The OCA announced that it has received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grant comes in the form of the Our Town award. Since its inception in 2011, the Our Town program has funded placemaking projects all over the country to encourage the growth of art in communities. This year, the Our Town program awarded around $5 million in grant money to 69 applicants.
OCA will use the $50,000 grant for the development of the Atlanta Beltline Arts and Culture Strategic Implementation Plan. While this is not the first time that the Beltline has received some love from the NEA, the grant is significantly larger than what the organization has gotten in the past. OCA will partner with Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and Metropolitan Public Art Coalition to tackle the project. The implementation plan will enable strategic and coordinated development of cultural facilities and programs alike on the Beltline.
“We are thrilled to receive this award,” said OCA Executive Director, Camille Russell Love in a comment. “The facilities, partnerships and programs developed as a result of the implementation plan will add to the Atlanta Beltline’s identity as a creative place, improving the quality of life for citizens throughout the region and driving continued economic development through the arts.”
Now in the Our Town program’s fifth year of existence, the NEA has awarded 325 grants totaling almost $26 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
* This story was originally published on clatl.com.