Spruill deepens statewide connections through grant program

Artists hard at work in a wheel-throwing class Photo courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts As you re presumably aware Georgia ranks dead last in the country for arts funding and artists have been in this perpetual struggle to find funding for their projects Spruill Center for the Arts CEO Alan Mothner reported No stranger to the plight of nonprofits and artists Mothner is proud to present the new Larch Creative Fund grant opportunity open to creatives across the state Funding is imperative for artists to grow find success and continue to do their work he disclosed The Spruill Center for the Arts reported the grant during their th anniversary party and th Artistic Affair event on March Spruill informed their new branding and logo at Artistic Affair last month This grant opportunity seeks to promotion artists collaborations and nonprofit organizations as they complete innovative projects in a variety of media and forms The call seeks projects that inspire creativity and society connections through accessible engagement with the arts The Larch Creative Fund was born out of love and loss When one of Spruill s long-term instructors lost her brother and became executor of his estate the question of what to do with his support came into focus As a way to honor his memory she divided the allotment up into grants offered in various disciplines that he loved in life including the arts There is no pre-determined limit to the number of grantees who can win or the amounts that they request This keeps the call more flexible and could suit a larger organization for example tat might need a more funding in order to produce a bigger project Meanwhile an individual artist might need a smaller grant to fulfill a personal project By not determining the restrictions of the grant in advance Mothner hopes that applicants won t be afraid to submit a proposal that might otherwise be perceived as too big or too small We needed to be able to fund a variety of programs and projects based on size and scope he stated This grant is offered to artists and organizations across the entire state of Georgia Expanding Spruill s reach beyond the borders of Metro Atlanta lands squarely within their overarching vision Our mission is to foster creativity and social connection through the arts and so we have never really seen ourselves as just a Dunwoody or only Metro Atlanta arts organization Mothner mentioned The idea of going out to the whole state of Georgia was a very deliberate decision to try to reach communities that we haven t reached before Mothner reported me that Spruill s long-term strategic plan seeks to broaden their reach geographically into underserved communities across the state One idea he floated was a so-called Spruill Road Show in which the organization could package up their signature classes and enlist instructors to offer workshops in underserved communities across the state While still only in the idea stage the concept highlights Spruill s intention to be part of a more inclusive promotion system for artists in Atlanta and beyond Ribbon cutting at the expanded Spruill Center for the Arts in March and scenes from workshops where people can learn a variety of mediums Photos courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts Spruill Center for the Arts is at the moment accepting project proposals for the Larch Creative Fund through June A jury will then make determinations about grant allotment and notify grantees by June Submissions call for project summaries project proposals - images a video organization or artist bio and projected timeline milestones and budget Learn more and apply by June on the Spruill Center for the Arts website The post Spruill deepens statewide connections through grant initiative appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta