography, fashion, film, and more.
The Art on the Atlanta BeltLine grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “Projects such as Art on the Atlanta BeltLine strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”
The Municipal Support for the Arts grant is the largest awarded to Art on the Atlanta BeltLine to date based on an increase to the grant budget by Mayor Andre Dickens to assist the arts community as it continues to recover from the effects of COVID.
“The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs has supported the Art on the Beltline program since its inception and are pleased that a community partner can expand opportunities for Atlanta’s talented artists community,” said Camille Love, Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
Funding is awarded to Art on the Atlanta BeltLine through the nonprofit Atlanta BeltLine Partnership.
“We are grateful for the generous support of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts,” said Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Executive Director Rob Brawner. “The public-private partnerships bring the Atlanta BeltLine vision to life by providing access to art for everyone through Art on the Atlanta BeltLine. We also thank Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. for its leadership, creating the south’s largest temporary public art exhibition.”
For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
Article courtesy of Metro Atlanta CEO, published February 14, 2023.