By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) The City of Greenfield has been awarded a $15,000 “Making It Public” art grant. The grant is from the New England Foundation for the Arts in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Arts and Culture Department and will be used to create temporary public art in Greenfield.
“Public art not only creates a sense of place and community, but also contributes to the economic vitality and vibrancy of Greenfield,” said Community and Economic Development Director MJ Adams. “Greenfield has done great with the bee sculptures and murals throughout downtown, and there’s more to explore about Greenfield and celebrate through art. This grant will give the City the resources it needs to engage and showcase the work of our local artists.”
Included with the grant award is a five-week virtual training for the grant administrators in order to “strengthen local capacity to support, create and promote more vibrant and just public art.” The Greenfield Community and Economic Development Department will be administering the City’s grant award and Crossroads Cultural District Chair Caitlin von Schmidt and Christian LaPlante of the Greenfield Community and Economic Development Department will attend the training.
There will also be a workshop offered for Massachusetts artists, “equipping artists in the region to be better prepared at responding to calls for temporary public art projects.”