Schumer Announces $30,000 for Ulster County Visual Arts
National Endowment For The Arts Grants Support Artist Residency Programs
Schumer: Federal Funds Will Allow Intense Study Of Visual Arts And Photography
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced $15,000 in federal funds for the Womens Studio Workshop and $15,000 for the Center for Photography at Woodstock. The groups will receive the funding through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Access to Artistic Excellence program. This program aims to foster and preserve excellence in the arts and increase access to the arts.
"It is important to encourage the growth of artists and Ulster County will benefit from the creativity that they will bring,@ Schumer said. Programs like these give us the opportunity to support artistic growth and appreciation.
The Womens Studio Workshop will use its funds to support residencies for arts at a print and paper making facility. Artists will be provided with a stipend, housing, studio space, technical and production assistance, a materials allowance and travel costs for an eightweek residency. The Workshop Artist in Residency program is designed to support artists of color residing in the United States with access to workspace, and critical and technical support.
The Center for Photography at Woodstock will use its federal money to support a residency program for photographers and a writer/critic. While in the program, the artists will have studio and darkroom access, provided equipment, an honorarium, lodging and meals for residencies of up to one month. The Center aims to operate and maintain an artists' workspace that encourages the voice and vision of individual women artists, to provide professional opportunities for artists and to promote programs designed to stimulate public involvement, awareness and support for the visual arts.
Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the NEA is dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts and bringing the arts to all Americans. Over 120,000 grants have brought art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities and military bases and have generated an average of seven dollars for each dollar awarded. Grants provided during FY 2006 will help support projects that involve the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work.
