MOULTRIE — The Arts Center of Moultrie has been awarded a total of $100,000 from two grants that are earmarked for building improvements.

The arts center is one of 87 entities to receive a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts for the 2024 fiscal year, and it was also awarded a grant from the Fox Theatre Institute, which is the Community Partnership arm of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. According to a press release from the Georgia Council for the Arts, the $50,000 Cultural Facilities Grant is designated to support capital improvements to or construction of buildings to be used for arts programming. “We are grateful for GCA’s ongoing support,” says Arts Center interim executive director Jenny Dell. “The Arts Center’s facility is an important historical landmark in Colquitt County, and funds from this grant will further preserve our building.”

Funding for these grants is provided through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. This year, Cultural Facilities grant awards are also supported by funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). More than $1.45 million in funding will be awarded in 59 counties in Georgia.

“The need for arts funding is greater than it has ever been, and these grants will allow Georgia arts organizations to focus on their mission, enhance downtowns, and support small businesses,” said Georgia Council for the Arts Director Tina Lilly. “We’re grateful for the support that the Georgia General Assembly is providing for our arts organizations and the communities they touch.”

The Fox Theatre Institute (FTI) grant, which is also $50,000, will be used to convert the education wing of the building into a variety of needed support spaces including costume, prop and dressing rooms.

“With FTI’s grant of $50,000 we can continue to provide top-notch theater instruction and performances,” said Dell.

FTI, which is based in Atlanta, offers programming, consulting and grant funding assistance to historic theaters and structures throughout Georgia. It also manages a variety of outreach initiatives. “Now in our 15th year, FTI has had a tremendous opportunity to increase not only the preservation of historic theaters, but to see positive results for the ongoing economic and cultural impact created in their surrounding downtowns. We have many exciting plans for the next 15 years and look forward to continuing investing, but also expanding, the footprint of programs here at the Fox,” said Leigh Burns, director of the Fox Theatre Institute.