PELHAM — The Pelham Cultural Council is once again seeking funding proposals for community-oriented arts, humanities and science programs.
With an Oct. 16 deadline, interested organizations, schools and individuals are encouraged to apply for grants that support these types of cultural activities in the community.
Council co-chairs Tony Maroulis and John Page shared that these grants can support a variety of artistic projects and activities in Pelham or the Amherst-Pelham public schools — including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies or performances in schools, workshops and lectures. Page added with Pelham being the small community it is, the heart of the community is its elementary school.
“That’s always a top priority for us,” Page said on using a portion of this funding toward beneficial activities and programs for children. “We do also encourage all types of visual art, or live music, but there’s lots of different projects whether it be history or science.”
This year the Pelham Cultural Council will distribute about $7,500 in direct-funding grants. Previously funded projects and performers included an engineering and tinkering workshop for children, support for a local ballet studio, a multimedia, multilocation community art and place making celebration called Picturing Pelham, and to much success, a summer youth theater program.
Page added these past events have led to great resident turnout as the programs are educational and often beneficial for the heart of the community: its youth.
“I think they got 70 or 80 people that came out to watch the performance this summer [for the summer youth theater program],” Page said. “That’s a big swatch of our community. That’s when we get together, see each other and really build community. Otherwise, it’s a little bit rural — we’re all in our corner — but it’s events like these that bring people together and get people to gather.”
Funding priorities this year for the council include arts programs serving residents of Pelham and (K-12) students and their families in the Pelham and Amherst Regional Public School System, projects celebrating Pelham’s history, culture and environment, programs featuring Pelham visual and performing artists, writers, musicians, scientists, historians or other subject area experts, or any programs featuring global prospectives.
“Something from around the world that can bring something new to the residents of Pelham,” Page added.
For questions or additional information about the Pelham Cultural Council you can email pelhamculture@gmail.com. Application forms and more information about the Local Cultural Council Program are available online at massculturalcouncil.org.
The Pelham Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 local cultural councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the state. The LCC program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and the humanities every year. The state Legislature provides an annual appropriation to Mass. Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.
Page added that the Cultural Council hopes to have selected the projects they will support with their funding before the end of the year, but will have awardees selected by the January deadline at the latest.
