Through the Michigan Arts & Culture Council (MACC) Minigrant Program, LowellArts granted awards of $34,500 for ARTS PROJECTS to sixteen local arts and cultural organizations and $9,000 for PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT to six organizations and five artists.

LowellArts serves as one of the regional regranting agencies for the MACC for the counties of Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo and Osceola.

For the Fiscal Year 2024 LowellArts received thirty grant applications for ARTS PROJECTS, with a total of $107,326 in requests and $34,500 awarded. Organizations could request up to $4,000 for locally developed, high quality arts and cultural projects, which are special opportunities to address local arts and cultural needs and increase public access to arts and culture. These grants support a broad range of artistic expression from all cultures through projects which preserve, produce or present traditional or contemporary arts and culture and arts education.

The following twenty-two organizations received ARTS PROJECTS awards:

ORGANIZATION                                                                  COUNTY                   GRANT AWARD

Big Rapids Festival of the Arts                                              Mecosta                    $1,880

Croton Township Library                                                       Newaygo                    $  546

Cultivate Arts and Education                                                 Kent                           $1,880

DisArt                                                                                     Kent                           $1,880

Earful of Fiddle Music and Dance Camp                              Mecosta                    $1.540

Genevieve and Donald’s Gilmore Foundation                      Barry                         $1.880

Grand Rapids Swing Dance                                                  Kent                           $1,880

Grand River Watershed Arts and Music Council                 Kent                           $1,680

Hope Network – Big Rapids                                                 Mecosta                    $1,540

Lake County Historical Society                                              Lake                          $1,680

Mecosta Osceola Intermediate School District                     Mecosta                    $1,540

Newaygo Area District Library                                               Newaygo                   $1,680

Project ESME                                                                        Kent                           $1,680

Rockford Community Orchestra                                            Kent                           $1,260

San Juan Diego Academy                                                     Kent                           $1,128

Sparta Area Schools                                                             Kent                           $1,128

Sparta Community Works                                                     Kent                           $1,540

The Vagrancy                                                                        Kent                           $1,529

Vox GR                                                                                  Kent                           $1,880

West Michigan Bluegrass Festival                                        Kent                           $1,680

West Michigan Flute Association                                          Kent                           $1,529

Wyoming Public Schools                                                       Kent                          $1,540

In addition, LowellArts received eighteen grant application for PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, with a total of $24,230 in requests and $9,000 awarded. Organizations and professional artists could ask for up to $1,500 to support a variety of nonprofit organizational and individual needs, which strengthen the capacity of the organization or artist. These dollars can be used to attend conferences, workshops, seminars or to hire short-term consultants.

The following twelve organizations / artists received PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT awards:

ORGANIZATION / ARTIST                                                 COUNTY                   GRANT AWARD

Alby Blazo – Artist                                                                 Kent                            $  680

Arts Rockford                                                                         Kent                            $  773

Danielle Wyckoff – Artist                                                       Kent                            $  826

DisArt                                                                                    Kent                            $  675

Grand Rapids Cable Access Center                                    Kent                            $  773

Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus                                            Kent                           $1,050

Lowell Area Historical Museum                                             Kent                            $  425

Lowell Area Schools                                                              Kent                            $  675

Mandy Cano Villalobos – Artist                                             Kent                            $  762

Shannon Pinkster – Artist                                                      Barry                          $  261

Vox GR                                                                                  Kent                           $1,050

West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology                   Kent                           $1,050

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LowellArts administers these grants through a regranting program through the Michigan Arts & Culture Council. The State of Michigan Minigrant Program is a partnership between the MACC and fifteen regional re-granting agencies throughout the state.