National Endowment for the Arts awards $150,000 Grant to the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine as part of the American Rescue Plan
PORTLAND, MAINE— The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine is pleased to announce they have been approved to receive an American Rescue Plan grant in the amount of $150,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. The Museum & Theatre will use this funding for its arts education mission by supporting arts educators, visiting artist stipends, and marketing of art programming. The Museum & Theatre is one of seven recipients in Maine. In total, the NEA will award grants totaling $57,750,000 to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC.
“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, rebuild,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial in helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”
“We are delighted and honored to receive this major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts,” said Julie Butcher Pezzino, Executive Director. “After a fifteen month closure and staff furloughs to survive pandemic restrictions, NEA funding helps us double down on our organizational strategic plan and commitment to enrich the childhood development of Maine children with the benefits of interactive and intergenerational arts education.”
Within the 30,000 sq ft Museum & Theatre facility, The Lunder Arts and Culture Gallery and state-of-the-art Maddy’s Theatre are dedicated to arts, music, and performing arts programming. Maddy’s Theatre hosts the oldest continuously operating children’s theatre program in the nation. Since the Museum & Theatre opened its new facility in June of 2021, it has contracted more than 50 local visual and performing artists. Funds from the NEA will partially support two full-time staff positions, the Theatre Artistic Director, and Education and Exhibits Director, as well as a significant number of visiting artists. The Museum & Theatre will also use the funds to market and promote arts education programming in Maine, particularly among underserved populations, using various methods, in multiple languages.
The Museum & Theatre’s mission is devoted, in part, to the transformative power of the arts in developing children’s understanding and expression of the world around them. Exploring identity through art fosters creativity and ingenuity and is essential to healthy development. Research shows that people who visit cultural organizations as children are more likely to visit as adults; furthermore, they are more likely to be active in their communities and volunteer as adults. Data emphasizes the importance of engaging children under the age of 13 in cultural experiences. The Museum & Theatre offers unique family-friendly cultural experiences through performing arts, art gallery appreciation, dress-up theatre, an experiential arts workshop, and musical performances.
ABOUT THE ARP: The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 when the NEA was provided $135 million for the arts sector. The funding for organizations is the third installment providing more than $57.7 million for arts organizations. In April 2021, the NEA announced $52 million (40 percent) in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The second installment in November 2021 allocated $20.2 million to 66 local arts agencies for subgranting to local artists and art organizations.
For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of arts organizations funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.
Crisscrossing the Galaxy at Faster than the Speed of Light for a Hug is an intergenerational play that enjoyed its World Premiere in Maddy’s Theatre.
The Lunder Arts and Culture Gallery hosts the Artist Gallery and Beautiful Blackbird Exhibit.