City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs awarded one of 66 “Our Town” Projects Selected Nationwide for Project on the Atlanta BeltLine
Atlanta – National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced plans to award 66 Our Town grants totaling $5.073 million and reaching 38 states in the Our Town program’s fourth year of funding. The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs will receive $100,000 to advance design on the Atlanta BeltLine Reynoldstown Stage. The project to be designed with Our Town funding will combine a permanent stage structure, a landscaped exhibit space, and an elevated park connection with some of the best views in the city.
This year’s Our Town projects demonstrate again that excellent art is as fundamental to a community’s success as land-use, transportation, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety, helping build stronger communities that are diverse in geography and character. Since Our Town’s inception in 2011 and including these projects, the NEA will have awarded 256 Our Town grants totaling more than $21 million in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“A national conversation is taking place around how to do community development in a way that is authentic, equitable, and builds on existing assets,” said Chairman Chu. “Through Our Town funding, our participation with other Federal agencies in efforts such as the White House Council on Strong Cities and Strong Communities, and other projects developed by partners like ArtPlace America, artists and arts organizations will continue to mature, refine and amaze with their work to make America a better place.”
“The Atlanta BeltLine is the most transformative project that this City has ever seen,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts shows once again that the Atlanta BeltLine is competing on a national level.”
“We are extremely excited to be a recipient of the Our Town grant,” said Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “With this funding, we are continuing to bring new art to Atlanta and helping to create a cultural landmark, enriching and galvanizing the Atlanta BeltLine communities.”
“This project is a model that demonstrates how public spaces bring people together, strengthen communities, and reflect the personalities of our communities,” said Paul Morris, President and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI).
The Reynoldstown Stage project site is located on the southeast portion of Atlanta BeltLine, a comprehensive transportation and redevelopment program transforming 22 miles of abandoned railroad corridor encircling the core of the city into new transit, trails, parks, catalyzing housing, economic development and job creation. The Reynoldstown Stage design project, which will be managed by ABI, is adjacent to neighborhoods that are lacking in park space. The project seeks to design a community destination on a site with unique topography and cultural value. The proposal was based on a partnership with Georgia Tech professor Tristan Al-Haddad and his students.
The NEA received 275 applications for Our Town this year. Recommended grant amounts ranged from $25,000 to $200,000.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov. Project descriptions, grants listed by state and by project type, and resources are available as well.
The Twitter hashtag is #NEAOurTown14
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About the Atlanta BeltLine:
The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive transportation and economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs currently underway in the United States. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) is the entity tasked with planning and executing the implementation of the Atlanta BeltLine in partnership with other public and private organizations, including City of Atlanta departments. For more information on the Atlanta BeltLine, please visit www.BeltLine.org.
About the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs :
The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), a division of the Mayor’s Executive Offices, was established in 1974 with the mission to encourage and support Atlanta’s cultural resources. The OCA continues to promote Atlanta as a cultural destination by providing grants to cultural partners through the Contracts for Arts Services Program, by presenting the Atlanta Jazz Festival and ELEVATE, a Public Art festival, and by supporting educational programming, including the Cultural Experience Program . For more information, please visit www.ocaatlanta.com.
