State Grants May Aid Newtown’s Future Arts Commission

By Shannon Hicks

Members from the former Newtown Cultural Arts Ad Hoc Committee, along with representatives from some of the town’s established arts groups, met with a representative from the Connecticut Arts Commission on Monday with the hope that some money from the state’s coffers might find its way into Newtown in the near future.

The meeting had been scheduled a few weeks ago, prior to a January 18 Legislative Council meeting during which the ordinance subcommittee accepted the selectmen’s unanimous endorsement to formally establish a Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC).

The approval to form NCAC may come as soon as the council’s February 1 meeting, but members of Newtown’s already-established arts organizations know how difficult it can sometimes be to fund special programs, concerts, and public events. With that in mind, members of the former ad hoc committee — who are potentially going to remain involved in the arts commission if it becomes a reality — are already thinking about their funding.

John Cusano, the community development coordinator from The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism (CCT), offered information and answered questions in the lower meeting room at Newtown Meeting House on January 23.

“We, the state, want to support the local arts infrastructure,” Mr Cusano said. Having been born and raised in Connecticut, he added, “I know how difficult it can be to maintain a [local arts agency].”

Attendees on Monday afternoon included Brigette Sorensen, an artist and the co-chairman/secretary of the former cultural arts ad hoc committee; Lincoln Sander, representing Newtown Historical Society; Caroline Stokes, representing Newtown Meeting House; Laura Lerman, Newtown Choral Society; Jeanine Greaves, Virginia Zic, and Eileen Hanson, artists and members of The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN); Ellen Parrella, Newtown Friends of Music; and Paula Stephan, a member of the former cultural arts ad hoc committee.

Mrs Sorensen set up the meeting between the members of artistic groups and Mr Cusano after learning about a series of “Show Me The Money” seminars Mr Cusano had presented last fall on behalf of CCT.

When Mrs Sorensen mentioned that she “felt it had been unfortunate that our ad hoc members had not been able to attend any of those programs,” Mr Cusano told the group that in fact three of the five scheduled seminars had been snowed out. It was to Newtown’s benefit, then, that Mrs Sorensen had taken the initiative to invite Mr Cusano in for a presentation.

The early part of Mr Cusano’s presentation on Monday offered an explanation of the recent restructuring of CCT into four divisions: Art, Film, History, and Tourism. Mr Cusano is the community development coordinator for the art division.

He offered information about grants that will be available to NCAC after it has been up and running for at least two years, but also presented information about grants that may be accessed now by established organizations such as Newtown Friends of Music and Newtown Choral Society.

One such program is the Organizational Support Program (OSP), which offers funding designed to advance the mission of arts organizations and support a broad range of arts programs in the state. OSP is the largest grant program for the arts in Connecticut. It has an annual budget of between $1.6 and $1.8 million, with organizations receiving anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000.

Only So Much Money

Mr Cusano said that 168 organizations applied for money out of that program last year, and he expects that number to increase to at least 180 groups this year.

“We have only so much money to give out, and not everyone who applies for grants receives money,” he cautioned. “We wish we had a lot more money in that pool.”

Another suggestion: Arts organizations registered as 501(c)(3) nonprofits are eligible to apply for funding for General Operating Support (GOS), to assist with administrative and/or artistic expenses.

One pilot program that some of Newtown’s organizations may be able to take advantage of now is the Local Arts Agency (LAA) program, which is designed to nurture and support local arts agencies as CCT regional partners.

“We have in Connecticut a sketchy, spotty landscape of LAAs,” said Mr Cusano. Two of the best known, and largest, councils in the state are Greater New Haven Arts Council and Hartford Arts Council.

Application deadline for LLA is February 7, and Mr Cusano said he expects a small number of applicants, even perhaps a dozen or fewer.

In order to be eligible, groups must be nonprofit organizations or local governmental agencies with at least a two-year history of public service and/or programming.

The budget for that program totals $215,000.

Eligible LAAs can apply for Partnership Agreements, which would support services and programs that advance one or more of CCT’s strategic goals, those being Service (providing services to the field), Promotion (promoting the arts and the cultural life in Connecticut communities), and Network (linking together cultural communities and/or creating cultural and tourism partnership networks).

Also new are Culture & Tourism Grants, which will be smaller in scale ($3,000 maximum awards) and will create partnerships between arts and nonarts (tourism) agencies.

“Some great partnerships have already been created with this program, and we hope to see more in the future,” said Mr Cusano. “This is a great program, with a simple application… but that’s in state jargon,” he said after his comment brought a few snickers from the group.

“We’re really trying to streamline the application process,” he continued.

Creative Collaborations Grants, which will help organizations have the capacity to hire a teaching artist to put into a school setting, were also discussed. These grants, which offer “up to about $3,000,” said Mr Cusano, would help set up a residency, not a “one-shot deal, like a workshop.”

Finally, Mr Cusano said that if a group’s application is rejected there are ways that applicants can find out how to better represent themselves in following years. A Peer Advisor Network has been created by CCT, which allows applicants to meet with a peer advisor (which Mr Cusano also happens to be) for a short-term consultation.

According to the ordinance draft presented during the January 18 Legislative Council meeting, the purpose of the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission will be to “stimulate, facilitate, coordinate and cooperate with existing organizations for the development of the arts.” The commission is intended to serve as an information center and focal point in the community for activities in the arts.

Pending the approval of the ordinance by the full council, the Cultural Arts Commission may be seated and functioning as early as mid-February.