Politics & Government
Dearborn Receives $75K Grant for Artspace Project
Funds will be used to continue the project's pre-development phase.
The City of Dearborn and Dearborn Community Fund have been awarded a $75,000 grant, the National Endowment for the Arts announced Thursday.
The grant is one of 80 Our Town grants being awarded across the nation, totaling a $4.995 million investment in arts-related development projects.
Dearborn's grant will be used toward the pre-development process involved with the endeavor to bring Artspace to Dearborn, a collective effort of the DCF, city officials, and the .
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Though the purchase agreement is not set, Artspace and city partners have expressed interest in making the current the project's permanent home.
Funding from this grant will help determine the next steps in that process.
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Dearborn Community Fund Director EmmaJean Woodyard explained that the grant is just one of many endowments the city is hoping to receive to help move the project along. Eventually, the partnership with Artspace is hoped to result in live-work space for local artists in Dearborn.
Woodyard said the DCF was happy to receive the funding.
"It's quite a thrill to get an NEA grant," she said. "They’re not easy to come by."
According to the NEA, "funded activities will include the selection of an underutilized building in an emerging and viable mixed-use area of downtown Dearborn, and conceptual and schematic design by an architectural consultant."
Through Our Town, the NEA supports creative "placemaking" projects that help transform communities into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. All Our Town grant awards were made to partnerships that consisted of a minimum of a not-for-profit organization and a local government entity.
"Cities and towns are transformed when you bring the arts—both literally and figuratively—into the center of them,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "From Teller, Alaska, to Miami, Florida, communities are pursuing creative placemaking, making their neighborhoods more vibrant and robust by investing in the performing, visual, and literary arts."
