ATLANTA — The Arts Center of Moultrie was awarded a Project Grant by Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This first-round grant funding for fiscal year 2024 includes a total of 269 grants across 47 counties in three funding categories, which range from COVID-19 recovery support to specific projects to educational programming.

“These vital funds bring life into communities all across the state. Music, theatre, dance, and visual art attract tourists, bring community members together, teach children self-confidence, revitalize downtowns, and more,” said Georgia Council for the Arts Executive Director Tina Lilly. “Through this program, GCA is able to support vibrant communities where people want to live and businesses want to locate.”

Connie Fritz, executive director of the Arts Center, described the Arts for All project this grant will support.

“We recognize that transportation and limited income are often the reason a person does not engage in the arts,” Fritz said. “Unfortunately, the arts have a stigma of being something only available to the affluent.

“Arts For All will directly address these issues by partnering with local churches and community leaders to identify sites, days of the week, and times, where workshops can be offered across the county to make these art education opportunities more accessible for all,” she continued. “The Arts Center will engage existing arts instructors as well as put out a call for additional instructors and hopes to offer up to four workshops across the county each month.”

The FY23 first-round funding includes Bridge, Project, and Arts Education grants. The Bridge Grant will provide funding for operating support to 162 nonprofit arts organizations, many of which may have been negatively affected by COVID-19. The Project Grant will help fund 44 single art projects, which may include an art exhibit, a theatre production, a series of children’s workshops, an artist residency, or may be used for capacity building projects, such as developing a strategic plan, creating a development plan, or providing professional development. The Arts Education Program Grant will be distributed to 63 organizations to support the arts in K-12 education, and may include a variety of disciplines, from visual art to music or theatre, to dance and creative writing.

Funds awarded by Georgia Council for the Arts include appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Georgia Council for the Arts uses Peer Review Panels to judge and review applications following standard practices set by the National Endowment for the Arts. Panelists are GCA Council members and fellow professionals who are experienced in the arts discipline or type of grant being reviewed, or are citizens with a record of arts activities, experience, and knowledge. Grant recipients include theaters, dance companies, museums, cities, colleges, and multi-discipline arts entities.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, arts and cultural production in Georgia account for $29.2 billion in the state, totaling 4.2% of Georgia’s economy, and accounting for more than 149,000 jobs.