NSR awards over $2 million to grantees through Arts | Equity | Reimagined fund

Posted on by Alyse Horn

With the fourth and final round of Collective Action for Re-imagining (CAR) grants released, New Sun Rising has awarded a total of $2,090,190 to 23 collaborations between 97 arts organizations.

Under the Arts | Equity | Reimagined (AER) fund, the Collective Action for Re-imaging program was created to employ new, novel, and innovative ways of working together to address the dramatic shifts that have been instigated by the COVID-19 crisis, and that also addressed opportunities and solutions to reposition the arts sector for a more sustainable and equitable future. 

Twenty-six review panelists participated in recommending funding for 45%, or 23 out of 51, proposals submitted to the program. Out of the funded proposals, 52% were led by BIPOC. The Covid-19 Arts Working Group (CAWG) ultimately approved the recommendations at the end of each grant cycle.

New Sun Rising believes that the AER-CAR grantees represent the largest investment focused on collective action and equity ever made into the Pittsburgh metro area’s arts ecosystem.

The locations of the funded projects include: City of Pittsburgh (14), Allegheny County (5), Beaver County (2), Westmoreland County (1), Cambria County (1).

The nonprofits that received funding in the final round include:

  • Lead Organization: The Legacy Arts Project
    • Funded: $100,000
    • Hotline Ring is a shared, virtual fundraiser presented on July 15 that brings together the aligned missions of seven arts and culture organizations led by and/or in community with Queer, Trans, and/or People of Color to create an opportunity for giving thsat has an enourmous impact in our region.
  • Lead Organization: Block Chronicles
    • Funded: $100,000
    • Block Chronicles and Casa San Jose are collaborating to develop the PGH Latinx Artist Residency (P-LAR), a 10-month opportunity for emerging Latinx artists in Allegheny County, who will receive support in career development and sustainability.
  • Lead Organization: Bloomfield/Garfield Corporation / BOOM Concepts
    • Funded: $100,000
    • BOOM Concepts and Black Unicorn Library & Archives Project will formalize their 7 year partnership by identifying ways to uplift, overlap, and assimilate best practice of both entities in efforts to present a stronger unified program and production portfolio.
  • Lead Organization: Touchstone Center for Crafts
    • Funded: $100,000
    • The Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE Project) will be a scalable model to bring creativity-driven, COVID-19 responsive, economic development to rural areas across western Pennsylvania and beyond; meeting creatives where they are in their artistic career journeys and offering multiple levels of support and resources to achieve business stability.
  • Lead Organization: Pittsburgh School for the Choral Arts (dba Pittsburgh Girls Choir)
    • Funded: $75,000
    • The establishment of a formal and permanent affiliation between Pittsburgh Girls Choir and the Pittsburgh Camerata for the purpose of sharing administrative leadership, staff and other resources in order to enhance community connections, programming and outreach. 
  • Lead Organization: Neighborhood North Museum of Play
    • Funded: $74,325
    • Playful Learning Initiative will strengthen the community by connecting the arts and education ecosystems to benefit both artists and students. They will activate a group of Teaching Artists and install educational art to make learning through the arts accessible to all, especially in communities of color heavily impacted by COVID-19.

For more information about AER, click here.