AthFest, Leisure Services get Arts Council grant money

AthFest and the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department are among the 135 organizations around the state that will share in more than $1 million in grant money from the Georgia Council for the Arts. 

From the Ga Council for the Arts…

The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) today announced the recipients of its Partner, Project and Arts Education grants for fiscal year 2020. One hundred and thirty-five organizations throughout the state were collectively awarded more than $1 million in funding. Funding for operating support (Partner Grant) was awarded to 73 organizations across the state, support for arts projects (Project Grant) was awarded to 20 organizations, and 42 organizations received the Arts Education Program Grant.

Funds awarded by Georgia Council for the Arts include appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“The grants awarded by Georgia Council for the Arts represent critical partnerships between the arts organizations and artists in communities throughout the state to advance access to and the impact of arts programs in communities throughout Georgia,” said GCA executive director Karen Paty. “The commitment to community and the execution of high quality arts programs demonstrated by all of our grant applicants overwhelms our peer review panels each year. And while we are not able to fund each applicant, it is evident that organizations across the state are offering exceptional arts programs in support of education, community development and economic development. The staff and Board of GCA celebrate that work in all 159 counties, whether or not we are financially able to support it.”

Georgia Council for the Arts uses Peer Review Panels to adjudicate applications following National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) precedent. Panelists are GCA Council members and fellow professionals who are experienced in the arts discipline, familiar with the type of grant being reviewed, or are citizens with a record of arts activities, experience, and knowledge. Grant recipients include theaters, dance companies, museums, cities, colleges and multi-discipline arts entities.