Grants Announced for Arts Programs in Westchester
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Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester County Board of Legislators recently joined with ArtsWestchester to announce that 102 Westchester arts organizations are the recipients of matching funds from the Art$WChallenge grant program.
Participating arts organizations raised $786,541 in new private funds from 1,320 donors through the program which ended in December. The private funds were matched with $501,571 in county support, providing a total of $1.28 million for the arts community.
“Since the inception of the Art$WChallenge in 2007, this powerful public/private program has raised over $6 million to support Westchester’s arts and cultural sector, matched with over $3 million in county support,” said Latimer. “The county’s arts community has weathered a difficult few years. In fact, there has never been a more important time to help the arts make a comeback with broad and enthusiastic support than now.”
Grantees included arts organizations throughout Westchester, such as: the historic Tarrytown Music Hall (receiving a matching grant of $8,500); Westchester Children’s Museum (receiving a matching grant of $8,500); and the Wakanda Celebration (receiving a $5,000 matching grant), a festival of community, culture and African pride in Mount Vernon
With the cultural sector generating more than $172 million in economic activity pre-pandemic, this vital community investment will help us in our effort to ensure Westchester’s cultural infrastructure for the future,” said Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester.
Founded in 1965, ArtsWestchester it is the largest private not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to create an equitable, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable Westchester County in which the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of life.
In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Ave. which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Ave.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
