The Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) has awarded over $1.1 million in support to regional arts and culture organizations. The list of awardees includes fifteen Texas-based organizations that have received between $10,000 and $40,000 each. Organizations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska also received funding.
M-AAA is a nonprofit organization that strengthens communities by supporting arts and culture in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. These recent grants were awarded specifically to support day-to-day operating costs to help offset the economic hardship that arts organizations have faced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. M-AAA received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for these grants.
In the press release announcing the grants, Todd Stein, President and CEO of M-AAA, said, “The impacts of COVID-19 on the arts and creative sector have been tremendous. We are thankful to share these funds from the National Endowment for the Arts’ allocation from the American Rescue Plan with arts organizations to assist in their recovery from the ongoing pandemic.”
Here is a list of Texas recipients:
Capitol View Arts, Austin, TX: $20,000
Community Artists’ Collective, Houston, TX: $20,000
Community Music Center of Houston, Houston, TX: $40,000
East Lubbock Art House, Lubbock, TX: $10,000
Flatlands Dance Theater, Lubbock, TX: $10,000
Harris County Cultural Arts Council, Houston, TX: $20,000
India Fine Arts, Austin, TX: $20,000
Make Art with Purpose, Dallas, TX: $10,000
Museum of Human Achievement, Austin, TX: $40,000
Pegasus Media Project, Dallas, TX: $20,000
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Austin, TX: $20,000
Texans for the Arts, Austin, TX: $11,150
TILT, Austin, TX: $10,000
Trucha, McAllen, TX: $20,000
USA Film Festival, Dallas, TX: $10,000
The entrance of the Community Artists’ Collective in Houston, Texas.
Michelle Barnes, Executive Director of the Community Artists’ Collective, told Glasstire about the impact of her organization’s award: “The recent M-AAA grant will provide much needed additional financial support. By increasing our budget we are therefore enabled to pay artists and other creative individuals to facilitate programs that support our mission (to provide the educational and cultural link among African American artists and all communities inspiring unlimited creativity).”
She went on, saying, “Each of our program areas will benefit from the grant award in that we will be able to reach more youth for engagement in workshops after school and during Spring Break this fiscal year.”
Janeil Engelstad, Founding Director of Make Art with Purpose (MAP) in Dallas, shared with Glasstire how the M-AAA funds will be used by her organization. “With the advent of the pandemic, MAP adjusted our programs to align with our fundraising and budget. Working virtually allowed MAP to stay operational and contributed to our continued fiscal fitness. While this work has been meaningful and important, it has not replaced the value and positive impact of projects and programs delivered in person. The generous nature of the M-AAA grant, allowing MAP to direct funding where needed or wanted (in MAP’s case, 50% towards artist’s fees, 25% towards project production/operations and 25% towards administration) is helping to lay the foundation for our return to in person projects and productions in 2022. We are excited to launch three new, major projects, which will be announced in early February and are grateful to M-AAA for their support”
