Macon Arts Alliance one of 69 National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grantees selected nationwide
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced 69 Our Town awards totaling almost $5 million through the Our Town program’s fifth year of funding. Macon Arts Alliance is one of those recommended organizations and will receive $134,370 to support an artist residency program and cultural plan for Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village. The NEA received 275 applications for Our Town this year and will make grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000.
The Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. Since the program’s inception in 2011 and including these projects, the NEA will have awarded 325 Our Town grants totaling almost $26 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
Macon Arts Alliance will use NEA Our Town grant award funds to support a two-year artist residency program in Mill Hill, hiring both local artists and nationally recognized, social practice artists to create projects in collaboration with neighborhood residents. The artist residency program will empower artists and neighbors to fight blight, identify and develop existing creative assets, and create a neighborhood cultural plan with a shared vision for the future. Collaboration is a foundation of the Mill Hill strategy. This grant award is possible because of the support of partners serving on the Mill Hill steering committee; the Mayor and Commission; the Urban Development Authority; Strong Cities, Strong Communities; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; and neighborhood partners.
“Macon Arts Alliance demonstrates the best in creative community development and whose work will have a valuable 
impact on its community,” said Chairman Chu. “Through Our Town funding, arts organizations continue to spark vitality that support neighborhoods and public spaces, enhancing a sense of place for residents and visitors alike.”
“The NEA’s Our Town awards are some of its most competitive and ambitious. We’re excited to have this award to support programming as a catalyst for the Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village,” said Jan Beeland, executive director of Macon Arts Alliance. “This is only the beginning of what we believe will be the next great neighborhood revitalization story of Macon.”
“I’m delighted that the Macon Arts Alliance is receiving national recognition and support for their efforts to directly attack blight in a neighborhood using an arts-based approach to community development,” says Macon-Bibb County Mayor Reichert. “We know that, in order to turn around our neighborhoods, we must move beyond just demolishing houses; we have to work with organizations like the Macon Arts Alliance to identify and move forward innovative solutions that will strengthen communities.”
“We are very excited about our partnership with Macon Arts Alliance to bring a new model of neighborhood revitalization to Macon. The arts are a critical part of economic and community development and it is very exciting that this project is able to move forward in such a robust way,” said Alex Morrison, executive director of the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority. “We are thrilled with this announcement and cannot wait to get moving.”
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov. Project descriptions, grants listed by state and by project type, and resources are available as well. The NEA’s online resource, Exploring Our Town, features case studies of more than 70 Our Town projects along with lessons learned and other resources.
The Twitter hashtag is #NEAOurTown15
About Macon Arts Alliance
The mission of the Macon Arts Alliance is to foster and support the advancement of arts and culture in Central Georgia. We strive to be an innovative leader of a diverse and thriving arts community as well as a strategic partner in creating an open, inclusive, and vibrant place for artists, arts organizations, residents, businesses, and tourists. Macon Arts Alliance is the designated local arts agency of Macon-Bibb County.
