Portland nonprofit receives $250K to support working artists during pandemic
SPACE Gallery, a Portland nonprofit that supports contemporary artists in Maine, will receive $250,000 in pandemic relief funds from the federal government's American Rescue Plan.
SPACE is among 66 grantees across the country to be awarded a total of $20.2 million in funding through the National Endowment for the Arts. The emergency funding will be distributed to artists and organizations in the community to help the cultural sector recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is truly a dynamic moment for our organization as SPACE looks with optimism and curiosity toward the myriad opportunities this grant makes possible,” said Kelsey Halliday Johnson, the executive director of SPACE. “2022 is SPACE’s 20th anniversary, and we are excited to begin this milestone year with the privilege of committing more funds than ever to support artist projects throughout the state of Maine.”
The American Rescue Plan dedicated $135 million for arts agencies to distribute in their communities to eligible recipients to save jobs and to fund operations, facilities, safety supplies and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation.
In the first round of funding in April, NEA distributed 40% of its allocated funds to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The third installment of ARP funding to arts organizations to support their own operations will be announced in early 2022.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said the arts are a $1.5 billion industry in Maine, supporting thousands of jobs.
“Despite previous assistance from the CARES Act, our cultural institutions and arts community continue to face profound hardships as they work to recover,” Pingree said. “Arts organizations put the health of their communities first throughout the pandemic by shuttering their doors, suffering crushing financial hardship as a result.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, SPACE has been a crucial support to the arts community in Maine; they stepped up to raise and distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency relief grants to artists throughout the state. I’m so glad their effective work is recognized and supplemented by this much-needed funding."
Pingree chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, where she oversees the NEA and arts funding.
SPACE said it has made $284,500 available to Maine artists through project and relief grantmaking during the pandemic.
The organization also announced three new board members: artist Rachel Gloria Adams; Justine Ludwig, executive director of Creative Time; and Pablo Anaya, of the ACLU of Maine.
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