Pawtucket’s Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy recommended for a national award to expand arts participation Published on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 The New England Foundation (NEFA) for the Arts joined the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to announce 112 organizations, including 13 organizations in New England, have been recommended for awards under a new pilot program called ArtsHERE. The R.I. State Council on the Arts (RISCA) reported that only grantees from Rhode Island is Pawtucket’s Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy (PRIAA). The arts and advocacy organization was chosen from an applicant pool of more than 4,000 nationwide and recommended for an award of $101,400. All the applications were reviewed by multiple review panels including the applicant’s organizational size and capacity-building project, alignment with the program’s commitment to equity, and engagement with historically underserved communities. The Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy will use the funding to assist with strategic planning, staff training, community engagement, marketing, and partnerships with heritage organizations and a network for the apprenticeship program. Founded in 1994, PRIAA is dedicated to promoting and facilitating civic and cultural awareness of the Puerto Rican culture, as well as other Latino/a/x heritages, through performance, workshops, visual art, literature, crafts and the Afro-ancestral arts. By bringing the best of the Caribbean arts and authentic folklore to Rhode Island and the New England region, PRIAA advocates for cultures that contribute to the social, political and economic well-being of an entire nation. https://www.priaa-ri.org “The National Endowment for the Arts is thrilled to provide resources to a group of exceptional organizations through ArtsHERE, a program to help deepen meaningful and lasting arts engagement in underserved communities,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D., chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Everyone should be able to live an artful life, and ArtsHERE is an important step in ensuring we are strengthening our nation’s arts ecosystem to make this a reality.” “We are excited to celebrate the 13 grant recipients’ projects in our region, along with many others across the country, that will expand access to arts participation. We are grateful to work on this important pilot initiative with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace Foundation, and our RAO colleagues,” shared NEFA executive director Harold Steward. “On behalf of the arts and culture community in Rhode Island, we want to thank the NEA, NEFA, Wallace Foundation and our Congressional delegation for this new innovative program and their ongoing support for arts and culture, one of our state’s key economic drivers. Congratulations to the PRIAA on receiving national attention for the important work they do and continue to do preserving and perpetuating Puerto Rican culture in Rhode Island and beyond. Investments in critical cultural organizations like PRIAA fosters a robust and diverse cultural ecosystem in Rhode Island, leading to economically prosperous and civically engaged communities,” said Todd Trebour, RISCA’s Executive Director. Lydia Perez, Founder and Executive Director of Pawtucket’s Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy, said, “It is a true honor to receive this award as part of our hard work. Sometimes uphill, sometimes downhill, but without losing hope of continuing with the process of our mission, Vision and objectives. Promote and maintain above all our Puerto Rican Identity in the state of R.I., promoting our culture, art, solidarity and respect is part of our Puerto Rican identity. Transmitting it to all of R.I. and reinforcing ourselves with other and artists has been a balm of commitment and prosperity. “The Board of Directors and this servant are very excited about this reach at the national level, and we thank everyone who believed in me and my professional development as an international artist, as a Puerto Rican Leader in the arts and as a facilitator for other ethnicities in Rhode Island.” Managed by South Arts, the NEA announced the ArtsHERE pilot grant program in 2023 in recognition that engaging in the arts is essential to individual, social, civic, and economic well-being and in response to President Biden’s Executive Order that put forward a government-wide effort to advance equity for all Americans. A partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, the organization suggested for grants demonstrated commitment to equity within their practices and programming. The grants range from $65,000 to $130,000 and more than $12.4 million, will fund projects to strengthen the organizations’ capacity to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups and communities. Grant recipients will also take part in peer-learning and technical assistance opportunities, and the NEA will report on lessons learned from this initiative. Recommended grant recipients are from all 50 states, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ArtsHERE aims to address disparities in arts participation through grants that help organizations better serve and reach their communities. Read about all the grant recipients ArtsHERE is also supported by The Wallace Foundation through matching funds to the Regional Arts Organizations in support of this program.National Endowment for the Arts, established by Congress in 1965 is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. New England Foundation for the Arts invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation. NEFA accomplishes this by granting funds to artists and cultural organizations; connecting them to each other and their audiences; and analyzing their economic contributions. NEFA serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England’s state arts agencies, and private foundations. Learn more at www.nefa.org. South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org. The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs)—Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation—are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. They serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which they work. They partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2023, they invested over $18.4 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 2,400 grants that reached more than 1,000 communities. For more information, visit usregionalarts.org.
