CMW Awarded 2nd National Grant from ArtPlace America

Here at CMW we are celebrating the exciting news that we've been selected from among 1,270 applicants nationwide as one of 55 organizations to receive a major grant from ArtPlace America!

This award will be CMW's second grant from the program, having received one in 2012 from a similarly large field of applicants. With support from ArtPlace America during 2014-15, Community MusicWorks will expand its work by transforming its headquarters into an outward facing public space with deep community ties, as well as developing sustained partnerships with two nonprofit housing developers, S.W.A.P. and Olneyville Housing Corporation, to activate a decentralized network of storefront art spaces in the low-income communities of South Providence, the West End, and Olneyville. This work will include lively musical happenings on the streets and sidewalks, storefronts, restaurants, and other underused community spaces, bringing people together, enlivening public spaces, and strengthening community ties.

"We are honored to be included in this group of compelling projects nationwide. This award will have a catalytic impact on our ability to advance our longstanding work to bring people together through music, to make our communities stronger and more vital," said Community MusicWorks’ Founder and Artistic Director Sebastian Ruth.

CMW will be participating with five other grantees nationwide to build a learning and leadership cohort of partners in the performing arts within the field of creative placemaking. This work is an extension of CMW's longstanding work to share its successful model of neighborhood-based music-making with other musicians and arts organizations across the country, through a two-year fellowship program, conferences, and regular institutes.

“Investing in and supporting the arts have a profound impact on the social, physical, and economic futures of communities,” said ArtPlace Executive Director Jamie L. Bennett. “Projects like these demonstrate how imaginative and committed people are when it comes to enhancing their communities with creative interventions and thoughtful practices.”

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras said of the award, "The City of Providence applauds Community MusicWorks for its longstanding commitment to the betterment of our city, engaging young people and their families in imagining a better future through the arts. We are pleased that the national funders represented by Art Place have recognized their meaningful work in our city for a second time."

"Funding the arts is a good investment for our communities and our economy," said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the National Endowment for the Arts. "Congratulations to Community MusicWorks on winning this important support."

About ArtPlace America

ArtPlace America (ArtPlace) advances the field of creative placemaking, in which art and culture plays an explicit and central role in shaping communities’ social, physical, and economic futures. To date, ArtPlace has awarded $56.8 million through 189 grants to projects serving 122 communities across 42 states and the District of Columbia.

ArtPlace is a collaboration among the Barr Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William Penn Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Surdna Foundation, and two anonymous donors.

ArtPlace seeks advice and counsel from its close working relationships with the following federal agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council.

ArtPlace has additional partnership from six major financial institutions: Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.