Thirteen local art, music and theater programs will get an influx of cash this year thanks to grant awards from the Scituate Cultural Council.
This year, the council will give $5,243 in grants to organizations that bring arts and humanities to local communities. The recipients are chosen by a board of volunteers appointed by the town, and each group applied to the council for consideration last year.
“We find it very important for our community to be able to not only express themselves through different art forms, but then for people to actually go and see what local artists are doing,” Sarah Smith, the council’s chair, said. “We as a group feel that it really enriches our experience and brings the community together. That’s really our goal – to bring to people together and support a wide array of programs.”
The money will go towards paying for Satuit Concert Band’s Summer Band Concerts; North River Arts Society’s 43rd Annual Festival of the Arts; Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2018-2019 concert season; Mass Audubon’s Your Neighborhood Fireflies program; Fuller Craft Museum’s SENSEation Days; Choral Art Society of the South Shore’s 2019 concerts; South Shore Art Center’s 64th Annual Arts Festival; Scituate CORSE Foundation’s music therapy programs for children with special needs; South Shore Perspectives storytelling performances; Scituate Art Association’s school vacation programs; Scituate Library’s drumming program; Pilgrim Festival Chorus’s 20th anniversary season; and South Shore Natural Science Center’s Water Watch lecture series.
“We look at how the program is going to affect Scituate, even though they aren’t always Scituate organizations that we support,” Smith said. “If we know our community members utilize these programs and go to these exhibits and events, we definitely consider that.”
The Scituate Cultural Council is one of 329 local cultural councils in Massachusetts. The state legislature annually gives money to the Mass Cultural Council, which then gives money to each community. Statewide, more than $3.3 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2019.
Programs funded by the council last year included the Scituate Council on Aging’s Community Drumming Circle program; The James Library’s “Robert Frost: Light and Dark” event; and the Cushing School’s “Ball in the House” a cappella concert.
For more information on how to apply for grants, visit mass-culture.org.
By Mary Whitfill
