Placemaking Art Initiative To Be Funded With National Endowment Grant

LARGO, FL — Creative Pinellas, Pinellas County's nonprofit fine and cultural arts organization, announced that the county has received a $110,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the federal agency’s Grants for Arts Projects initiative.

The funds will be used to create placemaking arts projects throughout Pinellas County.

This is a successful continuation of the relationship that Creative Pinellas has built with the federal funding agency, and follows a $500,000 NEA grant awarded to the organization for grants for artists and arts organizations.

This Beyond Placemaking grant, like the previous award, will enable Creative Pinellas to continue

providing financial support to Pinellas County artists, allowing them to explore avenues of
advocacy by partnering with PInellas County nonprofit organizations addressing a multitude of issues.

The Beyond Placemaking grants increase the amounts awarded to $10,000 per artist. An additional $5,000 may go to two awarded grant recipients who present exceptional, transformative art projects that go above and beyond and are intended to address historical or systematic inequities by reaching diverse audiences with sustainable community engagement and collaborations.

The grants are specifically designed to connect artists with cultural and social service organizations already delivering high-quality services, and will support transformative, arts-driven community engagement projects in the visual arts, dance, music, theater, film, multimedia, opera, presenting and multidisciplinary arts, literature and media/multimedia.

Applications are now open and will close on Dec. 15 at 11:59 p.m.

These grants will build upon previous work by Creative Pinellas to further develop the careers of artists through their Professional Artist grants, while allowing participating artists to expand their scope to support and engage artistically with nonprofit organizations.

“This is such fantastic news for the arts and cultural community,” said Creative Pinellas CEO Barbara St. Clair. “This grant helps us continue to support and grow the creative economy here in the Arts Coast. Along with the NEA funding from previous cycles, Creative Pinellas has been responsible for bringing over $675,000 in funding into our community, which is of significant economic impact. We are honored that we were chosen for another grant and that we will have the opportunity to contribute funds to the artists and arts organizations so central to the success of Pinellas County as an arts and cultural destination.”

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including Creative Pinellas Grants for Arts project, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA chairwoman Maria Rosario Jackson. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture and design.”

The Creative Pinellas grants for Arts project is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding.

Program guidelines, eligibility details, grant FAQs, workshops and the online application are available here.