Wyoming Arts Council

Arts Cheyenne receives NEA Our Town grant

Featured News | July 17, 2014

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This story was posted Wednesday afternoon on the Arts Cheyenne blog:

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced that Arts Cheyenne, the community’s arts and culture development organization, is one of this year’s prestigious Our Town grant recipients. The NEA confirmed the 66 recipients of Our Town awards, totaling $5.073 million and awarding applicants in 38 states. Arts Cheyenne will receive $25,000 to conduct a Cultural Inventory/Planning project for Cheyenne and Laramie County.

Our Town funds are designed to invest in culture-driven community development projects. According to Chairman Chu, Our Town projects demonstrate how fundamental art and culture are to local development, helping build stronger, more diverse communities. Since Our Town’s inception in 2011, the NEA has awarded 256 Our Town grants totaling more than $21 million in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Arts Cheyenne-sponsored Laramie County Cultural Inventory/Planning project is designed to identify and catalog Cheyenne/Laramie County’s cultural assets and resources . . and then identify strategies and actions to enhance those resources and activities in the region.

“This Project will create an essential tool in helping Cheyenne and Laramie County better understand the cultural resources it has and the resources it needs,” said Bill Lindstrom, Executive Director of Arts Cheyenne. “The data collected will help us identify cultural industries, businesses, jobs, facilities and people . . and then serve as a planning foundation for improving Cheyenne and Laramie County’s cultural identity.”

“Congratulations to the Arts Cheyenne team, and thanks to the National Endowment of Arts for its investment in Cheyenne,” said Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen. “This grant award is significant as it recognizes the importance of culture in Cheyenne, is reflective of the joint commitment to move art forward in our community, and certainly recognizes the hard work of Arts Cheyenne.”

The NEA received 275 Our Town grant applications for the 2014-2015 cycle. The Arts Cheyenne grant was the only Wyoming award made this year.

Arts Cheyenne is the community’s advocacy and cultural development organization for Cheyenne and the region. Its mission is to promote and facilitate arts through education, awareness and experience.

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