Intersection and WHP Receive New Funds

 

Congratulations to two Warhol Initiative organizations, Intersection for the Arts and Watts House Project. They were both given substantial awards from the new collaborative funding effort, ArtPlace.

From SFGate:

“Intersection for the Arts, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and three other Bay Area arts groups have received grants totaling more than $2.7 million from ArtPlace. A new approach to arts funding as an engine of economic development, ArtPlace combines funding from 11 of America’s largest foundations in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts and seven other federal agencies.

The grants, part of $11.5 million funding 34 projects across the country in ArtPlace’s first round, reflect “a growing realization that art can take a broader and more integrated role in economic and community change,” said Intersection Executive Director Deborah Cullinan.

Intersection received $777,000 to help fund its ongoing 5M Project (in partnership with Forest City Development), a prototype community of 2,000 entrepreneurs, technology companies and artists headquartered in The Chronicle building. Programs include large-scale public art projects, artist residencies and engaging local youth with 5M partners to address neighborhood issues.”

Read the full article here.

From the LA Times Culture Blog:

“The Watts House Project, in which artists lend their talents to community improvement, has landed a $370,000 grant that will enable it to finish converting three houses across the street from the Watts Towers into a headquarters it has dubbed “The Platform.”

The money comes from ArtPlace, a new program in which federal agencies led by the National Endowment for the Arts are working with leading charitable foundations to funnel private funds to projects in which artistic creation isn’t strictly an end in itself, but a neighborhood development tool deployed to generate economic opportunities while making communities more vibrant.

The first round of $11.5 million, announced last week, will fund 34 projects nationwide. For the Watts House Project, launched in 2008, it means the money is now in hand to finish renovating three houses on a single lot that it bought two years ago to serve as its operations base.”

Read the full article about Watts House Project here.