HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Wednesday night, Arts Huntsville, with support from The Pei Ling Charitable Trust, celebrated the vibrant pulse of Huntsville's arts scene by honoring the 2024 Arts & Cultural Grant program recipients. Now in its twelfth year, the program awarded grants to 22 Huntsville nonprofit arts organizations, fueling their community programming.
The Huntsville City Council awarded $300,000 in pass-through grant funding as part of the City’s FY24 budget, and eligible local arts organizations completed detailed grant applications in the fall of 2023. A citizen-grant panel with experience in varied artistic disciplines and representative of each of Huntsville’s five City Council districts reviewed the applications. The FY24 Arts & Cultural grant panel included: Kim Davis, District 1; Peggy Bilbro, District 2; Anna Castellanos, District 3; Lee Roop, District 4; and Wayne Bucknor, District 5. The panel convened in meetings in November and December 2023 to assess the grants and allocate the available City grant funds to eligible applicants.
One of the grant recipients is Theatre Huntsville. “Theatre Huntsville couldn't do what we do without the support of grants from places like Arts Huntsville,” said Larkin Plaks, Theatre Huntsville Marketing Manager.
“Vibrant, thriving cities are home to a dynamic arts community, and tonight we celebrate Huntsville’s innovative and growing arts and entertainment scene. A record number of Huntsville residents and visitors are engaging with the arts thanks in large part to the Huntsville Arts & Cultural Grant Program, and this year’s grant-funded projects are projected to serve over 180,000 children and adults in 2024,” said Allison Dillon-Jauken, Arts Huntsville Executive Director.
Andrew Willmon, the Executive Director of Broadway Theatre League, says the arts gave him a lot, “I was eight years old. I was lost. I was alone as a kid, and I needed a place to go. And the theater gave me a home.”
Wednesday's State of the Arts celebration featured Keynote speaker Allison Dillon-Jauken, Executive Director of Arts Huntsville, with special remarks from Huntsville City Mayor Tommy Battle. The celebration also marked several pivotal moments.
As part of the State of the Arts event, Arts Huntsville announced Huntsville’s new Arts IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) Grant Program. This $25,000 initiative, funded through the City of Huntsville’s FY24 budget, focuses on growing and supporting community-driven, neighborhood-based, culturally diverse, inclusive, and accessible arts programming. Arts Huntsville is working with the City of Huntsville's DEI and Music Offices to implement this new grant program. "This innovative new funding initiative focuses on nurturing diverse, inclusive, and accessible arts experiences across Huntsville neighborhoods” stated Patrice Johnson, Arts Huntsville’s Arts Equity, Marketing and PR Manager. “We are excited to partner with the City's DEI and Music Offices to support expanded access to arts experiences throughout the city.”
Arts IDEA grant applications of $1,000 to $4,000 will open on January 25, 2024. Applications will be reviewed in March, May, July, September, November, and January annually until all funds are expended for the year.
The State of the Arts program also included research findings from Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 national economic impact study (AEP6). Data from Arts Huntsville and area nonprofit arts organizations revealed the sector’s significant economic and social impact in Huntsville/Madison County. Over 1.7 million annual attendees at nonprofit arts and cultural events in Huntsville/Madison County generate over $164.1 million in annual economic activity, supporting 2,169 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $9.1 million in local and state government revenues, according to the AEP6 study. The report further highlighted the arts' role in fostering community pride, with 85% of respondents stating their programs and venues "inspire a sense of pride in this neighborhood or community." Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, and is the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States.
"The arts mean business in Huntsville and Madison County. Tonight's celebration underscores our community’s dedication to nurturing its vibrant arts scene. Investment in the arts not only enriches lives but also fuels economic growth and fosters a strong sense of community and belonging. Through initiatives like the Huntsville Arts & Cultural Grant and Arts IDEA Grant Programs and the AEP6 study, Huntsville embraces the arts as a vital force for a thriving future," remarked Dillon-Jauken.
And as the arts are celebrated here in the Rocket City, know there's a space for you and your own creativity.
“Be good to yourself, be good to your art and make it. Because if it's in you, if it came to you, it is supposed to come through you. And trust me, the world needs it,” said Jahni the Artist.